(Yicai) Nov. 15 -- Shares of Tencent Music Entertainment Group, China's biggest online music platform operator, rose after its revenue from music subscriptions and its number of paying users surged to a record in the third quarter of this year.

Tencent Music [HKG: 1698] closed 3.9 percent higher at HKD29.30 (USD3.75) a share in Hong Kong today. Its US-listed stock [NYSE: TME] climbed 3.1 percent to end at USD7.66 yesterday, after earlier tumbling by as much as 7.1 percent.

Income from music subscriptions soared 42 percent to CNY3.2 billion (USD442.2 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based firm said in an earnings report released yesterday. The number of paying users rose 21 percent to 103 million, growing for the sixth consecutive month.

Total revenue narrowed 10.8 percent to CNY6.6 billion (USD911.6 million), mainly due to the decline in income from social entertainment services and others, according to the company. Net profit rose 10.1 percent to CNY1.2 billion (USD165.7 million), while income from online music services jumped 33 percent to CNY4.6 billion (USD635.8 million).

"The third quarter results highlight efficiency gains across our platforms," said Ross Liang, chief executive of Tencent Music. "Our ecosystem's strength, platform's scale, and AI-empowered technological edges have enabled us to transition into an increasingly robust music powerhouse.

"Online music has more visibly become our core business, driving engagement and earnings growth while we adjust our social entertainment offerings," Liang added. "We will continue to reimagine the way music connects with people, creating a more enjoyable user experience through technology and product innovation."

The record high revenue is driven by strong growth in income from music subscriptions, supplemented by a jump in revenue from advertising services, Tencent Music noted.

Tencent Music is deepening partnerships with record labels and artists, exemplified by its strategic partnership with South Korea's Cube Entertainment to further enrich its music catalog, it said. It also harnesses its proprietary technology to enhance content creation, promotion, and distribution capabilities.

Venus, Tencent Music's open one-stop music production service platform, has introduced a zero-shot artificial intelligence-powered music production tool.

Editor: Martin Kadiev