Xin Lang Cai Jing·2025-12-29 08:52Core Viewpoint - NetEase Cloud Music's 2025 annual listening report has sparked controversy among users who question the accuracy of the data presented, with many claiming discrepancies in their listening habits and the reported statistics [2][11]. User Feedback and Concerns - Users have expressed dissatisfaction with the annual report, claiming it includes songs they have never listened to and misrepresents their listening history, leading to frustration and confusion [4][13]. - Some users reported that the customer service responses felt automated and unhelpful, with complaints about the inability to modify the generated annual summary [4][13]. Official Response - NetEase Cloud Music's customer service stated that the data for the 2025 annual report is collected from January 1 to December 20 and includes all valid listening data across platforms, emphasizing that the report cannot be modified once generated [5][14]. - The company has introduced an upgrade allowing users to manually adjust their "Artist of the Year," "Song of the Year," and "Album of the Year" from the top five in each category, although the original data remains unchanged [5][14]. Financial Performance - NetEase reported a net income of 28.4 billion yuan for Q3 2025, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%, while the net income for NetEase Cloud Music reached 2 billion yuan, reflecting a decline of 1.8% year-on-year, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of revenue decline for the music service [6][15]. Market Competition - The competitive landscape for online music platforms is intensifying, with Tencent Music reporting a total revenue of 8.46 billion yuan in Q3 2025, a year-on-year increase of 20.6%, and a net profit of 2.48 billion yuan, up 27.7% [7][16]. - New entrants like Soda Music are rapidly gaining market share, with active users reaching 12 million, surpassing competitors and closing in on NetEase Cloud Music's 14.7 million active users [7][16]. Industry Challenges - Traditional online music platforms like Tencent Music and NetEase Cloud Music face significant threats from free music platforms, which, despite lacking premium content, attract a large user base [8][17]. - Analysts emphasize the importance of music copyright in the competitive landscape, noting that NetEase has struggled to keep pace with Tencent in this area, highlighting the need for innovative content strategies to remain relevant [8][17].