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https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/who-really-owns-spotify-955388/ https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/who-really-owns-spotif... > Speaking of industry in

https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/who-really-owns-spotify-955388/ https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/who-really-owns-spotif... > Speaking of industry incestuousness, I suggest you read more about Tencent’s 9.1 percent stakeholding in Spotify, which is awe-inspiring in its spider’s web of vested interests. The short version: Tencent Holdings is about to own 10 percent of Universal, which in turns owns around 3.5 percent in Spotify, which in turn owns around nine percent in Tencent Music Entertainment, which in turn is part-owned by Universal’s two main rivals (Warner and Sony), but remains majority owned by Tencent Holdings, which in turn owns 9.1 percent of Spotify. (And, yes, no kidding, that’s the short version.)

consumer451 2y ago
Damn. Thanks for that. Oof. Sorry for the tangent, but I've always wondered: does Tencent's partial ownership of Reddit give them any access to Reddit's internal data? Is that how that generally works, or am I making uninformed assumptions?
- maccard 2y ago
  > Is that how that generally works, or am I making uninformed assumptions? The answer is probably a bit more nuanced, but broadly, you're making uninformed assumptions. Blackrock own about 5% of Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and we don't see people throwing around accusations that they're fiddling with their runnings. I used to work for a company that Tencent had a minority (but significantly larger than 9%) share in, and they approximately 0 influence in our operations. Some places will be different, but if you've ever worked anywhere with a parent company you'll be familiar with just how untrusting the subisidiaries are. Honestly, I think the best way of thinking about it is the Larry Ellison Lawnmower joke - they're not out to get you, they don't care. Whether or not that remains to be true going forwards who knows, but that's the same of any organisation anywhere in the world, and as someone who lives in Europe I'm far more concerned about what the US is doing right now.
  - chii 2y ago
    Blackrock does not have any political motives at all, and is purely interested in management competency and money. Tencent, despite being a for-profit company, may still have political motives pushed onto them from the very top. This is true for all chinese companies (because if they don't "comply", the very public example of jack ma is the answer). Now, of course, it doesn't mean this power is utilized all the time or everywhere. It simply means that the opportunity exists for such power to be weld if the state calls for it. Just because it hasn't happened so far doesn't mean it can't. It's different from Ellison Lawnmower, because the political differences between the countries.
    - no_wizard 2y ago
      >Blackrock does not have any political motives at all Thats not true, at all. They have donated millions in the 2024 election alone to a number of politicians[0]. They definitely have political motives [0]: https://dallasexpress.com/uncategorized/blackrock-giving-big-bucks-to-harris-embattled-dems/ https://dallasexpress.com/uncategorized/blackrock-giving-big...
    - Gerardo1 2y ago
      > Blackrock does not have any political motives at all How do you figure?
    - pixxel 2y ago
      > Blackrock does not have any political motives at all Please paste this above all future comments you post to save HN readers’ time.
    - maccard 2y ago
      > Blackrock does not have any political motives at all, and is purely interested in management competency and money. Seriously? You can say that with a straight face? > Tencent, despite being a for-profit company, may still have political motives pushed onto them from the very top. This is true for all chinese companies And that definitely won't happen in the US [0]. [0] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgpqeq82rvo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgpqeq82rvo
VectorLock 2y ago
Damn is that how they got their name? Does Tencent just mean "Ten Percent?"
- echoangle 2y ago
  Wikipedia says this about the name: The name "Tencent" is based on its Chinese name Tengxun (Chinese: 腾讯), which incorporates part of Pony Ma's Chinese name (Ma Huateng; 马化「腾」) and literally means "galloping fast information". So maybe it's just concidence? Their first product was also a messenger software so I don't see why they would name themselves "ten percent". The investing thing came later.

consumer451 2y ago

Damn. Thanks for that. Oof. Sorry for the tangent, but I've always wondered: does Tencent's partial ownership of Reddit give them any access to Reddit's internal data? Is that how that generally works, or am I making uninformed assumptions?

maccard 2y ago
> Is that how that generally works, or am I making uninformed assumptions? The answer is probably a bit more nuanced, but broadly, you're making uninformed assumptions. Blackrock own about 5% of Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and we don't see people throwing around accusations that they're fiddling with their runnings. I used to work for a company that Tencent had a minority (but significantly larger than 9%) share in, and they approximately 0 influence in our operations. Some places will be different, but if you've ever worked anywhere with a parent company you'll be familiar with just how untrusting the subisidiaries are. Honestly, I think the best way of thinking about it is the Larry Ellison Lawnmower joke - they're not out to get you, they don't care. Whether or not that remains to be true going forwards who knows, but that's the same of any organisation anywhere in the world, and as someone who lives in Europe I'm far more concerned about what the US is doing right now.
- chii 2y ago
  Blackrock does not have any political motives at all, and is purely interested in management competency and money. Tencent, despite being a for-profit company, may still have political motives pushed onto them from the very top. This is true for all chinese companies (because if they don't "comply", the very public example of jack ma is the answer). Now, of course, it doesn't mean this power is utilized all the time or everywhere. It simply means that the opportunity exists for such power to be weld if the state calls for it. Just because it hasn't happened so far doesn't mean it can't. It's different from Ellison Lawnmower, because the political differences between the countries.
  - no_wizard 2y ago
    >Blackrock does not have any political motives at all Thats not true, at all. They have donated millions in the 2024 election alone to a number of politicians[0]. They definitely have political motives [0]: https://dallasexpress.com/uncategorized/blackrock-giving-big-bucks-to-harris-embattled-dems/ https://dallasexpress.com/uncategorized/blackrock-giving-big...
  - Gerardo1 2y ago
    > Blackrock does not have any political motives at all How do you figure?
  - pixxel 2y ago
    > Blackrock does not have any political motives at all Please paste this above all future comments you post to save HN readers’ time.
  - maccard 2y ago
    > Blackrock does not have any political motives at all, and is purely interested in management competency and money. Seriously? You can say that with a straight face? > Tencent, despite being a for-profit company, may still have political motives pushed onto them from the very top. This is true for all chinese companies And that definitely won't happen in the US [0]. [0] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgpqeq82rvo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgpqeq82rvo

VectorLock 2y ago

Damn is that how they got their name? Does Tencent just mean "Ten Percent?"

echoangle 2y ago
Wikipedia says this about the name: The name "Tencent" is based on its Chinese name Tengxun (Chinese: 腾讯), which incorporates part of Pony Ma's Chinese name (Ma Huateng; 马化「腾」) and literally means "galloping fast information". So maybe it's just concidence? Their first product was also a messenger software so I don't see why they would name themselves "ten percent". The investing thing came later.