INTERNET giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. said it is looking to spin off and list its online music business, China’s biggest music-streaming company, in the United States.

The proposed listing is a sign that the once-flagging online music industry is getting back on track as more listeners take to streaming music through smartphone apps even as companies battle piracy and try to get more paying customers to sign up.

Market leader Spotify Technology SA debuted its own shares in April, structuring its listing to allow existing investors to sell directly to the public.

Tencent Music is seeking an initial public offering worth up to US$4 billion, valuing it at about US$25 billion, IFR reported.

Terms of the proposed spinoff, including offering size, price range and entitlement of Tencent Music securities for the company’s shareholders, have not yet been finalized, Tencent said in a filing Sunday. Further statements will be made, it added

Tencent Music competes in China with streaming services operated by Netease Inc. and Baidu.com Inc.

Tencent provides services in music, social networking, e-commerce, mobile games, booking services and smartphones. Its messaging app WeChat is used by more than 1 billion people each month. (SD-Agencies)