TENCENT Music Entertainment Group said Monday the company would likely see “much softer” first-quarter revenue growth due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The company’s music streaming service added more paying users, its results showed.

“For the full year, even though total revenue growth is expected to be slower than original expectation due to the short-term impact in the first half, we expect revenue growth to improve in the second half,” said chief executive Cussion Pang on an earning call.

The firm mainly attributed the expected slowdown to licensing and advertising revenue decline. Subscription revenue, however, is likely to get a boost, it said.

Pang added that Tencent Music is already taking measures to mitigate any impact from the COVID-19 pandemic that is sweeping the world and causing jitters in financial markets, by launching live-streaming services in the first half of 2020 focusing on the discovery and cultivation of artists.

“While we don’t expect it to contribute to 2020 revenue in a significant manner, we do expect it to ramp up over a few quarters with more meaningful results, contributing to 2021,” said chief strategy officer Tony Yip.

Tencent Music, which has been shifting to a paid streaming model, has entered into multiple partnerships with international and domestic music labels to attract more paying users.

In December, a consortium comprising Tencent Music and parent Tencent Holdings Ltd. said it would take a 10 percent stake in Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, the world’s biggest music label. (SD-Agencies)