Music Streaming App Issues ID Cards Based on Music Preferences

One of China’s leading music apps, NetEase Cloud Music, announced on Wednesday morning that all users can make their own music-inspired ID cards (云村村民证 or ‘Cloud Music Town ID cards’ in English) on the app.

In a post on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, the streaming site stated that each user can apply for one exclusive card, which the NetEase Cloud Village Committee will issue.

Like Spotify Wrapped, the digital ID card is auto-generated based on a user’s listening history on the app. But it goes one step further: After an animation process, an individualized digital ID card is issued with a personalized avatar, username, identity, contribution to the community, pet phrase, and residence.

RADII’s former culture editor Bryan Grogan, a regular NetEase Music user, helped broadcast the news shortly after the official announcement.

Netease Music ID cards trending. Not mine but residence says "rock n roll highway and pop blvd boundary, dwelling in a leaky underground room." Like something you might find on a metaverse app, but also shows how Chinese music streaming sites are basically just social media sites pic.twitter.com/uSK81UPqHJ

— Bryan Grogan (@Groganb2) September 15, 2021

The music app has been serving as a social media platform and developing an online community since it launched in 2013. The streaming service encourages users to comment, reply, and share across other social media platforms.

It also hosts a community group called ‘Cloud Village’ and refers to its registered app users as villagers. Now, villagers can prove their identities (aka musical preferences) by obtaining ‘Cloud Music Town ID cards.’

The hashtag for the ID card had garnered 140 million views on Weibo at the time of writing, while more than 4 million users had shared their IDs on the music app. Some have even obtained a physical version of their card.

Users share photos of their physical NetEase Cloud Village IDs on social media. Image via Weibo

As a NetEase Music user, I also took the opportunity to issue myself an ID card.

so I'm an official villager in the netease music town pic.twitter.com/wLPFMxqeKV

— Lu Zhao (@RukiaZhao) September 16, 2021

Apparently, I’m “a rebellious cactus and resplendent sunset that eases rage” who lives in “a yellow submarine at the junction of Rock ‘n’ Roll Highway and Pop Boulevard.”

Cover photo via Weibo