Andre Yoskowitz
31 Mar 2009 0:28
Google, in conjunction with over 15 record labels, has announced the launch of a free online music download service that will allow anyone in mainland China to download over 1.1 million tracks for free.
The service has music from Chinese labels, Warner Music Group Corp., EMI Group Ltd., Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music, as well as 14 independent labels and the service will be limited to those using an IP address showing they are in mainland China.
"This is the first really serious attempt to start monetizing online music in China," said Lachie Rutherford, president of Warner Music Asia and regional head of the IFPI.
China has been the poster child for music piracy, with some Chinese music acts admitting to no longer recording because piracy has made the business unprofitable.
Kai-Fu Lee, Google's president for Greater China, says that 84 percent of the Chinese population uses search engines to search for music. "With today's offering, we complete the puzzle and offer a complete set of services that are fully integrated," he added.
China currently has over 300 million Internet users.