network:
Is Google the saviour of the Chinese music industry?
Google has launched an ad-supported music service in China, with the aim of making online music profitable there. 14 independent labels and the big four music will join with Google to compete with search engines already pointing users to free music.
The service is actually run through the partially-Google-owned Top100.cn, which is responsible for selling advertising space and divvying up revenues between the music labels. The site will be limited by IP address to those in mainland China.
It is seen a direct response to popular Chinese search engine Baidu, which is renowned for providing access to endless illegal music.
Piracy is a big problem in China both in the music and film industries. Whether Google will be able to tackle it remains to be seen.
Comments