How to combat online music piracy? The key is not just about how many copyrights you buy

Since the rise of online music, Chinese people have become accustomed to free downloading and free listening to songs. Not only can you find popular songs of varying sound quality on websites and apps of all sizes, but many websites even allow users to upload their own songs.

However, this year, domestic online music has entered a turning point. The rampant piracy has finally led to the introduction of policies to control it, and a lot of unauthorized music has been forced to be downloaded.

Infringing music is removed from the shelves in large quantities, and the era of free music is no longer there.

In July this year, the National Copyright Administration issued a "Notice on Ordering Online Music Service Providers to Stop the Unauthorized Distribution of Music Works", with a deadline of July 31. Prior to this, 16 music platforms urgently removed more than 2.2 million unauthorized music works. After that, the various music platforms reached an agreement: October 31 would be the final deadline for copyright clearance and removal of infringing works. All major platforms must completely clean up their own music libraries and cannot infringe on music in any form.

After this, music platforms such as Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, QQ Music, Xiami Music, Tiantian Dongting, and NetEase Cloud Music issued statements in different ways, saying that all unauthorized works have been removed from the line. Although this move made many music fans dissatisfied, there are also some supportive voices saying that paying is the real respect for musicians. This move may have a short-term impact on consumers, but from the perspective of the entire music industry, it is also the first step towards healthy development.

Recently, I had the honor to interview 4A in the music industry, namely Andrew Chan, Senior Vice President of Digital Music and Strategic Development of Universal Music Greater China, Andy Ma, Senior Vice President of Business Development of Warner Music Asia, Ariel Fung, Executive Vice President of Marketing Strategy of Sony Music Asia, and Andyng, General Manager of Tencent Digital Music. Regarding the removal of infringing music in China, they all said that this is a very good direction for development. For the four CEOs from Hong Kong, it is probably a matter of course that you have to pay to listen to music.

Piracy harms the interests of musicians and hurts their creative enthusiasm

How big is the impact of music being pirated by websites? Music 4A takes this issue very seriously. Regarding the recent large-scale removal of pirated music in China, Ariel Fung commented, "We are very happy to see that the government strongly supports legitimate music, not only record companies, but also the investment in partners and music singers. I believe this behavior is very healthy."

Andy Ma has repeatedly talked about the damage that piracy has done to the interests of musicians, especially those who write lyrics and compose songs. He said, "If modern musicians are not rewarded well, their music can be heard everywhere, but there is no reward for them, how can they grow?"

I can't hide the fact that I was a little shocked when I heard these words. As people born in the 90s, we have been used to listening to music for free since we were young. Especially in the face of the influx of streaming media in recent years, people rarely consider the efforts of songwriters and composers. However, as Andrew Chan said when talking about Taylor's unwillingness to play the new album for free, the benefits received by songwriters and composers are not as rich as everyone imagines. "Only ten songs out of a hundred are given to big names, and only when one song is bought by someone can you get the chance to receive money." A seemingly insignificant pirated song may make the creators behind these excellent music work for months or even years in vain.

Purchasing copyright is just an attitude, the key lies in consumer cognition

Andyng is the general manager of Tencent Digital Music Department. The latest big news about QQ Music is that it has signed licensing agreements with NetEase Cloud Music and Duomi Music. Andyng also revealed that cooperation with Kugou and Kuwo has also been reached. So, what is Tencent's consideration in buying so many music copyrights and licensing them?

Andyng talked about this issue during the interview. In his opinion, QQ Music did not have a monopoly, but only became the general agent in China. Therefore, after QQ Music obtained the copyright, it sublicensed it to other platforms. The fundamental reason for doing all this is the pursuit of genuine music, hoping to regulate the domestic online music market through the joint efforts of the entire industry.

Coincidentally, in another interview, the views expressed by Domi Music CEO Zhuoma were surprisingly consistent with Andyng. When asked whether QQ Music's purchase of copyrights had an impact on Domi, Zhuoma replied: "It's not that Tencent caused this situation. The record companies and musicians themselves, because they are the owners of the intellectual property rights, they get more income, which is understandable, and I think they should get more, this is the right thing to do."

Combining similar calls from two different platforms, Andy Ma’s words just answered the title: "The most important thing is the consumers. Without consumer demand, there will be no supply. So when it comes to music piracy, the most important thing is consumer education." No matter how many copyrights a platform purchases, it is not the key to solving piracy, because the problem of piracy still exists in countries that have adapted to paying. What is more important is that if one day people who listen to music can think of the musicians’ efforts and can feel that the quality of genuine products is better than pirated products, then paying will not just be a product of copyright pressure, but can instead become a true "paying for art."

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.