October 17, 2004
China could top the music industry charts
Despite problems over piracy, labels are lining up to get into this booming market Beijing's Forbidden City pulsed to lasers, lights and the music of Jean Michel Jarre last Sunday, reports the Times Online.
Beamed live across China — a first — the audience for the concert was conservatively estimated at more than a billion.
The concert was another sign that after years of mistrust, the Chinese authorities are more open to the music industry — and the world's top music labels are lining up to get in.
[...] China is a nation obsessed by mobile phones. The market for musical ringtones is worth more than £1 billion. But new ways of doing business bring new risks.
Jay Berman, IFPI chairman, said: “China is an area of enormous potential. Piracy is still the defining issue, but I think the authorities are beginning to see now that they could have an export industry here. There is a lot of talent.”
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