Stage set for growth as music business finds rhythm in China

The report says the total value of China's digital-music industry in 2017 was more than 58 billion yuan ($8.39 billion), an increase of 9.6 percent compared with 2016. There were more than 520 million digital-music users in China in 2017 and the income of the Music Copyright Society of China was over 816 million yuan, an increase of 17.2 percent year-on-year.

The report also highlights achievements in the development of the country's music industry, including the music-streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment Group's initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month.

The total size of China's music-performance market reached 17.6 billion yuan in 2017 and there were over 15,000 live music performances last year, which attracted more than 13.4 million concertgoers and generated a revenue of nearly 6 billion yuan, a rise of 23.4 percent over 2016.

"It's apparent to see that China's music industry is on the healthy road to recovery after years of battling rampant piracy," says Zhao Zhi'an, vice-president of the School of Music and Recording Arts at the Communication University of China.

In 2015, China's National Copyright Administration had asked online music-delivery platforms to remove all unauthorized songs. This is seen as a major move in the fight against rampant piracy in the industry, he adds.

Zong also gave a speech about musical talent training and musical education during the forum, in which he shared his working experience with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra over the past eight years.

In these years, he has given about 500 lectures to introduce classical music to audiences, and he has helped to arrange 800 concerts, which have attracted audiences of all ages.

"Music is about emotions, imagination and aesthetics. It connects with people naturally. What we need is to build a good business environment, be original and creative," Zong says.