Embarrassment of Chinese digital music copyright

Absrtact: One afternoon, a cup of coffee, drank four hours, Evergrande Music Company managing director Songko almost no rest, saw a few dial people, music became the most important topic. This is Songko's favorite state of the roast Duck restaurant, and I'm just a shareholder, with a professional regiment

One afternoon, a cup of coffee, drank four hours, Evergrande Music Company managing director Songko almost no rest, saw a few dial people, music became the most important topic.

This is Songko favorite state, "Roast duck restaurant, I just share, have a professional team in doing, music, I have not left, but can not be denied that the roast duck restaurant, for us to do the music industry, there is no doubt that there is reference." Songko recently accepted the "First financial daily" reporter interview said.

From the Chinese music top-level trader to the roast Duck restaurant to the Evergrande Music, Songko's so-called "return" undoubtedly represents a trend.

"Digital music royalties are mandatory." Now the whole industry is pushing, this is not a company's idea, but the industry's inevitable trend of development. "Songko thinks.

Behind this is a push from the development of the global digital music industry.

The 2012 digital Music Report by the International Association of Phonographic Industry (IFPI) shows that the global record industry is improving, with 2011 digital music revenues of $5.2 billion, a "healthy growth" of 8% from the previous year.

This is the first increase in the growth rate since the record began in 2004. Previously, the global record music industry in the annual trade income has been increasing, but the growth rate has declined year after decade, 2011 years relative to 2010 is the first accelerated growth. Francis Moore, CEO of the International Phonographic Industry Association (IFPI), told our correspondent: Digital music revenue accounted for 1/3 of the total industry income, while the US was as high as 50%.

Unfortunately, there is no statistical data from the Chinese digital music industry in the report.

IFPI China's chief representative Guo Biao told our correspondent, China's digital music industry to start the market, "we start this year, there will be statistics." ”

But this reporter learned that the Chinese audio and Video Association record working committee internal to the domestic digital music industry has a statistic-because the music copyright production value of at least tens of millions of yuan.

"It's just that the distribution is unreasonable, and the copyright owners take very little." Very simple truth, the source of creation, that is, content production is almost exhausted, no content production, channel, marketing done well, for the digital music industry is useless. When the stakeholders are aware of the problem, which is when we reach a consensus, there is no problem with this consensus, but some changes take time, I think, not far. "Songko said.

Just "pay" for a hobby?

The charm of the music itself did not disappear during the Songko's "Sell roast duck" period, and he just "shone" on another platform.

That is on the platform based on digitalization.

"People who do digital music sites start off with interest," he said. "said Chen, founder of the giant Whale network.

March 2006, the Whale Online, an entrepreneurial enterprise in the user is not the case, or to take the first charge mode. At that time, the giant whale Network and China Telecom Interconnection Star cooperation, monthly bundled users pay, but the monthly income of tens of thousands of yuan is still difficult to maintain the normal development of a business.

The first snowfall of the year, a group of music lovers in Hangzhou, a small coffee house began their dream trip. Including Shrimp net founder Wang Hao, several people think of is an innovative mode: using Peer-to-peer (Peer to Peer, Peer-to-peer connection, each participant has the same ability to initiate a session) User distribution mode and taste matching engine to attract users, so as to achieve the music web site, the record maker, the user three wins-win.

Whether the former or the latter, the first problem to solve is the need for a large number of genuine music copyright.

After more than two years of negotiations, the giant whale network with the world's record companies, launched on the Bai Wan of genuine music, August 2008 Google into the giant whale Music network, jointly launched the "Google Music", change the original service model to introduce free authentic music download services.

2008, the shrimp net began to do paid music downloads. But because the base user is very few, the genuine music downloading charge is difficult to travel.

This also forced the founders to change the "rely on copyright charges to survive and development," the original intention, and only through "traffic change advertising", advertising as the main source of revenue for digital music sites.

At the end of September 2009, Google Music Search began selling brand advertising. At that time, Google double click Online, Giant Whale network is Google's first to use double click to sell brand display ads products. But with the 2010 Google exit from the Chinese incident, the original online ads appear on Google Music Search program failed to achieve. Even so, from 2009 September to September 2010, the whale network still has tens of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue.

2012, the shrimp net pay plus advertising revenue, its revenue is 12 million yuan. However, among other users of the Tens, less than 1% users are paid to download.

Public information shows: in 2009, online music market revenue, from Internet advertising revenue accounted for 88.3%, the user paid income accounted for 5.1%, the remaining 6.6% of the income from the online music service provider music content promotion, Third-party software cooperation promotion.

"But these costs are far less than the copyright fees we buy, probably only one-tenth, not to mention other people, publicity and other costs." A person who declined to give his name to the industry told our correspondent.

This predicament has caused the national music website to shrink rapidly, from 2008 more than 2000 music websites to now dozens of. The only remaining sites are also looking for "Dashan", which has a large base flow.

January 10 this year, Alibaba Group to buy shrimp nets, the end of April, Taobao joint shrimp network to listen to music while shopping services.

When this reporter tried to inquire about the profit margin of several digital music companies, did not get accurate data, they gave more answers: "It is OK, more or love in support." Huge user traffic is also an important foundation of the music industry, and music is a good carrier, the user to retain. ”

Is piracy a "culprit"?

Whether it's a giant whale or a shrimp net, they do not start from scratch because the market for pirated digital music has amassed a certain size since the 2003, which means they are trying to "snatch" a small piece of "meat residue" from a fee version from a free copy of the Jungle fat.

"How big is the digital music piracy market, no one has ever counted it, but this is not a small number." "Guo Biao thinks.

The following sets of data are sufficient to outline the size of the pirated market.

The first set of data is the 2005 industry situation, when China has more than 400 medium-sized music sites and more than 1000 small personal homepage has serious infringement problems, for download of more than 50% of MP3 songs are pirated. That year, the record industry did a comparison, if the genuine annual income of 200 million yuan, piracy may be as high as 1.8 billion yuan.

The second set of data is a digital music report from a third party, which shows that China's digital music is 71%, the piracy rate is 99%, and the overall music sales in 2010 are $67 million trillion, less than Ireland's.

"Piracy has caused a high base of digital music users but not a higher income source." "A number of music websites generally reflect that this is their first biggest annoyance."

"But is piracy really the culprit?" As far as I know, countless pirate lawsuits have not been reconciled in the end. One industry insider said.

2005, Global, Warner, EMI and other seven international famous record companies sued Baidu MP3 search infringement case, has been seen from all walks of life as a milestone in the field of digital music event, but eventually in 2008 reconciliation.

Another digital music provider Entertainment base has three prosecutions for Baidu, the search, Tom and so on, and the end result also with the entertainment base and the latter reached a settlement agreement.

This March, global record limited music and other major international record companies v. Beijing Sohu, Sogou company infringement of copyright to provide its 105 songs, the total of the 54 million yuan in the case of settlement ended.

In the settlement agreement, Universal Record Limited music, Warner Record, Sony Music Entertainment, Gold wind entertainment four major record companies no longer claim appeal, and Sogou company will invest a sum of money to support the International Phonographic Industry Association's anti-Piracy fund. At the same time, the two sides reached an agreement, Sogou pay royalties, four albums will authorize Sogou to upload its full list of songs and the upcoming new songs directory, network users can directly from the Sogou website free online play and download related songs.

The 2012 digital Music report, though not too much information from the Chinese market, has genuine digital music providers in mainland China, including Baidu, which has been considered the biggest impediment to the music industry.

"Behind the truth is very simple, when all music companies and internet companies embrace the whole, the world is harmonious." One industry insider said.

Benefits need to be redistributed

"The fundamental question is: are users willing to pay even if there are no pirated websites?" Youku Potato Group Music Copyright senior cooperation manager Changcheng questioned.

The answer is no, in this reporter interviewed several digital music companies in charge, they think that the digital music model is not a knife can be resolved, but as the industry's boss, must go to do one of the most important thing, that is to promote the digital music download fees.

As early as the second half of 2012, the Internet is rumored or in 2013, users download the music era will end, including Warner's several major international record companies will unite the domestic cool dog, I, Baidu, QQ music and other music services website, try to take the music download subscription system.

But the plan has been postponed for half a year.

Data show that the mainstream business model of digital music mainly has four kinds: the first is the download mode, the most successful is Apple's itunes, the user can choose their favorite songs in the digital music supermarket to pay for download; the second model is Pandora in the United States, and the Pandora mode is a free online listening song for users, Adopt the mode of advertisement, but the user has no choice to listen to which specific song; The third is the Spotify model, which uses a subscription-by-mobile model that allows users to listen to songs they want to hear and search for specific searches; The fourth model is the value-added service of telecom operators, one of the most successful models in Chinese market.

There is no doubt that the first download mode is ideal.

"We are not not the digital music industry, but the existence, but the distribution of benefits is unreasonable, we need to re-establish a reasonable distribution mechanism." "Songko said.

While the record industry's profit margins have shifted from individual customer sales to new media and multi-channel interactive earnings, in an irregular market, copyright owners, the most important content producers, have the least benefit.

The 2010 Annual Report of China Music Copyright Association, a non-profit organization jointly sponsored by the National Copyright Administration and the Chinese Musicians ' Association, which specializes in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of composers, songwriters and other music copyright owners, The total income of that year reached a record high of 68.0186 million yuan, the amount of participation in royalties is 39.63 million yuan. By the end of 2010, the total number of members of the association was 6,154, and the royalty income allocated to each person was only more than 10,000 yuan.

This is far less than a few music people's one appearance fee. Songko said that he had seen a song divided into several corners, a few yuan, hundreds of yuan a little more.

Industry data show that the current music copyright party received less than 1 billion yuan a year, the equivalent of the entire industrial output value of about 2%. Japan and South Korea's copyright party in the digital music industry to take the proportion of 90%, in Europe and the United States, the copyright party to get the average output is 70%.

"Our price will not be higher than Hong Kong, ordinary people can afford it, and such a model can let content producers to do a good job, so, whether the channel or platform, can have a vitality to develop, but the specific time, I can not give you an answer now." "Songko said.