China’s Music Platforms

Explore Chinese music services and understand key differences between western and Chinese platforms

Kanjian partners with over 90 digital service providers in China (300+ worldwide).

Full list of the Chinese services at en.kanjian.com/dsp/china

  • Streaming and download platforms
  • Telecom operators
  • Mobile phone manufacturers
  • Music libraries (sync)
  • In-vehicle/in-flight systems
  • Smart device manufacturers
  • Background music (retail and hospitality)
  • Online video and music video platforms
  • Apps and interactive online services
  • Live singing streaming platforms
  • Film/TV series
  • KTV and karaoke apps
  • Set-top box (OTT)

Apple Music is the only global service available in mainland China today – there’s no Spotify, iTunes nor Deezer, instead, the market is dominated by domestic services.

It is worth noting that these services are not copy-cats of the Western apps though, quite the opposite actually – key players like Kugou and Kuwo launched long before Spotify came about. Kugou, for example (owned by Tencent today), launched back in 2004 and, although it evolved over the years, the main functionality that attracts today nearly 800 million people every month remains pretty much the same.

Tencent, Netease and Alibaba’s lead the pack in streaming and download, while the local telcos and smart-product manufacturers like China Mobile, Huawei, and Xiaomi are not falling far behind, and then there is the myriad of online services, offering music as part of their product, though where music is not the main focus of the service – these include the likes of Eqxiu, Xiumi, and WPS. A major revenue generator are the live streaming and karaoke apps such as Changba and WeSing.

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