Apple Music and Spotify, globally popular music streaming services, are having a tough time foraying into the Chinese music market and the challenge all the more intensifies as Chinese mega-company Alibaba prepares to launch a yet-unnamed music service.
The e-commerce giant recently announced that it will combine two of its music properties, Tiantian and Xiami, to get a major share in the country's potentially big music market.
The Chinese market currently has an estimated 471-million populace listening to music via streaming services. However, its $91-million revenue is yet a relatively small amount compared to America's $3.5 billion, the International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI) stated.
Now, many Chinese consumers are turning into hundred pirate sites to get music for free. But analysts agree that with a country of nearly 1.4 billion people, it won't be significant to make a difference in the local music industry if music is indeed needed to be purchased.
This fact is known to the big Western players; hence, their plan to have China as their music distribution's final frontier. But the task is easier said than done.
The recently launched Apple Music is available across the globe, except China. On the other hand, Spotify, which is available in over 50 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, is still not officially available for consumers in the mainland.
The entry of Alibaba furthermore heightens the competition as it lauds advantages--both financially and culturally speaking--that it can use to battle against the global music service giants.
Moreover, there is the QQ music service, owned by the Chinese Internet powerhouse Tencent, which is an equally market-cap competitor. It currently provides Spotify-like service for a $1.6 monthly fee.