Digital music industry in China - statistics & facts

With “access” being the buzzword of the present age, music streaming has gone from being a trend to the norm. China poses a fertile market with about 770 million digital music users as of 2020, which is expected to rise by another 30 million in 2023. After exponential growths in the recent few years, the Chinese digital music market was expected to reach its saturation level slowly.

This multi-million-dollar market was majorly sustained by the distribution of recorded music as opposed to live music in China. Undoubtedly, it was music streaming holding the largest share of revenue generated by the industry, equivalent to more than 700 million U.S. dollars in 2019. As of June 2021, the online music streaming userbase in the country figured around 680 million users, most of them accessing these services via smartphones.

Who are making a mint with music sales?

It is worth noting that Chinese songs are the most popular choice among different age groups in the country. When it comes to online digital music sales, Chinese male singers often pop up in the chart: Hua Chenyu (the winner of the 2013 Super Boy singing contest), Cai Xukun (Chinese boy group Nine Percent’s leader), and other idols with a South Korean-Chinese boyband background like Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo, and Lay Zhang. Chris Lee was the only homegrown female music artist who could make to the top 10 best-seller ranking. On the other side, the appeal of Korean and American pop music had also rooted in young generations. South Korean music groups like Blackpink and BTS, and American singers like Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber had gained huge popularity in the Chinese market.

The Achilles' heel

Currently, Tencent and NetEase were leading the music streaming sector in China. Tencent owns some of the largest music platforms – KuGou Music, QQ Music, and Kuwo Music. As of September 2021, KuGou Music was the top Chinese music app with about 322 million monthly active users, followed by QQ Music. Of these KuGou Music was found to be used more by people falling within the 19 to 28 years age group, while QQ Music was better preferred by older users. When faced with the choice of paying for access to their choice of music, most Chinese consumers preferred to look for a free source instead. The most commonly touted reason to not pay was the possibility to listen to music for free. This poses a dilemma for the Chinese digital music industry.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Lai Lin Thomala, Aug 31, 2023

Key insights

Digital music industry size
71bn CNY
Penetration rate of online music platform use
67.3%
Estimated number of digital music paying users
65.4m
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Number of monthly active users (MAU) of the leading music streaming apps in China as of July 2023 (in millions)

Apps

Monthly active users of leading music apps in China 2023

All time best-selling music artists on digital music platforms in China as of September 16, 2023 (in million yuan)

Music

Sales revenue of all time top-selling music artists online in China 2023

Number of users of Tencent Music Entertainment in 1st quarter 2022 and 1st quarter 2023, by type (in millions)

Music

Tencent Music Entertainment's user number Q1 2022-Q1 2023, by type

Related topics

Recommended

5

Recommended statistics

Overview

6

Overview

Market segments

6

Market segments

Market leaders

8

Market leaders

Bestsellers

4

Bestsellers

Consumers

7

Consumers

Further reportsGet the best reports to understand your industry

Social media in China
Social media in China
Film industry in China
Film industry in China
Media in China
Media in China
Gaming in China
Gaming in China
Mobile apps in China
Mobile apps in China

Contact

Get in touch with us. We are happy to help.
Statista Locations
Contact Meredith Alda
Meredith Alda
Sales Manager– Contact (United States)
Email
support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Contact Yolanda Mega
Yolanda Mega
Operations Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email
asia.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm (SGT)

Contact Kisara Mizuno
Kisara Mizuno
Senior Business Development Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email
support.japan@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 10:00am - 6:00pm (JST)

Contact Lodovica Biagi
Lodovica Biagi
Director of Operations– Contact (Europe)
Email
eu.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9:30am - 5pm (GMT)

Contact Carolina Dulin
Carolina Dulin
Group Director - LATAM– Contact (Latin America)
Email
latam@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Menu