DEATH OF THE MAJOR?

Google Starts Music Service In China With WMG, Sony & Universal

In conjunction with Chinese music site Top100.cn, Google has launched an online music service in China. Users can download and save free songs from Warner Music Group, Sony, Universal Music Group and 140 independent labels

Google’s moves counters Baidu.com, which has more than double the search market share in China . The labels share of ad revenue generating at least some income in a market where 99% of all downloads are illegal according to the IFPI. “It’s really a case of innovate or die for the music companies in China,” Duncan Clark of Beijing research company BDA China told Bloomberg. “It’s hard to get the younger generation to pay for music.”