Who can carry a tune?

As regulators clamp down on unlicenced use of songs online, insiders wonder if the move can still salvage China's music industry, Yang Yang and Chen Nan report.

By July 31, online music delivery platforms must have all unauthorized musical works removed, and that recent notice from the National Copyright Administration is being welcomed by the music industry.

The new administrative regulation comes in the wake of disputes between the leading online music-delivery platforms, including Xiami.com and Kugou.com, who sued each other for infringing copyrights. In late May, Xiami.com sued Kugou.com for infringing the copyrights of 260 songs the former purchased from the Rock Records; one month later, Kugou.com sued Xiama.com for infringing its copyrights of 456 songs.