He who calls the tune pays the piper

Chinese are used to downloading music for free. A couple of industry veterans might now get them to change that culture. Chen Nan reports.

Twenty years ago, two Tsinghua University graduates, Song Ke and Gao Xiaosong, founded Rye Music in Beijing, which led to the creation of what became known as "campus folk music", consisting of simple, youthful lyrics accompanied by guitar and piano. Not only that, but they also uncovered singers including Ye Bei, Lao Lang and Pu Shu, who would later become well-known pop stars. In short, Gao's and Song's contribution to China's music industry is widely credited, and the pioneering spirit they showed in those early days is once again being brought to bear, this time by Ali Music Group, a new division of the e-commerce giant Alibaba. Their mission: to revitalize the commercial side of music, which has taken a beating in recent years at the hands of technology, and in particular piracy.

Alibaba announced on July 15 that Gao, 46, a singer-songwriter and talk show host, will serve as chairman of Ali Music Group, and Song, 50, a music industry expert who worked with Warner Music and co-founded China's top performing pop music label, Taihe Rye Music, will be chief executive officer.