Music fans tune in to the digital revolution

[Photo/China Daily]

The old readers were mostly college students in the 1990s and early 2000s, and are now in their 30s and 40s. For those readers, who used to pay 12 yuan to buy an issue of Music Heaven out of their monthly living budget of 100 or 200 yuan, it should be easy to pay 6 yuan ($0.97) with their much higher incomes now.

Chen believes the magazine will also attract a group of new readers who are willing to pay for digital content.

"Many people are still not willing to buy a digital magazine. We are not counting on them," Chen says. "The tens of thousands of people who pay will be enough for us."

Music Heaven's resumption is happening at a time when China's struggling music industry is expecting a boom from paid music downloads.

Up to now, downloading music has been virtually free in China, although major music websites such as Baidu and Tencent have licenses to provide music content. The China Record Working Committee, which represents the majority of Chinese music labels, is negotiating with websites about the details of charging for music downloads. The committee's president, Zang Yanbin, says an agreement is expected to be made within the year.

Some e-commerce websites such as 360buy.com and yyq.cn have already begun to sell digital music.

"As music media, we are very much dependent on the music industry," Chen says. "When the industry flourishes, we also have opportunities to develop."

The physical magazine of Music Heaven occasionally walked a risky line because the recordings it provided were not licensed. Now the digital version provides a list that links to songs provided by Xiami.com, a licensed music website.

The content of digital Music Heaven focuses on reviews of international and Chinese independent music. Chen says his company will also provide information through their apps and its WeChat account.

Chen says Music Heaven is no longer a magazine, but a "total media" publication, and he plans to develop a social networking base from the music fans it attracts.

"As to how to develop that function, we will know when the right time comes," he says.