Karaoke bars on the mainland say they are willing to pay millions of yuan in royalties to avoid being forced to shut off the flow of music to their customers.
Last week, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a group representing 1,500 record producers and distributors in 76 countries, began sending 12,000 letters to karaoke bars and restaurants in 50 cities across the mainland, protesting the use of pirated music.
Industry officials said the legal battle comes as the government plans to amend its copyright laws. 'Our purpose is to raise the awareness of copyright, telling the karaoke bars that 'you have been using our music for the past decade for free, but do not take the misdeeds for granted',' said an IFPI spokesman on the mainland.
Xu Zhengming, from the Audio and Video Department of the National Copyright Administration, said the amended copyright law draft would be submitted this year to the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council.
'Hopefully it will take effect by the end of this year,' Mr Xu said.
Zhou Gang, Beijing deputy manager of Cashbox, a Taiwan-based karaoke group that runs seven bars on the mainland, said the karaoke and the recording businesses had common interests.