Cash registers playing sweet tunes to the music industry

The music industry is surprisingly optimistic about the prospect of making money in the mainland market, and the reason is simple.

Every single one of China's hundreds of millions of mobile subscribers is likely to become a consumer of their product. And, unlike many other areas, they will be legitimate consumers.

'Mobile is more healthy because consumers are already trained to accept the idea of paying money,' Warner Music Greater China chairman Samuel Chou said.

The irony is that while consumers will not pay a few yuan for a full-length, legitimate CD, they have shown a strong willingness to pay almost the same amount a year for mere snippets of one song.

Ring-back tones, which are played to callers while they wait for a mobile subscriber to answer their call, have proven to be among the most popular mobile content products in Asia.

For music companies, it has become a secure and reliable revenue stream. Other products being cashed in on by music companies include ring tones and artist images, such as photos and graphics installed on phones.

Mr Chou would not say digital music was yet profitable for Warner in China, but he admitted it was handy revenue to have. 'You have to treat it as a secondary market after recorded CDs,' he said.