Beijing, June 6 — China’s music industry is hitting all the right notes, nearly reaching the 500 billion yuan mark in 2024. According to the “2025 China Music Industry Development Annual Report” released at the 10th Music Industry Forum 2025 in Beijing, the total scale of the industry reached approximately 492.915 billion yuan (about $68.57 billion), marking a 4.97% increase from the previous year.
This growth signals a significant rebound for the industry, emerging from recent challenges and entering a phase of stable development. Despite facing economic pressures and external risks, China’s music scene has leveraged cultural creativity and technological innovation to drive industrial upgrades and stimulate domestic demand. The growth rate has returned to around 5%, indicating steady progress and accelerated transformation.
The report highlights some standout segments within the industry. Live music performances saw a remarkable surge, with revenues hitting 38.733 billion yuan, a massive 46.61% growth—the fastest among all segments. This resurgence points to a strong recovery and a booming offline performance market, reflecting audiences’ eagerness to experience live events once again.
Digital music continues to dominate as the largest single segment, accounting for 102.746 billion yuan, which is about 20.8% of the overall industry. It maintained a steady growth rate of 15%, showcasing the sustained popularity of online music platforms and streaming services.
Additionally, the integration of music with other entertainment formats like film, gaming, and animation is on the rise. This combined market reached 965 million yuan, growing by 15.16%, second only to live performances. This trend underscores the increasingly close ties between music and other forms of entertainment, fostering rapid development and new opportunities.
Compiled by a research team led by Zhao Zhi’an, director of the Music Industry Development Research Center at the Communication University of China, the annual report has been successfully published for 10 consecutive years since its inception in 2014. The report anticipates that with ongoing technological advancements and deeper structural adjustments, China’s music industry will enter a new phase of intelligent and high-quality development.
