Tencent Music Summit Highlights IP Challenges and AI Impact on Chinese Music Industry

The 2026 TME China Music Impact Summit, hosted by Tencent Music Entertainment Group, convened in the Macao Special Administrative Region on Saturday, drawing music industry professionals worldwide to discuss the full lifecycle of music intellectual property (IP). The event’s theme, “Music IP: Where the Future Grows,” addressed key industry facets including creation, growth, international expansion, and long-term value retention in the context of artificial intelligence (AI).

In his keynote address, TME Executive Chairman Cussion Pang reflected on the rapid evolution of the Chinese music industry. “Just a few years ago, the industry was still debating whether Chinese music should go global and how to do it,” Pang said. “Now, we’ve entered a new era driven by AI. China’s music sector has grown remarkably over the past decade and now ranks among the world’s top markets, largely because we’ve placed increasing importance on copyright protection in recent years.”

Echoing these views, Liu Hua, director of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Office in China, delivered a video address highlighting AI’s transformative effects. She noted that AI has enhanced creation efficiency, targeted distribution, and personalized listening experiences, enabling songs to reach global audiences within hours. However, Liu cautioned about emerging risks: “Song imitation and piracy have become more sophisticated and harder to identify.”

She elaborated, “AI can mimic human voices and replicate artistic styles, pushing works to millions of households without rights holders even knowing. The line between infringement and creation is blurring. Technology has opened an unprecedented window of opportunity, but new challenges have also crept in through that window.” Liu further observed that jurisdictions including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States are actively exploring regulatory solutions.

China’s National Copyright Administration has played a pivotal role in combating online music piracy since launching a targeted enforcement campaign in 2015. This initiative has helped steer the sector toward legitimacy by fostering collaboration among platforms, rights holders, and other stakeholders to strengthen the copyright licensing framework.

Reflecting on the past decade, Liu noted a significant shift in consumer behavior: “China’s digital music market had once been trapped in a ‘free lunch’ mentality, with rampant piracy. Today, however, Chinese consumers have developed a fundamentally different habit and are willing to pay for digital music.”

Peking University Law School’s Professor Yang Ming, who also serves as executive deputy dean of the Intellectual Property School, provided legal insights on AI-related copyright issues. He emphasized that plagiarism and similar infringements predate AI and that court rulings on AI-generated content vary across jurisdictions. “It’ll take time for laws to mature,” Yang said, adding, “What’s certain is that we shouldn’t set technology against creators. Under the existing copyright framework, we can both protect rights holders and allow new tools to benefit the industry.”

Adding a creative perspective, acclaimed Taiwanese lyricist Yi Jiayang shared a lyrical reflection: “Love is an antique of time. Creators are both great and small. We never know how long our songs will endure. Even AI-generated songs might one day become classics. We need to stay true to our craft, but we also need a fortress that protects creators.”

Yi’s remarks underscored the enduring human element at the heart of music, even as technological upheaval reshapes the industry. The summit highlighted the delicate balance between embracing AI’s opportunities and safeguarding intellectual property rights to ensure sustainable growth for Chinese music on the global stage.