At a recent industry summit, stakeholders convened to discuss the evolving landscape of music intellectual property in the era of rapid technological advancement.
During the opening remarks at the "2026 TME China Music Impact Summit" held in Macau, the Executive Chairman of Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), Cussion Pang, highlighted that while AI enables the production of vast amounts of content in a short span, this simultaneously makes high-quality music increasingly scarce. He emphasized that premium music creation and robust intellectual property protection serve as the industry's foundational pillars. TME aims to collaborate with partners to cultivate superior music IP, expand the boundaries of music's value, and unlock greater growth potential for the sector.
The continuous evolution of AI enhances creative efficiency, sharpens distribution precision, and personalizes user experiences, yet it also introduces fresh challenges. In a video address, Liu Hua, Director of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) China Office, noted that while AI can act as a new engine for creativity, it also makes song plagiarism and piracy more covert and scalable than ever before.
During a panel discussion, Timothy Xu, Managing Director of Universal Music China and Senior Vice President of Universal Music Greater China, argued, "Technological progress allows us to produce unlimited content. However, the value of music has never been about quantity, but rather about how many works can influence culture, transcend eras, and become classics. That is the enduring goal of our content creation."
Chang Keng-Yu, Chairman of福茂唱片音乐股份有限公司 (Linfair Records), also stressed, "AI should serve as a tool to assist creators, not as a means for others to copy." Liu Xin, CEO of Kuoge Music Group, added that the industry must consistently uphold the principles of copyright legitimacy and equitable value distribution.
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