Music streaming platforms and self-releasing musicians: the case of China

A major development in the music industries in recent years has been the rise of ‘unsigned’ or ‘self-releasing’ musicians (sometimes problematically called ‘DIY musicians’ or ‘independent musicians’) who upload music directly to music streaming platforms (MSPs). This article examines the distinctive way in which Chinese MSPs have sought to incorporate such self-releasing musicians into their platform eco-systems and what it tells us about the ways in which digital platforms commodify cultural expression. We show that a remarkable new system has developed in China, based on evolving dynamics of platform power and state-business relations, and very high levels of concentration and integration. Yet the work of independent, self-releasing musicians is playing a much bigger part in the Chinese system than in other parts of the world, allowing them to reach audiences in ways that were not previously possible. Drawing on critical studies of digital platforms and of the historical development of the music industries, we show that this apparent democratisation also represents an incorporation and commodification of activity that would often previously have taken place beyond the music industries, in ways that place constraints on the cultural autonomy of self-releasing musicians.