here is another problem with the current model

There is already progress compared to five years ago, when artists and production companies got practically nothing from websites who offered free downloads. Now most major websites pay some fees to the copyright owners.

But that fee is obviously not enough to sustain the music industry. China didn't provide much original and exciting music in the last decade compared to the previous one, although cheap-sounding works made through amateur computer software are flourishing.

There is another problem with the current model of websites paying royalties with advertising proceeds, and netizens downloading music for free: In the long run, it will not be ourselves who decide what we hear, but the major websites.