Tech giants upgrade streaming music services in China

Tech giants Tencent and Apple are upgrading streaming music services in China, with high-quality sound authorization and new categories such as classical music, Shanghai Daily learned on Thursday.

Tencent Music, with over 100 million paid subscribers currently, joins with the China Audio Industry Association for online music industry standards, mainly covering high quality sound authorization and ecosystem establishment. Consumers demand high-quality music by headphones, speakers and in cars, both sides said in Shanghai.

The two sides will work together to promote standards for spatial audio interaction and device playback capability, which can optimize interaction between wireless headphones and streaming platforms and achieve a more vivid spatial sound experience.

The standards, once formulated and implemented, will fill the gaps in the field globally to enhance users' acoustic enjoyment and promote technical development of the entire audio industry.

More than 70 percent of consumers require high-quality sound (better than MP3) and most are willing to pay, according to Tencent Music, whose QQ Music is the biggest online music brand nationwide.

Also this week, Apple launched the Apple Music Classical app in China. Apple Music subscribers can access it free.

"We're excited to launch Apple Music Classical in China. Now you can enjoy the ultimate classical music streaming experience putting the concert hall in your pocket anytime, anywhere," Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said in a post on Weibo.