In 2011 a landmark agreement was signed by three international record companies and the Chinese internet company Baidu. The agreement involved a settlement of anti-piracy litigation and a commitment by Baidu to close its service that allegedly infringed copyright.

That agreement paved the way for other internet companies as they changed their approach and became licensed.

In July 2015 the National Copyright Administration of China issued a notice saying that "online music delivery platforms must have all unauthorized musical works removed by July 31, 2015".

Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the copyright administration, said more than 2.2 million illegal songs had been removed within two months of the notice being issued.

One of the companies at the forefront of the revolution is the technology company Tencent, home to three of the country's leading streaming services: QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo.

In 2011 QQ Music, which has about 800 million registered users now, forged a partnership with many music labels, including Warner Music, Sony Music, Universal Music and independent labels. The move allowed QQ Music to become sole distributor for these labels in China and helped them fight piracy then.