2010-12-17 09:08

BEIJING - The Ministry of Culture has ordered 237 websites to halt operations immediately for illegally offering music.

In a circular, the ministry said the illegal websites either did not acquire approval from or register at provincial cultural departments, and some were providing pirated music online.

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The circular, posted on the ministry's website on Wednesday, includes a list of popular music websites, including yysky.com.

The websites were also given a deadline of Jan 10, 2011 to delete music that they provide to netizens.

Local cultural departments must check whether the websites are rectifying the problems.

Those qualified can register with cultural market departments, while those who fail would be shut down, said the circular.

An official with the ministry, who asked not to be named, told China Daily on Thursday that it was only the ministry's latest step in fighting online music piracy.

"There will be further actions to strike out copyright infringement," she said, indicating that more information will be released in a week.

Other music websites running illegally will be shut down later, she said.

Deng Fan, a 27-year-old Beijing citizen, said he has been unable to download pop songs from his favorite cococ.com since last week, as it had been suspended.

"The website issued a tip, saying it is under self-rectification and suggested we visit authorized music websites with the links provided," he said.

The ministry official confirmed cococ.com was one of the top names on the ministry's list, indicating it is a positive example in following the circular. But she also worried that some websites will turn a deaf ear.

In early November, the China Audio-Video Copyright Association brought more than 100 karaoke bar operators in Beijing to court, claiming they supplied unauthorized music to customers.

According to an academic report released by Henan University in June, sales of worldwide music products have shrunk by more than $8 billion during the past decade.

"Those unauthorized websites, providing pirated music, are playing touch ball and taking advantage of loopholes," said Huang Hua, a copyright expert with Beijing-based Wowa Media Company.

Huang said the Ministry of Culture, cooperating with other ministries or administrations, is entitled to punish those violators.

"In the worst-case scenario violators may face a permanent shutdown," he added.