Study On Anti-monopoly Regulation On Exclusive Authorization Of Digital Music Copyright

In our nation,the evolution of digital music has been accompanied by policy regulation,and in 2015,the National Copyright Administration(NCA)issued the Notice on Ordering Online Music Service Providers to Stop Unauthorized Dissemination of Music Works,and then,the exclusive licensing model of digital music copyright with the content of "exclusive agency + sublicense" came into being.Exclusive licensing of digital music copyright is that a right owner who enjoys the copyright of a musical piece exclusively licenses his copyright to a certain digital music service provider through an exclusive license,after that,this service provider can still sublicense the copyright to others,thus gaining revenue.Unlike the exclusive first broadcast license and the exclusive use license,although all three belong to the exclusive transaction method centering on the the right of dissemination via information networks,the exclusive licensing model of digital music copyright is more flexible in terms of its content and duration.Although the model has,to a certain extent,protected the interests of music copyright owners and alleviated the phenomenon of rampant piracy in the domestic digital music market,its potential risks of monopoly remain to be highly guarded.Some scholars harbor the notion that the model has played a role in promoting the growth of the digital music industry;some scholars oppose that it is oughted to be banned in digital music industry;while more scholars are of the view that the model is not illegal in itself,and it has both promoted and hindered the progress of the digital music market,and requires multi-dimensional regulation.It seems that the exclusive licensing model of digital music copyright has played a positive role in protecting copyright,stimulating innovation,improving commercialization efficiency,and reducing competitors’ "free-riding";at the same time,it may also undermine market competition,infringe on consumers’ welfare,restrict the distribution channels of music works,and have a negative impact on market competition.What’s more,if the exclusive licensing agreement between the copyright owner and the platform falls within the scope of party autonomy and does not violate the provisions of the Civil Code,the Copyright Law and other laws and relevant judicial interpretations,then the model itself is not illegal.It is only when the platform commits specific monopolistic acts that it needs to be regulated.In 2021,NCA has punished Tencent Music for its market concentration.Some scholars argue that the penalty decision stands on a static competitive stance,ignoring the fact that the digital music market is constantly pushing forward,and the scale effect of the concentration of copyrighted music libraries.In addition,the determination of market dominance is still based on a single market structure criterion,without taking into account the fact that the digital music industry,as an Internet industry,has a network effect and blocking effect,and oligopoly is extremely easy to form while competition is still intense.In this regard,in view of the fair and reasonable calculation of the market share of business entities in the Internet industry,it is essential to include market entry barriers and consumer welfare into the scope of comprehensive consideration.Through the exclusive licensing model for digital music copyrights,although a dominant market competition pattern will be formed in a short term,but in the long run,other small and medium-sized digital music platforms would tend to adopt other diversified competitive strategies to break through the externalities of competition so as to obtain exclusive copyright licenses.A more proactive approach by platforms to deal with the adverse effects of this model will in turn help the digital music market become more diverse in its competitive landscape.While it seems to be a rosy picture at the moment,it also indicates that our anti-monopoly enforcement agencies cannot and should not intervene in the digital music market prematurely and in a "one-size-fits-all" manner,but should leave more possibilities for market competition.