Piracy accounts for 95 percent of the music and CD sales in China. On the streets of Shanghai it possible to buy CDs by Western artists such Pink Floyd, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Sting, Leonard Bernstein, Bon Jovi and Sinead O'Conner for a little as 50 cents a piece. Local favorites, such as "Red Sun," a collection of popular Chinese revolutionary songs, are also available.

Pirated music grosses $2 billion a year and accounts for 5 percent of the $40 billion music industry. The pirated music trade is well organized and has ties with organized crime. China reportedly has 40 factories producing compacts discs, most of which are purchased domestically.

The sale of CDs and DVDs, including pirated copies, increased from 63.4 million in 1994 to 80 million in 2000 to 109 million in 2001.