January 25, 2008 -- Nearly half of Chinese provinces now collect karaoke copyright royalties, reported the state-owned Xinhua newswire. In addition to Beijing, Guangdong and Jiangsu, they also include Yunnan, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian, Liaoning, Guangdong, Xinjiang, Chongqing, Sichuan and Anhui

According to the National Copyright Administration, karaoke operators are required to pay a daily charge of US$1.6 (12 yuan) for each karaoke room in major cities, and a smaller charge in underdeveloped regions.

The other 16 Chinese provinces have plans begin instituting royalties collections, according to Xinhua, but no timetable was provided.