Are you wondering, “How can I promote my music in China?”

China offers an enormous opportunity for independent artists, but reaching Chinese listeners requires a different strategy from promoting music in the UK, Europe or the United States.

Spotify, Instagram, YouTube and many other Western platforms are either unavailable or have a limited role in mainland China. Instead, listeners discover music through services such as QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, NetEase Cloud Music, Douyin, Bilibili, Weibo and Xiaohongshu.

China also became the world’s fourth-largest recorded music market in 2025. Recorded music revenue in the country grew by 20.1%, making China the fastest-growing market among the world’s 20 largest music markets.

For independent artists, this means China is no longer a market that should be ignored.

Here is how to promote your music in China and start building a genuine Chinese fanbase.

1. Distribute your music to Chinese streaming platforms

Before you start promoting your music in China, your releases need to be available where Chinese listeners actually stream music.

The biggest Chinese music services include:

  • QQ Music
  • Kugou Music
  • Kuwo Music
  • NetEase Cloud Music
  • Migu Music
  • WeSing
  • Huawei Music
  • Xiaomi Music

Tencent Music Entertainment operates QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing. At the end of 2025, Tencent Music reported 528 million monthly active online music users and 127.4 million paying users.

Artists can use RouteNote to distribute music to Tencent Music, including QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo, as well as NetEase Cloud Music and a wide range of additional Chinese platforms through Kanjian.

When creating your RouteNote release, open the Manage Stores section and select Tencent, NetEase and Kanjian. You can also choose to distribute your music to every available store from a single upload.

Getting your music onto these platforms is the foundation of any Chinese music promotion strategy. It gives fans somewhere to stream your songs once they discover you through social media, influencers, playlists or other content.

2. Localise your artist name and release information

Simply uploading English-language metadata may make it difficult for Chinese listeners to find and remember you.

Consider creating a Simplified Chinese version of your:

  • Artist biography
  • Track descriptions
  • Social media captions
  • Promotional graphics
  • Press release
  • Hashtags
  • Genre and mood descriptions

You may also benefit from adopting an official Chinese version of your artist name.

Some international artists use a phonetic translation, while others choose Chinese characters that reflect the meaning, personality or sound of their original name.

Avoid relying entirely on automatic translation tools. A native Chinese speaker or experienced translator can make sure your messaging sounds natural rather than translated word for word.

Your English artist name should still appear alongside the Chinese version so listeners can identify your official profile across different platforms.

3. Claim and complete your Chinese artist profiles

Once your release is live, claim any artist pages that are available to you.

A completed artist profile should contain:

  • A professional artist image
  • A clear biography
  • Your latest releases
  • Links to your other official accounts
  • Consistent branding
  • Your English and Chinese artist names

RouteNote artists can apply to claim and verify their NetEase Cloud Music artist profile.

According to RouteNote’s NetEase guidance, a verified profile can provide artists with a follow button, release notifications for followers and greater access to algorithmic recommendations.

A complete profile also makes you appear more established when listeners discover one of your tracks through a playlist or recommendation.

4. Promote your music on Douyin

Douyin is one of the most important platforms for music discovery in China.

Although Douyin and TikTok are both owned by ByteDance, they are separate platforms. Douyin operates within China, while TikTok was launched for audiences outside mainland China. Content posted to TikTok will not automatically appear on Douyin.

This means artists targeting China need a dedicated Douyin strategy.

Create short videos built around the most memorable section of your track. This could be:

  • A strong chorus
  • A dramatic beat drop
  • An emotional lyric
  • A danceable section
  • A surprising production moment
  • A sound that works with transformations or transitions

Do not just upload clips asking people to stream your song. Create videos that are entertaining even when the viewer has never heard of you.

Behind-the-scenes footage, live performances, music-production breakdowns, lyric explanations and short stories about the meaning of a song can all work well.

Aim to produce several different ideas around the same track rather than placing your entire promotional campaign behind one video.

5. Work with Chinese creators and influencers

One of the fastest ways to introduce a song to a new market is to let trusted local creators use it.

Look for Chinese creators whose content matches the mood and audience of your track. Depending on your genre, this could include:

  • Dance creators
  • Fashion influencers
  • Fitness accounts
  • Gaming creators
  • Travel vloggers
  • Music reviewers
  • DJs
  • Singers and instrumentalists
  • Lifestyle creators

Micro-influencers can be particularly useful. Their audiences may be smaller, but their followers are often highly engaged and their campaigns can be more affordable.

Instead of approaching creators with a generic request to “promote my new song”, give them a clear creative concept.

For example, suggest a transition, dance, reaction, story, travel montage or before-and-after video that naturally fits your music.

Always give creators enough freedom to adapt the idea for their audience. Local creators will usually understand Chinese trends, humour and platform culture better than an artist promoting from overseas.

6. Create content for Bilibili

Bilibili is known for video content, music communities, gaming, animation and highly engaged younger audiences.

It can be a strong platform for artists whose music connects with:

  • Gaming
  • Anime
  • Electronic music
  • Lo-fi
  • Rock and alternative music
  • Music production
  • Instrumental performance
  • Visual art
  • Internet culture

Rather than uploading only a standard music video, create content that gives viewers a reason to spend time with you.

You could publish studio sessions, production tutorials, live performances, cover versions, remix breakdowns or videos explaining the story behind your music.

Subtitles are particularly important. Add accurate Simplified Chinese subtitles to help viewers understand your personality and the meaning of your songs.

7. Build a presence on Xiaohongshu

Xiaohongshu, also known internationally as RedNote, combines social media, search, recommendations and lifestyle content.

It can be useful for artists with a strong visual identity or a connection to fashion, travel, wellness, design, food or youth culture.

Create visually appealing posts featuring:

  • Songwriting stories
  • Tour and travel diaries
  • Studio photographs
  • Fashion and stage outfits
  • Album artwork
  • Equipment recommendations
  • Personal routines
  • Short acoustic performances

Xiaohongshu users frequently search for recommendations and useful information, so educational or story-led posts can perform better than direct advertising.

Think about what someone could discover, learn or feel from each post—not simply what you want them to buy or stream.

8. Use Weibo for announcements and conversations

Weibo can help artists publish news, join trending conversations and communicate with Chinese fans.

Use it to share:

  • Release announcements
  • Music video clips
  • Live performance footage
  • Artwork
  • Interviews
  • Fan responses
  • Tour news
  • Collaborations
  • Behind-the-scenes updates

Chinese-language hashtags can help your posts become part of wider conversations, but they must be genuinely relevant to your content.

Avoid copying the same caption from every other social platform. Adapt each post for the community, language and type of content that performs on Weibo.

9. Pitch to Chinese playlists and music curators

Playlist discovery is important on Chinese streaming services, just as it is on Spotify and Apple Music.

Research playlists covering your:

  • Genre
  • Mood
  • Language
  • Instrumentation
  • Similar artists
  • Activity or setting
  • Country or region

Do not focus only on the largest editorial playlists. Smaller independent playlists can bring more targeted listeners who are genuinely interested in your style of music.

When contacting a curator, keep your pitch brief. Explain what the song sounds like, why it is relevant to their playlist and what makes it interesting.

A localised Chinese pitch will usually perform better than a generic English press release.

Never pay for guaranteed streams or suspicious playlist placements. Artificial activity can damage your profile, distort your analytics and potentially lead to your music being removed.

10. Collaborate with Chinese artists

Collaborating with a Chinese artist can introduce your music to an existing local audience while making the campaign feel more authentic.

Possible collaborations include:

  • Original singles
  • Remixes
  • Bilingual versions
  • Featured vocals
  • Live sessions
  • Producer collaborations
  • Social media performances
  • DJ mixes
  • Songwriting camps

Choose collaborators because your music works well together, not simply because they have followers.

A smaller artist with a genuinely engaged community can be far more valuable than a larger account with little connection to your genre.

Make sure both artists agree in advance on distribution, royalty splits, ownership, marketing responsibilities and how each person will promote the release.

11. Release music around relevant Chinese dates

Timing can make a major difference to your campaign.

Depending on your music and audience, you could plan content around events such as:

  • Chinese New Year
  • Qixi Festival
  • National Day
  • Mid-Autumn Festival
  • Singles’ Day
  • University graduation periods
  • Summer travel season

Your campaign should have a genuine connection to the occasion. Releasing an unrelated track and adding a popular holiday hashtag is unlikely to create meaningful engagement.

An emotional song about family, for example, may work around Chinese New Year, while a romantic track could be promoted around Qixi Festival.

Research the meaning of each event carefully and avoid treating Chinese traditions as generic marketing themes.

12. Track your results and build on small wins

You probably will not build a major Chinese audience from a single release.

Treat your first campaigns as an opportunity to learn.

Track:

  • Streams by platform
  • Listener growth
  • Followers
  • Saves and playlist additions
  • Video views
  • Shares
  • Comments
  • Creator uses
  • Audience locations
  • Which sections of your song perform best

Look for early signs of interest.

Perhaps one track performs better on NetEase Cloud Music than Tencent Music. Maybe a particular lyric receives comments, or a short acoustic performance performs better than your polished music video.

Use these signals to decide what to create next.

Successful international promotion is rarely about launching one enormous campaign. It is usually the result of repeatedly testing content, learning what connects and investing more into the ideas that work.