A firm supporter of authorized audio and video (AV) products, Zhang often had to surrender himself to his wallet, because paying 132 yuan (US$15) for a single imported CD was an extravagance for him.

But this New Year's holiday gave music fans like Zhang a real reason to celebrate.

Thanks to a promotional campaign launched by a record shop on Nanjing Lu, fans netted loads of first-class classical CDs that had been on their wish list for years.

Consumers were expected to pay only US$9.4 to receive two imported CDs launched by BMG, one of the world's five largest record companies, and such a price tag pushed Zhang to buy nearly 20 CDs.

"These CDs are the best New Year's present for me," said Zhang with apparent delight.

Yet such joy has triggered doubts.

Will Chinese consumers be able to access more authorized AV products at a relatively low price in the coming years given China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO)?

"The chances of our business surviving in the current tough times and even growing bigger rely on nothing but market acceptance of our moves," said Wang Minhua, manager of Jiulong Philharmonic, the record shop involved.

Wang was referring to the sluggish domestic record market, which, as insiders believe, is the result of unaffordable prices of authorized products and rampant piracy.

Welcome promotions

Teaming up with Century Entertainment & Production Ltd (CEP), BMG's chief agent on the Chinese mainland, Wang's shop launched the promotion in order to woo a large number of potential consumers previously deterred by the high prices of authorized CDs.

Market response seems rather encouraging: more than 1,000 CDs were sold in a single day, on January 1, almost quadrupling the usual daily sales.

Given the robust business during the three-day promotion campaign, Jiulong Philharmonic is considering launching another activity during the Spring Festival holiday.

"Our intention is to help people acquire more knowledge of classical music," said Chan Lok, chief controller of CEP's China division.

"Customers can meanwhile enjoy substantial financial benefits through the activity."

According to Lok, rather than a worldwide promotional campaign in the name of BMG, the local activity was born thanks to a co-operation among involved parties to cut their profit margins and dispense with expenses for promotion and advertising in a bid to offer consumers more affordable products.

In fact, CEP initiated another nationwide activity last year, under which consumers had to pay only US$8.3 for an imported BMG CD, including several the company's best-selling classical works.

Although some later found that such imported CDs were remanufactured in the Hong Kong SAR based on the original version in the US, many still hailed the move as they saw a substantial decrease in prices.

Big record companies like Universal and EMI have launched varied sale-price classical music CDs, including the former's "Eloquence" and the latter's "Encore" series, in order to revive the classical music business worldwide.

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