Shan Yichun’s Performance of the Song “Li Bai” Constitutes Infringement

On March 28–29, 2026, singer Shan Yichun performed Li Ronghao’s representative work “Li Bai” at her personal concert in Shenzhen. However, according to publicly available information, Shan Yichun’s team had previously applied for performance authorization through the Music Copyright Society of China and Li Ronghao’s copyright company, but Li Ronghao’s side had explicitly refused via email.

Under Article 10, paragraph 1, item (9) of China’s Copyright Law, the right of performance refers to “the right to publicly perform a work, and to publicly broadcast the performance of a work by various means.” Furthermore, Article 38 stipulates: “Where a work of another person is used in a performance, the performer shall obtain permission from the copyright owner and pay remuneration.”

This concert was a typical commercial performance aimed at ticket sales for profit, and therefore does not fall under the “fair use” provisions of Article 24 of the Copyright Law (such as free performances, personal study, etc.). If Shan Yichun’s side publicly performed Li Ronghao’s work without obtaining permission, that would constitute a direct infringement of Li Ronghao’s right of performance.

In addition, during her performance, Shan Yichun added spoken interludes such as “How about it, so what?” and rearranged the piece. Li Ronghao himself commented, “From the chords to the rhythm, there is no significant change; changing an acoustic drum to an electronic drum does not constitute a so-called adaptation. It is like changing the cover of a book—the essential content remains unchanged.”

From Li Ronghao’s comments, it can be seen that he believes Shan Yichun merely made simple modifications to his work, not reaching the level of adaptation. If Shan Yichun’s above actions are only characterized as modification, the right involved is the right of modification of the work; if they constitute adaptation, then the right of adaptation is potentially infringed. So-called modification refers to partial changes to the content of a work, as well as corrections to wording or phrasing. If the act of modifying a work distorts or mutilates the original meaning of the work, or even damages the author’s reputation, then such modification would further infringe the right of integrity of the work. If the result of modifying a work creates a new work while retaining the basic expression of the original work, then it is an adaptation. Using an adapted work without permission infringes the original work’s right of adaptation.

This incident once again reminds us that the practice of “buying a ticket after boarding the train” is unacceptable; commercial performances must obtain authorization from the copyright owner in advance. Moreover, different usage scenarios require separate authorizations. Previously, Shan Yichun performed “Li Bai” on a variety show, but that authorization does not automatically apply to a concert.