(Announced by Order No. 47 of the Ministry of Culture on August 28, 2009. First revised according to the "Decision of the Ministry of Culture on Abolishing and Amending Some Departmental Regulations" issued on December 15, 2017. Second revised according to the "Decision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Amending the Implementation Rules of the Regulations on the Management of Commercial Performances" issued on May 13, 2022.)

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1: In accordance with the "Regulations on the Administration of Commercial Performances" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), these implementation rules are formulated.

Article 2: Commercial performances referred to in the Regulations refer to live cultural and artistic performances held for the public for profit through the following methods:

（1） Selling tickets or accepting sponsorships;

（2） Paying remuneration to performance units or individuals;

（3） Using performances as a medium for advertising or product promotion;

（4） Organizing performances in other profit-making ways.

Article 3: The state shall safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of commercial performance operators, performers, and audiences in accordance with the law, and prohibit unfair competition in commercial performances.

Chapter 2 Business Performance Operating Entities

Article 4: Artistic performance groups refer to business units that meet the conditions stipulated in Article 6 of the Regulations and engage in artistic performance activities.

Article 5: Performance brokerage institutions refer to business units that meet the conditions stipulated in Article 6 of the Regulations and engage in the following activities:

（1） Performance organization, production, marketing and other business activities;

（2） Acting as an intermediary, agent, and broker for performances;

（3） Actor signing, promotion, agency and other management activities.

Article 6: Performance venue operating units refer to operating units that meet the conditions stipulated in Article 7 of the Regulations and provide professional performance venues and services for performance activities.

Article 7: Art performance groups registered in accordance with the law applying to engage in commercial performance activities shall submit the following documents to the competent department of culture and tourism:

（1） Application form;

（2） Business license and type of art engaged in;

（3） Valid identification documents of the legal representative or main person in charge;

（4） Proof of the actor's artistic performance ability;

（5） A written statement of performance equipment that is suitable for the business.

The proof of artistic performance ability of the actor referred to in the fourth item of the preceding paragraph may be one of the following documents:

（1） Graduation certificate of art and performance major from vocational school or above;

（2） Professional title certificate;

（3） Other valid proofs.

Article 8: Performance brokerage agencies registered in accordance with the law shall submit the following documents to the cultural and tourism authorities when applying to engage in commercial performance business activities:

（1） Application form;

（2） Business license;

（3） Valid identification documents of the legal representative or main person in charge;

（4） Qualification Certificate for Performance Brokerage Personnel.

If a legal person or other organization applies to establish a performance brokerage agency to operate its business, it shall submit the documents specified in the first and fourth items of the preceding paragraph.

Article 9: The operating units of performance venues registered in accordance with the law shall, within 20 days from the date of obtaining the business license, submit the business license and relevant fire and health approval documents to the cultural and tourism competent department of the county-level people's government where they are located for filing. The cultural and tourism competent department of the county-level people's government shall issue a filing certificate. The format of the filing certificate shall be designed by the competent department of culture and tourism of the State Council and printed by the competent department of culture and tourism of the provincial people's government.

Individual performers may hold valid personal identity certificates and certificates of artistic performance ability as prescribed in Paragraph 2 of Article 7 of these Rules, and individual performance brokers may hold valid personal identity certificates and qualification certificates of performance brokers to apply to the competent cultural and tourism departments of the people's governments at the county level where their registered residence is located or where they often reside for the record, and the competent cultural and tourism departments shall issue a record keeping certificate. The format of the filing certificate shall be designed by the competent department of culture and tourism of the State Council and printed by the competent department of culture and tourism of the provincial people's government.

Article 10: Performance brokerage institutions registered in mainland China by investors from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region, performance brokerage institutions registered in mainland China by investors from Taiwan, and performance brokerage institutions registered in China by foreign investors applying to engage in commercial performance business activities shall be subject to the provisions of Article 8 of these Implementation Rules.

Article 11: Investors from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region who operate performance venues registered in accordance with the law in mainland China, investors from Taiwan who operate performance venues registered in accordance with the law in mainland China, and foreign investors who operate performance venues registered in accordance with the law in China shall submit the following documents when applying to engage in performance venue business activities:

（1） Application form;

（2） Business license;

（3） Valid identification documents of the legal representative or main person in charge;

（4） Other materials that should be submitted in accordance with Article 7 of the Regulations.

Article 12: Performance agencies in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region may establish branch offices in mainland China with approval, and branch offices do not have the qualification of corporate legal persons.

The branches of performance agencies in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region in mainland China may engage in intermediary and agency activities for commercial performances in accordance with the law, but may not engage in other performance business activities. Performance agencies in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region shall bear civil liability for the business activities of their branches.

Performance agencies in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region must designate a person in charge of their branch in mainland China and allocate funds that are appropriate for their business activities.

Article 13: Investors from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region who legally invest in and establish cultural and artistic performance groups controlled by local governments in mainland China and apply to engage in commercial performance activities shall, in addition to submitting the materials stipulated in Article 7 of these Implementation Rules, also submit investment information report receipts and other materials.

Chapter 3 Performance Management

Article 14: When applying to hold a commercial performance, the application materials shall be submitted to the cultural and tourism competent department responsible for approval three days before the performance date.

When applying to hold commercial foreign-related or Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan related performances, the application materials should be submitted to the cultural and tourism authorities responsible for approval 20 days before the performance date.

Article 15: When applying to hold a commercial performance, one shall present a commercial performance license or filing certificate and submit documents that comply with the provisions of Article 16 of the Regulations to the cultural and tourism authorities.

To apply for the temporary construction of stages and stands for commercial performances, documents that comply with the provisions of Article 20, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Regulations shall also be submitted.

For performance activities that have been approved to temporarily set up stages and stands, the organizing unit shall also submit documents that comply with the provisions of Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Regulations to the cultural and tourism competent department of the county-level people's government where the performance is held before the performance. If the conditions do not meet the requirements, the performance activity shall not be held.

The temporary construction of stages and stands for commercial performances referred to in Article 20 of the Regulations refers to commercial performance activities that comply with the provisions of the Regulations on the Safety Management of Large-scale Mass Activities.

The qualification certificate for performance venues referred to in Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Regulations refers to the acceptance certificate materials issued by the performance organizing unit to organize relevant construction units for completion acceptance.

The application for holding commercial performances that require the participation of minors shall comply with relevant national regulations.

Article 16: When applying to hold commercial foreign-related or Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan related performances, in addition to submitting the documents specified in Article 15 of these Implementation Rules, the following documents shall also be submitted:

（1） Copy of the actor's valid ID card;

（2） Proof of more than 2 years of experience in holding commercial performances;

（3） There have been no written statements violating the provisions of the Regulations in the past 2 years.

The cultural and tourism authorities shall review commercial performance projects involving foreign affairs or Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and may, if necessary, organize experts to conduct evaluations in accordance with the law.

Article 17: For commercial foreign-related performances approved by the cultural and tourism competent department of the provincial people's government, if the performance venue is added within the approved time, the organizing unit or the performance brokerage agency with foreign-related performance qualifications that cooperates with it shall, 10 days before the performance date, bring the approval document of the cultural and tourism competent department of the provincial people's government and the documents stipulated in Article 15 of these Implementation Rules to the cultural and tourism competent department of the provincial people's government where the venue is added for filing. The cultural and tourism competent department of the provincial people's government shall issue a filing certificate.

Article 18: Foreign or Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan artists who have been approved to engage in teaching and research work in art colleges and engage in commercial performances shall entrust performance brokerage agencies to undertake them.

Article 19: If non-performance venue operating units such as song and dance entertainment venues, tourist attractions, theme parks, amusement parks, hotels, restaurants, bars, catering venues, etc. need to hold commercial performances in their own venues, they shall entrust performance brokerage agencies to undertake them.

Holding resident foreign-related performances at the above-mentioned venues shall be subject to approval by the cultural and tourism competent department of the provincial people's government where the performance is held.

Article 20: Applications for holding commercial performances involving mainland actors, actors from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, Taiwan, and foreign actors may be submitted for approval to the cultural and tourism department of the provincial people's government where the performance is located. The specific measures shall be formulated by the cultural and tourism department of the provincial people's government.

If there are other national regulations, follow their regulations.

Article 21: Those who engage in on-site recording of television cultural and artistic programs outside the studio and meet the conditions stipulated in Article 2 of these Implementation Rules shall go through the approval procedures in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations and these Implementation Rules.

Article 22: Holding fundraising charity performances shall be subject to approval procedures in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations and these Implementation Rules.

Performers participating in fundraising charity performances shall not receive performance remuneration; The performance organizer or actor shall donate the performance income after deducting costs to social welfare undertakings and shall not obtain profits from it.

Performance revenue refers to all income related to performance activities, such as ticket revenue, donated funds and goods, sponsorship revenue, etc. Performance costs refer to the expenses for food, accommodation, transportation, stage lighting, sound, costumes, props, venue, publicity, and other expenses of the performers.

Within 10 days after the end of the fundraising charity performance, the organizing unit or actors shall report the income and expenditure settlement of the performance to the approval authority for filing.

Holding other public welfare performances that comply with the methods described in Article 2 of these Implementation Rules shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

Article 23: When conducting commercial performances, the operating entity shall fulfill the following obligations:

（1） Handle the application procedures for the performance;

（2） Arrange the content of the performance program;

（3） Arrange performance venues and be responsible for on-site management of performances;

（4） Determine the ticket price for the performance and be responsible for the income and expenditure settlement of the performance activity;

（5） Pay or withhold relevant taxes and fees in accordance with the law;

（6） Accept the supervision and management of cultural and tourism authorities;

（7） Other obligations that need to be undertaken according to law.

Article 24: When holding commercial foreign-related or Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan related performances, the organizing unit shall be responsible for uniformly handling the entry and exit procedures of foreign or Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan cultural performance groups and individuals. For touring performances, it shall also be responsible for their full contact and program arrangements.

Article 25: Tickets for commercial performances can only be sold after approval.

Article 26: Commercial performances shall not deceive audiences through means such as lip syncing or fake performances.

The term 'lip syncing' or 'fake performance' referred to in the preceding paragraph refers to the act of actors using pre-recorded songs or music instead of performing live during the performance.

The performance organizer shall assign a dedicated person to supervise the singing and performance behavior, and make records for future reference. The recorded content includes the names of actors, bands, and songs, as well as the basic information of the singing and performance process, and is signed and confirmed by the person in charge and supervisor of the performance organization.

Article 27: When holding commercial performances, priority should be given to using domestic performance equipment according to stage design requirements.

Article 28: When holding commercial performances, the organizing unit or individual may purchase safety production liability insurance for the performance activities.

Article 29: Encourage performance management entities to collaborate, establish performance theaters, and share performance resources.

Article 30: The cultural and tourism departments of the people's governments at all levels shall publicize the approval matters for commercial performances to the public.

Article 31: The cultural and tourism authorities shall provide subsidies and support in accordance with relevant regulations for performances that reflect ethnic characteristics and national standards.

Relevant departments of the people's governments at or above the county level may encourage and support performances that reflect ethnic characteristics and national standards in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Regulations and financial management systems.

Article 32: When cultural and tourism authorities or cultural market comprehensive law enforcement agencies inspect commercial performance venues, they shall present administrative law enforcement certificates, and the performance organizers shall cooperate.

Article 33: The cultural and tourism authorities may use technical means to strengthen the supervision of commercial performance activities.

Article 34: The cultural and tourism departments of the people's governments at all levels shall establish a system for registering and publishing basic information of performance operators, a system for submitting performance information, and a system for inspecting performance markets, and strengthen the management and supervision of the performance market.

Article 35: The state implements a professional qualification recognition system for performance brokers. The competent department of culture and tourism under the State Council supervises and manages the qualification recognition and professional activities of performance brokers nationwide. The cultural and tourism departments of the people's governments at all levels shall supervise and manage the professional activities of performance brokers within their respective administrative regions.

Performance brokerage agencies holding commercial performance activities shall arrange dedicated performance brokerage personnel to be responsible.

Article 36: Performance industry associations shall carry out business activities in accordance with their articles of association, strengthen industry self-discipline, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of their members.

Chapter 4 Performance Certificate Management

Article 37: The business performance license of artistic performance groups and performance agencies includes one original and two copies, valid for two years.

The business performance license is designed by the competent department of culture and tourism of the State Council, printed by the competent department of culture and tourism of the provincial people's government, and filled out and stamped by the issuing authority.

Article 38: If the competent department of culture and tourism revokes the business performance license of a cultural performance group or performance brokerage agency, it shall notify the market supervision and administration department to change its business scope or revoke its business license.

The business performance license of artistic performance groups and performance agencies shall not be confiscated or seized by any other unit or individual, except for the cultural and tourism authorities who may suspend or revoke it in accordance with the law.

Article 39: If the business performance license of a cultural performance group is revoked or cancelled, it shall be reported to the cultural and tourism competent department of the provincial people's government for filing. Revocation or cancellation of the business performance license of a performance brokerage agency shall be reported to the competent department of culture and tourism of the State Council for filing.

Article 40: If the cultural and tourism authorities impose administrative penalties on artistic performance groups and performance brokerage institutions, they shall record the penalty decision on a copy of the commercial performance license and affix the official seal of the penalty authority, and notify the issuing authority of the penalty decision.

Chapter 5 Penalty Provisions

Article 41: Those who violate the provisions of Article 15 of these Implementation Rules by holding temporary stage or grandstand commercial performances without submitting the performance venue qualification certificate as stipulated in Article 20 of the Regulations to the cultural and tourism department of the county-level people's government where the performance is held before the performance, shall be punished by the cultural and tourism department of the county-level people's government in accordance with the provisions of Article 44, paragraph 1 of the Regulations.

Article 42: Those who hold commercial foreign-related or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan related performances, conceal records of violations of the Regulations in the past 2 years, and submit false written statements shall be fined up to 30000 yuan by the cultural and tourism authorities responsible for approval.

Article 43: If a foreign-related performance approved by the cultural and tourism competent department of the provincial people's government violates the provisions of Article 17 of these Implementation Rules by adding a performance venue within the approved time, but fails to register with the cultural and tourism competent department of the provincial people's government where the performance is located, the cultural and tourism competent department of the county-level people's government shall order correction, give a warning, and may impose a fine of up to 30000 yuan.

Article 44: Foreign or Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan artists who violate the provisions of Article 18 of these Implementation Rules and engage in teaching and research work at art colleges without authorization shall be punished by the cultural and tourism department of the county-level people's government in accordance with Article 43 of the Regulations.

Article 45: If a non-performance venue operating unit holds a performance without authorization in violation of Article 19 of these Implementation Rules, the cultural and tourism competent department of the county-level people's government shall impose penalties in accordance with Article 43 of the Regulations.

Article 46: If non-performance venue operating units provide venues for unapproved commercial performances, they shall be transferred by the cultural and tourism competent department of the county-level people's government to relevant departments for handling.

Article 47: Those who violate the provisions of Article 21 of these Implementation Rules by engaging in on-site recording of television cultural and artistic programs that meet the conditions stipulated in Article 2 of these Implementation Rules outside the studio without going through the approval procedures shall be punished by the cultural and tourism competent department of the county-level people's government in accordance with Article 43 of the Regulations.

Article 48: Those who violate the provisions of Article 22 of these Implementation Rules by holding fundraising charity performances or other public welfare performances without authorization shall be punished by the cultural and tourism authorities of the people's governments at or above the county level in accordance with Article 43 of the Regulations.

Article 49: Those who violate the provisions of Article 23 and Article 24 of these Implementation Rules by failing to fulfill their obligations and reselling or transferring the right to operate performance activities shall be punished by the cultural and tourism competent department of the county-level people's government in accordance with Article 45 of the Regulations.

Article 50: Those who violate the provisions of Article 25 of these Implementation Rules by selling performance tickets without approval shall be ordered by the cultural and tourism department of the county-level people's government to stop the illegal activities and fined up to 30000 yuan.

Article 51: If a performance organizer violates the provisions of Article 26 of these Implementation Rules by not recording live performances or performances, the cultural and tourism department of the county-level people's government shall impose a fine of up to 3000 yuan.

Those who deceive the audience by means such as fake performances shall be punished by the cultural and tourism competent department of the county-level people's government in accordance with Article 47 of the Regulations.

Article 52: If the cultural and tourism competent department or cultural market comprehensive law enforcement agency of the people's government at or above the county level inspects the commercial performance site and the performance organizer refuses to accept the inspection, the cultural and tourism competent department or cultural market comprehensive law enforcement agency of the people's government at or above the county level shall impose a fine of not more than 30000 yuan.

Article 53: When necessary, the cultural and tourism competent department of the higher-level people's government may investigate and handle cases investigated and handled by the cultural and tourism competent department of the lower- level people's government in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations and these Implementation Rules.

If the cultural and tourism authorities of the lower-level people's government consider the case to be significant and complex, they may request to transfer it to the cultural and tourism authorities of the higher-level people's government for investigation and handling.

Chapter 6 Supplementary Provisions

Article 54: The interpretation of these implementation rules shall be the responsibility of the competent department of culture and tourism under the State Council.

Article 55: These Implementation Rules shall come into effect on October 1, 2009, and the Implementation Rules for the Regulations on the Administration of Commercial Performances issued on August 30, 2005 shall be simultaneously abolished.