Baidu.com (BIDU) has reached an agreement with 16 Chinese domestic recording companies who have authorized Baidu to provide free MP3 downloading of the songs of about 100 performers.

Baidu signed an agreement with TR Music, the largest music company in China, last week to share resources. Baidu has agreed to pick up the latter's singers and promote them for free, while TR music has agreed to allow Baidu to provide free downloading of its singers'songs.

Baidu has also reached a similar agreement with the other 15 music companies in China, and called their new cooperation a Pan Music Alliance.

Analysts in Chinese media say that Baidu has set up this alliance in the hope of creating a new industry cartel and imposing pressures on international music companies including Warner, EMI, Universal Music Group, and Sony GMG who all previously filed lawsuits against Baidu for music infringement.