When Shenzhen-based legal professional Thomas Chen starts his 30-minute commute each morning, the first thing he does is plug in his Airpods so he can listen to his favourite streaming music app. A user of NetEase Cloud Music for years, Chen last year decided to pay 178 yuan (US$27.5) for a full-year membership so he could listen to complete songs and skip the ads. “Some of my favourite songs are only available to VIP users,” Chen said. “I’m willing to pay for the music I love, as well as for the convenience.” The number of people like Chen who are…