Kaiser Kuo Interview in SmartBeijing

Posted on January 23, 2013 by admin

Very insightful interview with Kaiser Kuo – Spring and Autumn guitarist, Baidu international spin doctor, Sinica Podcast host and China rawk elder statesman – in Smart Beijing. Josh Feola sat down with Kuo for a freewheeling discussion that covers everything from his musical history with Tang Dynasty to where the hipsters of Beijing lived in the late 1980s (there were none, unfortunately), to why he thinks Zuoxiao Zuzhou is a “poser.” Radar laoban Archie had the pleasure of being a guest on Kuo’s Sinica podcast in the summer of 2011, in which they had a spirited discussion about intellectual property, the value of musicianship and the perpetual Beijing-Shanghai rivalry.

For the entire interview, go here.

To listen to the Sinica podcast with Kaiser, Archie and Michael Pettis of Maybe Mars, click here.

Alibaba acquires online music streaming service Xiami

Posted on January 16, 2013 by admin

Perhaps fittingly, seeing as Xiami was founded by former Alibaba systems engineers, Chinese online giant Alibaba announced on January 11 that it had acquired streaming music juggernaut Xiami. Xiami, known colloquially as the “Spotify of China” is a grey-market service hosting millions of songs and albums, all available for free streaming over the Chinese Internet. The service is available worldwide but from our personal experience, it is much faster in China (off VPN). It is also one of the more problematic services floating around, having never fully verified how all the songs in its service are licensed and how artists and labels are compensated. Writing in China tech blog Technode, Ben Chiang puts forth the theory that the acquisition by Alibaba is Xiami’s tacit acknowledgement of the Chinese online music sphere’s move towards copywritten content and need for a company with Alibaba’s coffers to aid them in the royalty payments. We’re inclined to agree with this sentiment, though as with everything, the proof is in the pudding.

For news of other developments in the China online streaming music sphere, be sure to subscribe to Radar posts and follow us @chinamusicradar on Twitter.

Zaijian, Brad

Posted on December 13, 2012 by admin

Shanghai and the China music scene is losing one of the most outspoken and interesting figures in Brad Ferguson as the Texan prepares to pack up and move back to Austin, TX. Brad’s been around since 2002, managing live venues, producing, building amps, managing and whatever else needed to be done. The man even has his own Rock in China entry. Alas the tides shift and Brad’s heading back, taking wife and Duck Fight Goose drummer Damen with him. Yuyintang is throwing him a goodbye party this weekend, with DFG and a sort-of reunion from Boys Climbing Ropes (G from X is Y on guitar).

If you missed it, here are some of Brad’s greatest hits. His unsmiling mien will be sorely missed.

On “selling out”

DFG SXSW 2012 Tour Diary

Shanghai 24/7 interview

Schooling our own Archie Hamilton on Shanghai live music venue history

Cannibal Corpse Moved to The One Club

Posted on October 22, 2012 by admin

Is this the first sign of unwelcome developments to come? This past Saturday’s Cannibal Corpse show, the centerpiece of China metal magazine Painkiller’s 12th Anniversary party, was moved abruptly the day of the show from Yugong Yishan in central Beijing to The One Club, located off the city’s east 4th ring road. With certain large gatherings now officially scheduled to kick off in early November, we might be in for a nail-biting month of cancellations, reschedulings and / or sudden relocations. If you’re reading this, you probably know already but remember to keep an ear to the ground for any changes, follow bands and bloggers on Twitter and Sina Weibo, and generally expect the unexpected.

加油！

Dreamer Festival Tianjin and Wuhan Both Canceled, Shanghai “Postponed”

Posted on September 20, 2012 by admin

UPDATE 9/20/2012: Surprising no one, the Dreamer Festival dates in Shanghai have been “postponed” to April of 2013 due to the promoter not receiving the correct permits (yet promoting the festival and selling tickets…) and the current political climate. Instead, the festival will be held next year. Here is the latest announcement (Chinese only).

UPDATE 9/17/2012: As of Friday afternoon, the Wuhan Dreamer Festival has been cancelled as well due to the fact that none of the foreign artists are able to perform. Link to the Douban note with the official notification from the organisers, here.

Well, color us shocked (and dripping in sarcasm, FYI). From their official microblog (Sina Weibo) yesterday afternoon comes the news that the Dreamer Festival in Tianjin has been canceled, less than a month out from it’s original October holiday date.

To recap, Sounds Great! promoters (声演坊) and Pocket Music announced earlier this year that they were putting on three simultaneous music festivals in Shanghai, Wuhan and Beijing during the October holiday period, 2012. Over 20 foreign headliners were announced, including World’s End Girlfriend, Jay-Jay Johansen, Pelle Carlberg, Agnes Kain and more. We were always dubious that ANYONE could pull off three multi-day festivals simultaneously, and Sounds Great/Pocket have not had a good track record in the past of following through on announced events.

According to the organisers, the Shanghai and Wuhan festivals will go on as scheduled, and the cancellation of the Tianjin event was attributed to the upcoming transition in nearby Beijing. If you’re keeping count at home, this means that there are official no outdoor festivals north of the Yangtze this October. So, uh, enjoy the beautiful weather we’ll inevitably have in the northern capital?

Chengdu Big Love – the aftermath

Posted on August 24, 2012 by admin

A few months ago, we previewed Chengdu’s Big Love Music Festival. Originally scheduled for last summer and plagued with weather issues, Big Love 2011 was moved, postponed and though never officially cancelled, ultimately became Big Love 2012. This year, when we saw the poster and lineup announcement for the festival, we were understandably excited for the likes of Ash, Suede, Ellen Alien, Luo Dayou and even Extreme. From all reports up to and during the event, the festival seemed to go off without a hitch: the weather held, the crowds were enthusiastic, the bands well-received. And then. Well, we all know what happened then.

A frantic Weibo post on the morning of June 25 alerted festival staff, artists and attending media that all individuals associated with Big Love were being singled out and unable to leave the hotel. It was revealed soon enough that their rooms, ostensibly paid for by the organizers, had not been at all and no one was allowed to leave the premises until settling up. This was no Hanting-sized bill either – everyone was staying in 5-star hotels. In the end, it was revealed that the promoters of Big Love had lost RMB 50m on the festival overall. In the process, they had failed to pay RMB1.8m of hotel bills and stranded between 150-160 festival workers at the airport, having lied about paying their plane fares. Most galling (and frankly, shocking) were the faked SMS messages to staff members confirming their flights from Chengdu back to their home cities. One such fake SMS was rapidly posted on Sina Weibo and Douban, highlighting exactly how far the promoters were willing to extend the charade.

We understand that music festivals in China are still a hard business, with extremely high overhead costs and long-range payoffs. However, occurrences like Big Love are a black mark on all promoters working in China. The debacle will be held up as an example of how China isn’t ready to produce a festival on such a large scale. It’s pity because there are people working very hard here to produce international-caliber events. The spectre of Big Love will effect artists’ and production’s willingness to do business with any promoter, and thus the entire music festival industry in China itself.

For an excellent round-up and translation of all the microblog updates surrounding the tense aftermath of Big Love, we suggest starting with GoChengdoo’s exceptional coverage.

Oya Festival, Norway

Posted on August 16, 2012 by admin

Ah, the joys of a supportive government. There is a reason that music from France, Canada and the Scandinavian countries are disproportionately represented in countries like China: that their governments believe in the soft power of exporting their cultures, and actually put funds behind initiatives to actually make it happen.

Oya Festival is the granddaddy of the Norwegian contemporary festival scene. Founded 14 years ago, it is held in a Medieval Park in the Bjorvika district of downtown Oslo. The area is a monster mash of construction and redesign. A sparkling new opera house made of white marble is the main feature of the regeneration of the East end of the Oslo fjord. The old container port will soon be 145,000 sq.m of new houses, offices and retail space that make up the controversial “Barcode buildings”.

Continue reading →

Blogger details excessive negligence with music promotion companies Xoundforce and Rock Empire

Posted on May 23, 2012 by admin

Editor’s Note: This is a long one, but (to our knowledge) the first full English-language account of the Xoundforce/Rock Empire dust-up that first hit the Chinese blogs a week ago. Hat tips to RockinChina and Weibo for alerting us to the original blog posts and our intrepid new Radar intern, Patrick Keefe, for doing the research and writing this piece. We welcome your comments!

Words: Patrick Keefe

For hundreds of Chinese heavy metal fans, the cancelling of Dream Theater’s April 25^th Beijing performance came as an emotionally devastating blow in what has become yet another mishandling by local organizers. To vent their frustrations, Chinese fans took to Dream Theater’s online message board to vent their anger and sorrow. Begging for the band to pity their Chinese fans with a rescheduling of shows some users posted things such as “Please !!please don’t cancel the Beijing show!!All the fans in China are looking forward to this show!!! they have strong passion on real metal. and it’s nearly a miracle for China to have DT on stage.” Others used this forum to display their irritation with one user positing: “FUCK YOU ALL!you guy look down upon chinese fans!you just add another show in Japan but cancel BeiJing without reasons!Fuck off!China will never welcome you again…..”.

The collective outrage by Chinese fans towards their music idols soon pored over to the concerts’ organizers Xoundforce and Guitar China. In their press release, Dream Theater stated that both Xoundforce and Guitar China were unable to produce visas for the band to enter the country. Since this statement appeared, well known rock promoter Chen Xi (陈曦) (CEO of Mort productions) has come out publically via blog post detailing accounts of ruthless swindling of company funds and gross mismanagement by both Xoundforce and Guitar China. In an attempt to expose the shadiness of these two companies, Chen Xi has also (unbeknownst to him) provided new revelations into the riskiness involved with doing business with uncouth music promoters in China.

Continue reading →

Music Matters is a week away

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin

Music Matters has become Asia Matters and now includes a Digital and Gaming component. All 3 events will be held in the Ritz Carlton in Singapore across the course of next week.

Although the programme has diversified and perhaps feels a little overwhelming, and a move to Singapore in 2011 has definitely altered its focus towards South East Asia (and away from China), the organizers have taken a big step forward with the list of speakers and contributors at Music Matters the most heavyweight group ever to make the event. If you are interested in Music in Asia, this is definitely worth considering. From AEG Live’s global President John Meglen to Lady Gaga’s Manager Troy Carter, to high level executives from the worlds of sports, advertising and digital tech, there is something here for everyone.

There is the return of the sometimes anaemic Music Matters live with a showing of bands from SE Asia, Australia and Canada. White+ are China’s sole representatives, which is a shame, but understandable. It’s an expensive trip for most of China’s artists.

We’ll be there repping the worlds of festivals (JUE | Music + Art, Black Rabbit), bands (Split Works) and brands (Splatter) in China. If you’d like to meet up, reach out through the comments.

Blog hiatus because of massive Black Rabbit Festie and TransmitCHINA work overload

Posted on August 29, 2011 by admin

Last week we only managed one post. That’s the worst week we’ve had for quite a while.

Reason being is because our company – Split Works – has taken on quite a lot of work over this next month.

September 14-16: we are hosting the TransmitCHINA Creative Industries summit near Beijing. The pitch is that we are getting 150 thought leaders and influences to Commune at the Great Wall to discuss the issues with and solutions to Creative Industries, particularly with respect to China. The list of speakers and delegates is pretty impressive (even if we do say so ourselves). It will be a killer couple of days.

TransmitCHINA 2011 @ Commune at the Great Wall

September 17: we will be in Beijing hosting the first of two legs of the Black Rabbit Festival. It’s headlined by Thirty Seconds to Mars, Ludacris and Hebe (Shanghai only) and supported by OPPO Real phones. It’s the deepest international lineup of any festival to come to China and you might know artists such as Titus Andronicus, Gold Panda, Mount Kimbie, 120 Days etc. They are playing with the some of the most awesome of domestic talent: PK14, Uprooted Sunshine, Nanwu etc. and if you like any those artists, you should definitely pitch up.

September 18: We’re doing the same as above in Shanghai. From about 7pm, we will be letting our hair down (we hope) so come join us for a some booze and great music……

China Music Radar

An insider's look at the music industry in China

Category Archives: Music Industry discussion