We here at the Radar made a new year resolution to read more, and in the first few weeks of 2016, we’ve seen a steady surge in books, articles, reports and news updates living on our nightstand, saved to our online bookmarking services, or sitting on our browser tabs begging to be read.
So once a month, we’re going to go on a link-gathering expedition and bring you updates from around the web on what’s happening. Almost everything related to the Chinese Music Industry, of course, though some more tangentially than others.
This month, we have stories on the EDM juggernaut, the early 1990s in Chinese Rock, and some music with your coffee, perhaps?
Live concert streaming is taking off in China
TechNode
A comprehensive overview of all the big moves from all the key players. LeTV claims 200 million views for their concert streams in 2015, and a huge number of companies are getting in on the game, ranging from online video sites (Youku, iQiyi, Tencent Video), music streaming services (Tencent’s QQ Music, Kugou, NetEase Cloud Music, Yinyuetai), social services (YY, Momo), gameplay broadcasting services (Douyu TV, Longzhu), conventional music labels and promoters (Modern Sky Entertainment, YEMA), to newly established startups (Panda TV).
Pete Tong Shares 8 Observations for the Future of Electronic Music in Asia
THUMP | VICE
The headline is a bit misleading, since these observations come from executives and speakers at the International Music Summit (IMS) rather than Pete Tong himself. Some nuggets that rung true to us:
- “Artists just aren’t making the effort to break through in China. You need a localized approach if you want to break through. Localize. Collaborate. Adapt.”
- “Creating a scene is about creating a community. It has to bond organically. It’s time for Asia to start creating label scenes and bring people to work together.” – This has, of course, been happening already for a long time with small, independent DIY outfits, but not at the ‘industry’ level that would make IMS notice.
While the overall thrust of these ‘observations’ is welcome, it is also bizarre that IMS speakers are calling out the region for its “outdated penchant for EDM”, when this is precisely the main kind of music culture they’re pushing heavily. See, for instance, the EDM-heavy collaboration they started with A2 Live in China last year. Not many non-Top 100 names on there.
Over the Dateline: 2016 Preview
Pangbianr
Year-in-review articles are still pouring in from all corners of the web, trying to make sense of a complex, conflicted 2015. Here’s our own take, in case you missed it.
The folks at Pangbianr, however, are already looking forward. This 2016 review is a fantastic overview of what to expect from the avant-garde and experimental scenes in China, and from some of the new ‘tastemaker’ labels we’ve talked about in the last month.
The 1990s Archives Part III: School of Rock
Leap Art Magazine
This piece from the Leap Art Magazine contains some astonishing (and rare!) photos of early 1990s Chinese Rock, the heyday of figures like Cui Jian and bands like Mayday and The Fly.
Starbucks is now serving Spotify music recommendations with your coffee
The Next Web
“When you use the Starbucks app at one of 7,500 participating branches in the US, you’ll now be able to discover tracks being played in-store and add them to your existing Spotify playlists.
Every week, Starbucks will highlight emerging and established artists for you to check out, as well as offering playlists curated by the wider company, plus its best-loved tracks of the past 20 years.
You can also ‘Love’ songs in the app that you’d like to be added to your local shop’s playlist.”
Kind of weird, kind of cool? We’d be curious (and a tad terrified) to see how this would work in China.