An interesting article about the extra difficulties of being an artist in Shanghai. Includes an interview with Yan Yang of Mao Livehouse that goes a little like this:
Mao Livehouse, one of Shanghai’s few live music venues, has also taken chances while flying under the radar. Earlier this year, in fact, the notoriously lewd singer Peaches performed at the venue and the show went off without a hitch. Now, however, Mao will have to be more careful: it was actually courted by officials in the district of Luwan, a section of central Shanghai, to move to a new space in the same building that houses the district government offices. Yan Yang, Mao’s floppy-haired manager, agreed because the space is bigger than his current one and he’s so far had a good relationship with the Luwan officials. “The government wants to develop culture in Luwan,” he says. “We just have to ensure the artists we invite are very clean. We have to choose carefully.”