PRChina's Journal (original) (raw)

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26th September 2011

0klman @ 10:52pm: Black Rabbit - An Autumn Musical Feast

Black Rabbit Festival, as the first Chinese Bi-city music festival, was held last weekend in Beijing and Shanghai. Nearly 30 bands and artists joined the festival, including both top international and domestic bands, providing music fans from all over the world with a brilliant music show.
One of the most eye-catching performances was Hanggai, a band from Mongolia. They wore Mongolian costumes, and they used many different instruments, ranging from Mongolian, to electronic guitar, bass, etc. They combined Mongolian music and rock music in a perfect way. Starting with a song dedicated to Genghis Khan, they immediately caught all the attention. The vocalist brought us several songs that are related to grassland in an extremely passionate way, and he also said that it reminded him of his hometown when he saw the grassland, blue sky, clouds, and breeze here in suburban shanghai. The exquisite guitar skills, enthusiastic singing style of the vocalist and guitarist, and the deep and exotic voice of the matouqinist were all very impressive. And as usual, they were drinking beer while giving the show.
Hebe, the beautiful singer from Taiwan, was on stage afterwards. She totally overthrew her usually calm and sweet image by crazily dancing and shaking her orange hair while singing a Beatles song. Different from other indie music artists playing here, Hebe belongs to the league of mainstream pop singers. She also encouraged her fans to pay more attention to Chinese indie music. She gave her fans a great show and sang eleven songs in a row. As a tribute to Hebe, her song called 'Love' was performed in a remixed version by DJ Otakrew on the adjacent NBA STREET JAM stage.
More info: http://china.musicdish.com/

10th September 2011

0klman @ 9:39pm: South-East Asia Absolute Indie Compilation

Music Services Asia is thrilled to announce the release of the South-East Asian Absolute Indie Compilation, featuring many electrifying indie and alternative acts from the South-East Asian region.
Curated by 5 promoters from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore, SEA Absolute Indie highlights the strengths of the region and its export potential. The compilation will be distributed in stores and on iTunes from October 18th, 2011.
Music Services Asia, along with procuring the best upcoming music in the South-East Asian region, extends their warmest welcome to two prolific international bands, Deerhoof and Dr. Dog (USA).
The compilation will be released under Valleyarm Digital Music Distribution in the lead-up to the groundbreaking debut of UpToTheSky Festival organized by Figure8 Agency and The Secret Agents/Ruangrupa, to be held in Singapore and Jakarta from December 3rd-5th, 2011.
Links:
Video teaser: http://ow.ly/6pypO
Website: http://musicservices.asia

26th August 2011

0klman @ 11:46am: Rock Naadam on C1 TV - Boys Climbing Ropes and Moon Tyrant

In July 2011, Shanghai local rock bands Boys Climbing Ropes, The Horde and Moon Tyrant went to Ulaanbaatar and Darkhan, Mongolia to perform for the first Rock Naadam tour. The tour, which brought China-based bands to Mongolia for the first time, followed with dates in Ningbo, Nanjing and Shanghai featuring great Mongolian rock bands A-Sound and The Lemons. That tour was unique in that it not only drew more fans to Mogolian rock music, but also served as an exchange with China's rock scene.
On July 8th, Boys Climbing Ropes and Moon Tyrant performed on "The Big Break" TV show in Mongolia's nationwide channel C1 TV that has become well known for broadcasting music performances. Here are two video clips from the show, in which Moon Tyrant and Boys Climbing Ropes were playing.
Read more at http://china.musicdish.com/

24th August 2011

0klman @ 1:30pm: Taiwan's Mavis Fan Follows Her Own Yellow Brick Road

While my recent trip to Taiwan could only be described as a crash-course in the country's music sector, I had had the pleasure to see Fan Xiaoxuan, aka Mavis Fan, perform a year earlier at MIDEM with her band 100%. I immediately became a fan of the "Little Witch of Music" for her ability to straddle pop and rock influences and spot-on vocals into a seamless high-energy sounds.
Mavis has come a long way though and climbed many hurdles to arrive where she is today. Thrust into fame in the mid-90s as a "sweet girl" pop star for the children's market, her records sold over a million copies each, maker her an idol for an entire generation of children. But as happens with so many young pop star, she faced a crisis of following her typecast role or venturing off to follow her own voice. Luckily for us, this Dorothyesque singer chose to chart her own unique (and some times muddy) path down the yellow brick road as you'll see from this video.
By Eric de Fontenay
Read more at http://china.musicdish.com/

18th August 2011

0klman @ 12:23pm: Fix You - Music Matters for Japan

Not many people can forget March 11, 2011, when an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck off the east coast of Japan, creating a tsunami which caused massive devastation and loss of life. But In the worst of times, the best of humanity often makes an appearance. This was definitely the case when, during the 6th annual Music Matters conference/festival which was held in Singapore in May, 49 artists from 18 countries came together to give of themselves to raise funds for relief efforts. In just 36 hours, a song for Japan was conceptualized and completed from start to finish. All proceeds from the track, their rendition of Coldplay's "Fix You," featuring an all-star ensemble, has now been released globally, directly benefiting the Japanese Red Cross & Peace Boat.
The video is a strong reminder to us all than man is at his best when nature is at its worst, and that hope, love, and goodwill cannot be shattered. Individuals can donate directly at http://www.jrc.or.jp/eq-japan2011/
or http://peaceboat.jp/relief/

5th August 2011

0klman @ 3:26pm: MusicDish*China Launches Music Video Competition For Chinese Bands

MusicDish*China announced the launch of a new music video competition for independent Chinese artists and bands. Open to bands from the mainland, Hong Kong/Macau as well as Taiwan and Singapore, the competition will offer them the opportunity to have their videos promoted on the MusicDishTV platform as well as by Chinese music portal Sohu (http://tv.sohu.com/music/). Bands can enter the competition at http://china.musicdish.com/musicdishtv/
"I originally launched MusicDish*China after having been exposed to the vibrant indie music scene in China, particularly Beijing," said MusicDish*CHina founder Eric de Fontenay. "Now we have an opportunity to share the best of that talent with music fans across the world with this competition."
Running between August 2-24, four winning music videos will be selected for online promotion campaign through MusicDishTV, which has promoted over 300 music videos through video sharing platforms, social networks, web communities and blogs, as well as featured and promoted on Sohu's music video portal.

2nd August 2011

0klman @ 6:14pm: "Ocean Midi Festival 2011" Coming Soon!

China's No.1 outdoor music festival Midi Festival continues to spread music and dreams across the nation. From August 4th to 7th, the Ocean Midi Festival will be held at the Olympic Water Park in Rizhao, Shandong Province! Midi is touring in Beijing, Shanghai, Rizhao and Zhenjiang this year - this frequency has broken the record amongst any music festival brand in China!
The upcoming Ocean Midi Festival has not only invited such leading characters in China's rock world as Cui Jian, He Yong and Tangchao; it will also feature some of China's hottest new bands like Miserable Faith, Brain Failure and Twisted Machine. In addition, the reknowned 2008 Mercury Prize nominee British Sea Power will also rock the Midi on August 5th. Meanwhile, some famous Chinese folk singers including Zhang Weiwei, Guo Long, Chuan Zi, Zhou Yunpeng, Hao Yun as well as bands from Hongkong and Taiwan will also join the stage.
Apart from the rock stages, this Ocean Midi Festival will also set up an e-stage! Midi Festival is the first music festival in China to ever include an electronic music stage. This year, more than 30 artists from the best electro bands in Beijing and Shanghai will gather at Midi. Techno, House, Drum &Bass, Funky, Electro, Dubstep... The various styles demonstrate the fast development of China's local musicians and predict the explosion as a trend of electronic music in China.

22nd July 2011

0klman @ 3:22pm: Chinese Songwriters Are Mad and They Ain't Going To Take It Anymore

A fair amount of fuss was made regarding Music Copyright Society of China's (MCSC) announcement that it had reached an licensing agreement with Baidu, China's top online infringer of copyrights. MCSC even announced that they had received their first royalty payment from China's largest search engine (Yes, Baidu is like merging Google with the old Napster). Finally, a major breakthrough that should please everyone, especially Chinese songwriters, right?
Not quite. On the same day MCSC made their announcement, famous chinese songwriter and producer Xiaosong Gao posted an open letter on his sina blog titled "A letter to my colleagues of the Chinese Songwriters Copyright Alliance." He was joined by several songwriters such as Xiao Ke and Yadong Zhang in launching the Chinese Songwriters Copyright Alliance (CSCA) a couple of days earlier to fight the egregious copyright infringement by Baidu and negotiate on behalf of songwriters not represented by MCSC. Within days, CSCA soon attracted hundreds of new members.
Xiaosong Gao established MaiTian Music, which used to be China's largest record label, and now lives in the Los Angeles where he works in film and music sector. He also served as Director of Entertainment for SOHU.com, one of the most popular portals in China. So Gao certainly has a stake in what happens in China on the copyright front, the credibility to speak out and understanding of China's online market.
By Eric de Fontenay
this article was co-written with Xingyue Peng

13th July 2011

0klman @ 4:50pm: CAVA Discusses The State Of China's Music Industry At Digital Music NY

On June 22nd, Digital Music NY hosted representatives from the China Audio Video Association (CAVA) to discuss the changing music and copyright environment in China at South Street Seaport's RED. MusicDish*China founder Eric de Fontenay was joined by the Administrative VP Mr. Ju Wang and Deputy Chairman Bill Zang, who is also the Chairman of the China Music Industry Committee (CMIC), VP of Shanghai Synergy Culture & Entertainment Group (SSCEG) and President of a-Peer Synergy. The event brought together people from all sides of the music industry such as lawyer, music producer, record label company, artists and students interested in China's music market.
Responding to the potential and difficulties of China's market, Mr. Zang noted that while China Mobile's annual income generated from music is over than 15 billion RMB, yet content owners have barely received 100 million RMB in royalties. There is clearly a growing market driven by widespread mobile penetration (over 950 million subscribers) and popularity of services like ringback tones (or 'color tones' as they are referred to in China), but this is for naught if there is not a more equitable distribution of the revenues.
Read More At http://china.musicdish.com/

7th July 2011

0klman @ 3:42pm: Rock Band IO - Making The Leap From Canada To Taiwan

I had the opportunity to sit down with the members of IO, a Taiwan indie band originally formed in Vancouver, Canada. The band relocated to Taiwan because it is "the launchpad for music in China and central focus of Chinese media."
IO admits that, "Musically speaking, the culture in Taiwan is very different. The way we speak, the content that we speak of, and the way we express ourselves onstage is very different than the way we'd do it in Vancouver. But our music is a merging of the Canadian and Taiwanese styles. When you perform in Vancouver, they clap for you no matter what - it's all about how well you sing and play. The way Chinese people look at music is less about the sound and more about how the content affects that body and emotions. You must connect with them with your message. The fans are much more demanding in Taiwan, which keeps us thinking and strategizing more for the crowd."
"We used to write songs that we thought was cool, but now we write more things that our fans can identify with, and then begin incorporating other elements that we like. Our goal is to bring more of the Vancouver sound to the people here in Taiwan, and we hope that it will one day be cool here too." IO is also keeping an eye on the pop scene in Malaysia, which is still playing mostly 90's pop.
By Eric De Fontenay
Read More at http://china.musicdish.com/

30th June 2011

0klman @ 3:26pm: PlanetRox Hong Kong China FINAL

We are delighted to announce that these FIVE bands are now in the finals of Planetrox China:
Shotgun Politics
Noughts and Exes
Retox'D
Eli
The3Think
ONE of these five bands will win this “once in a lifetime” opportunity to fly to Quebec, Canada in September 2011 to participate in Envol et Macadam Alternative Music festival. This festival has been running for over 15 years and in 2011, some of the headlining acts including Rise Against and Flogging Molly.
PlanetRox China Final 2011
Saturday 9th July 2011
Backstage, 1/F., 52-54 Wellington st. Central
10pm – 1am
HK$120 (including one beer)
Special guests: F.B.I.
More information, please view the facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111308065620217&view=wall

17th June 2011

0klman @ 2:31pm: Music Distributor 88tc88 Sells Music On All Of China's Mobile Carriers

Digital music distributor 88tc88 (88tc88.com) announced the addition of China Unicom to the list of mobile outlets it services in China. With the agreement, 88tc88 now delivers independent music to all of China's 950+ million mobile subscribers. The company also announced the first statements from China Mobile and China Telekom, providing its customers accurate and transparent figures for ringtone, caller ringback tone, mastertone and full track sales, individually and bundled as a subscription.
"Our agreement with China Unicom enables us to not only provide our customers full coverage of China's mobile carriers, but importantly, China's growing iPhone subscriber base, now estimated at over 4 million," noted 88tc88 co-founder Thomas Reemer. "Being able to add China to the global digital distribution map is an achievement we at 88 are very proud of accomplishing." China Unicom is the only carrier in China offering the iPhone with a service contract.
Join the Chinese Cultural Evolution, get your music understood (lyric translations), heard, appreciated, (and bought) by over a billion people hungry for international music.
Contact Info:
Eric de Fontenay
chinasounds@musicdish.com

16th June 2011

0klman @ 3:07pm: Tizzy Bac Interview: A Cross-Cultural Music Exchange

Formed in 1999, the Taiwan indie band Tizzy Bac has gained lots of attention for their unique music style. The three young and ambitious music lovers decided to start their "piano rock" style despite the fact that guitarists were ruling the indie scene at the time.
Fast forward to 2011 and Tizzy Bac recently returned from performing at the SXSW festival in the US. SXSW was a great experience for Tizzy Bac as they met and mixed it up with indie bands from various countries and backgrounds. But it merely whet their appetite for something even bigger in the future - their first US tour, calling the possibility "a unique and precious opportunity."
Although most audiences coming for their show were Chinese, some westerners were also there, which was quite noticeable. Unlike the Chinese audiences who had already known their music before the show, the westerners were purely drawn there by curiosity or what little buzz there was for "Taiwan Rocks SXSW." Tizzy Bac believes that their appeal for American fans lies in their merging of music and cultures. They feel that music is an international language that everyone can speak, and it doesn't matter whether it's in Mandarin or English, as long as it's good. "I remember at the SXSW festival, there were several foreigners watching our show. We can tell that the were captivated by our music from the expression and smile on their faces."
Interviewed by Eric de Fontenay
http://china.musicdish.com/

13th June 2011

0klman @ 1:11pm: China's Major Online Music Providers Form Industry Association

The first instance of an industry-coordinating organization of online music operators and online music content providers – The Alliance of the Digital Music Industry (ADMI) – was established in Beijing. China Records Corporation, Shanghai Synergy Group, Ocean Butterflies International, Yuehua Music, Rock Mobile, Chia Tai Music Group and other content providers, QQ.com, Top100, A8, Baidu and other online and related businesses, and China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom operators became launch member organizations. Mr. Li Xiong, Director of the Cultural Market Division for the Ministry of Culture of the PRC, attended and gave a speech.
At the inaugural meeting, the first batch of more than 20 member organizations issued the "Digital Music Industry Declaration" and jointly signed the "Alliance of the Digital Music Industry Convention" committing jointly to comply with the basic principles of "abiding by the laws and regulations, implementation of genuine, insistence on original, and orderly operations." The purpose of this would be to establish mechanisms for the healthy development of the online music industry, specify industry business behaviors, and together promote and protect the healthy development of the digital music industry in accordance with the law. Also in the Convention, the production of legal industry products, regulation of the industry’s competitive system, encouragement of more original works, and the handling of internal industry disputes, and many other issues were agreed to.
http://china.musicdish.com/

10th June 2011

0klman @ 5:41pm: CEEA White Paper on Intellectual Property (Film And Audiovisual Industry)

The China Enterprise Evaluation Association (CEEA) recently organized an event in Beijing for the release of its "White Paper on Intellectual Property (film and audiovisual industry)". The aim of the research was to examine the state of intellectual property and copyright protection issues, while offering recommendations to China's film and audio-visual industry, based in part on international experience of property rights. Notably, the event was attended by trade associations such as the Music Copyright Society of China, China Audio & Video Association, and the Film Copyright Society of China.
The white paper found that, despite some recent efforts by the Chinese government to address relevant IP laws and regulations, piracy rates remained a consistent problem, with rates estimated as high as 50%. While western organizations such as the IIPA and MPAA have focused much of their concerns on online piracy, the white paper noted the important role that hotels, KTVs (karaoke), schools, libraries and other institutions played in driving the infringement of audiovisual copyrighted material. Such piracy not only depress movie box office sales and television viewership, they stunt the development of the legitimate audio-visual market and hamper innovation in the sector.
While some of the white paper's recommendations are predictable (such as strengthening law enforcement), others are worth noting, such as "strengthening the basic construction and formation of an effective intellectual property management system." We in the West take our copyright system for granted, not being mindful of the fact that it has been built up and revamped over the last 100 years and is not something that can be created overnight. It may not be perfect and is subject to criticism, but it is a known commodity, with well-established procedures and rules to follow if you want to, for example, use music in a video project. The painful fact is that the same cannot be said of China.
By Eric de Fontenay
More at http://china.musicdish.com/

6th June 2011

0klman @ 2:20pm: La Fete de la Musique Shanghai 2011 - Opening Concert

One of my favorite musical experiences while living in Toulouse, France was la Fete de la Musique (Make Music). Held annually in June throughout France (and now the world), the day is an open platform for any band/musician to hit the streets and perform for eager crowds - all for free!
China's first edition of la Fête de la Musique was held in Shanghai to coincide with the World Expo to rave reviews from the media and fans alike. This year's second edition will run throughout Sunday June 19th, with an opening concert on Saturday the 18th. Held at 800 Show from 4-11PM in partnership with Shanghai-based label Zhu Lu He Feng, the opening concert will feature an impressive line-up of French and Chinese acts, including:
Moonrock (Folk/Jazz/Shoegaze) - 4pm to 4.30pm
An Lai Ning (Folk) - 4.45pm to 5.15pm
Joyce Jonathan (Pop-Folk / Acoustic) - 5.45pm to 6.45pm
Sonnet (Indie Rock) - 7pm to 7.40pm
Yu Guo (Pop Rock) - 8pm to 9pm
CURRY & COCO (Electro-Pop) - 9.20pm to 10.20pm
R3 (DJ) - 10.20pm to 11pm

2nd June 2011

0klman @ 10:57am: Venue Change: Pet Conspiracy Album Release Party At Tango 3F

Come celebrate the end of the human race with the release of Pet Conspiracy's long-awaited first full-length album on June 4th, 2011. Due to the recent closing of Yugong Yishan, the Pet Consipracy album release party will be held at Tango 3F (formerly Star live, 79 Hepingli Xijie, Dongcheng district).
Join the Pets and their friends for an alchemical synthesis of sounds, lights and creepy puppets, This is not just music, not just performance. This is not creation... it's just destruction!
The catastrophe is final. Don't be afraid. The Pets are back!
Sponsored by We are not invited (France)

25th April 2011

0klman @ 5:08pm: 'Tis The Season For Rock 'n' Roll With Midi Festivals

The 2011 Midi Festival will start in Beijing, the capital city that has witnessed the birth and twelve years growth of this festival, from April 30th to May 2nd. The festival will be held in Jing Langdao Park in the Mentougou district in west suburbs of Beijing. The performance list for Beijing Midi this year has created a new record, including hundreds of well-known rock bands from both China and abroad.
The legendary American hard rock band Mr. Big will make its first debut in China. Emerged in the late 80s, Mr. Big held its unique style among the hard rock bands. They not only excelled in various extremely technical fast-beat songs, but also whined with their melodic adagios. Their singles 'To Be With You' and 'Wild World' have become the must-listen introductory songs for Chinese rock 'n' roll youth. Mr. Big is sure to arouse nostalgic choruses with their performance in Beijing Midi on May 1st and Shanghai Midi on May 6th.
More at http://china.musicdish.com/

21st February 2011

0klman @ 11:53am: Japanese Bands Rock Out In Hong Kong On 11th March 2011

Shazza Music is delighted to host the first Japan Rocks concert in Hong Kong.
The show will be held at Backstage on Friday 11th March. The show will comprise of four bands; one amazingly talented band from Tokyo and a female-led-vocalist-guitarist band from Osaka plus two of the coolest Japanese bands based in Hong Kong.
The Osaka band (Sawas Phool) won a competition (in Osaka!) and the Tokyo band (DonRef) won a competition (in Tokyo!) and this is all part of Shazza Music’s new band 'cooperation' concerts, with the first cooperation country being Japan. This cooperation is to gain a better understanding of each other’s city’s live music scene and to create more opportunities for bands to perform in each city.
Friday 11 March, 2011
@ Backstage, 1/F., 52-54 Wellington St. Central
10:00pm - 1:00am
HK$100

15th February 2011

0klman @ 1:18pm: Punk It! From Beijing To London

As the Amazing Insurance Salesmen (AIS) prepare to retain the Global Battle of the Bands (GBOB) trophy for China, video portal Niurenku 牛人库 unveiled a rockumentary that gives us an idea of what they may be going through. "Punk It! From Beijing to London" traces the story of how Beijing punk band RUSTIC clinched the 2009 GBOB world title that AIS will defend in Kuala Lampur on February 26th. We ad featured a prior Niurenku video of AIS' trek to Hong Kong to win the GBPB China title in November.
http://china.musicdish.com/

9th February 2011

0klman @ 12:26pm: Queen Sea Big Shark (Beijing) & Aphasia (Taipei) Head To SXSW

Modern Sky's Queen Sea Big Shark will be making a comeback to the States at the upcoming South by Southwest Conference and Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. Formed in 2005, the dance-rock/electro band is one of the veteran's from the Beijing indie scene that have been featured in major campaigns by Converse, Diesel, and Dell Computers.
Joining them from Asia is Taiwan's Aphasia. One of the most established bands in Taiwan's indie rock scene, Aphasia's latest album takes the listener on a sonic walk through the day in the life of a Taipei resident.
You can download tracks from both bands courtesy of IODA at http://iodasxsw.com/2011/sampler/
http://china.musicdish.com

1st February 2011

0klman @ 1:23pm: Thoughts About Taiwan Music And MIDEM

I am not yet very familiar with Taiwanese music, though I hope to find out more later. Some of what I want to say is fairly general and some is specific.
Clearly the first market to look at for Taiwanese music is mainland China and the Greater Chinese overseas market. I understand that Taiwan is already strong in these markets, but the problem in mainland China is the state of the market , where getting paid for the use of recorded music is a continuing problem.
I would just say that every effort should be made to encourage the authorities to find a way to monetise the use of music, which is consistent with consumer behaviour. I would encourage this effort to focus on the huge musical potential on the mainland and on the Taiwanese desire to engage with this development to help and stimulate it. But without sensible and reliable revenue sources for the use of recorded music, the domestic market will never achieve its potential. The developments in Taiwan are an example of the possibilities that open up for both creators and investors when there is a coherent market for recorded music.
By Peter Jenner
Read Full Article at http://china.musicdish.com

16th March 2005

dabizi @ 7:07am: what pay should I ask for work? Ok, my first post here.

I've been in China for over a year now, and my school just asked me to grade some papers for an essay writing class. What amount of money should I ask for this? Right now I'm charging 100-110 rmb per hour for spoken English teaching.

What should I ask for grading essays? Should I try to get a lump sum or some sort of hourly pay?

Some background if it helps: I've been in Tianjin China for a year with this school, and I have a bachelor's degree in Math/CS. I've done lots of extra work for this school in the past (but it is all spoken English). I'll be sharing this responsibility with two Chinese teachers, and we will split a poll of about 160 students evenly.

Thanks in advance!
Ken

31st December 2004

ataraxiaa @ 6:07pm: Chinese Hey all,

I went to Beijing, China this summer and whenever I went out or shopping, people would ask me whether I was Chinese or not. And thus, store owners would try to take advantage of me and give me outrageous prices. When I was on Xiu Shui Jie, this lady even called out to me in English and told me to come into her store. I am 100% Chinese, but I was born and raised in the US. I don’t know what it is… I can speak fluently in Chinese and I look Chinese (I think), but they are like “你的旗帜不像中国姑娘” and stuff. Not this coming semester, but next semester I am going to go to Beijing or Shanghai to study abroad. So how can you tell foreigners apart from Chinese people and how can I act to blend in more so I don’t get cheated? Thanks…

Current Mood: curious