As the Chinese music scene starts getting real legs, brands are taking a look beyond the heady world of pop, and working with real musicians. It is a sign of the progress that has been made in recent years that the smart money is moving away from brand hoes like Wang Lee Hom and Shin, and moving towards less commercial musicians with longer shelf lives.
Converse brought it into sharp focus last summer with the Love Noise Tour. The brand spent a large chunk of their 2008 budget converting a bus into a proper tour bus and taking Beijing bands PK14 and Queen Sea Big Shark to 5 cities in 10 days. Conceived and executed by Split Works and W+K, the tour was a watershed for non-pop music in China. Converse are still supporting through partnerships with various festivals and extensive co-operation with Beijing label Maybe Mars and sister artist management company Sound Destruction.
Eno (started in Shanghai in 2006) is a streetwear brand that has been partnering with young Chinese bands and designers since the beginning. Their Shanghai HQ store has been hosting Shanghai’s up and coming bands for Saturday afternoon shows from the outset, with free beer accompanying the music. Obviously well capitalised, Eno has expanded to encompass 9 or so shops across China and there is talk of retail space in the USA shortly. The connection is deep and genuine, with artists benefitting both from the exposure and also from the money generated from t-shirt sales.
Ben Sherman (UK menswear brand) recently launched in China. The brand has always been associated with London and has its roots deep in London music heritage, particularly Mod culture. The Beijing flagship store recently engaged Taihe Rye artist Catcher in the Rye to play in their HQ mall. You can see photos HERE and the event link HERE.
Local Beijing brand Plastered is also getting in on the action. Plastered is an innovative t-shirt manufacturer based out of Beijing that use traditional Chinese iconography and twist it slightly. The result is often spectacular, and the t’s are getting international appeal – this lowly blogger spotted a random dude wearing a Plastered shirt at the main stage at Bestival (Isle of Wight, UK) in 2007. Plastered is doing a “festival” weekend over the weekend 18/19/20 September across D22 and Yugong Yishan, Beijing. Plastered will be offering one of the bands from the D22 night the chance to play alongside Maybe Mars bands Car Sick Cars, the Gar etc. in the bigger Yugong. They will also be giving away 100’s of tickets to the event. You can read more HERE.
Wrangler Jeans recently sponsored Indiechina’s 3-city tour featuring many good indie Chinese bands: Wang Wen, Pentatonic, Torte Bus, Bojii, oNEwAY, 48v and so on. After each show, Indiechina gave away Wrangler T-shirts to people from the audience.
The skinny? Well, the fact that smaller brands (and no, they are not all apparel brands) are backing these bands and artists in ever increasing numbers means that the big brands won’t be far behind. These brands are laying the foundations for entrenched relationships with these musicians, who are already influencing a new generation of kids to pick up samplers and axes and express themselves beyond their peers. There is a revolution starting and brands would do well to appreciate it.