Soooo, there seems to be a bit of a brouhaha over the Bob Dylan shows. We’ve commented quite a lot on this and now mainstream global media are getting their knickers in a twist about the whole thing. Did the Ministry of Culture deny approval for the shows; did the promoter do a shifty?
- Initial report (January 2010) HERE
- January update HERE
- March controversy HERE
- Attempted synopsis HERE
So now, AP and the Wall Street Journal are all over it. Shades of Bjork all over again (we really hope NOT). According to both, they have written confirmation from the Ministry of Culture confirming that the shows were never applied for. You can read the WSJ take HERE.
We’ve made our position fairly clear. These shows were fated from the start, given the amount of money rumored vs. the actual situation for big artists in China. Applications were likely never made because the shows were never sold into local promoters. It’s a mess and Broker Brothers have caused more problems for themselves by blaming Chinese censors.
An alternative view of a foreign media bashing the Chinese government from China Geeks HERE.