The Bjork Backlash II – Shanghai changes the rules

So, the government meetings following Bjork’s outburst at the beginning of March are continuing. The following is a summary of a report on the behind-closed-doors discussion on March 18:

Additional measures (not yet approved) from SH Cultural Bureau re foreign performers in China:

1. Organizers must sign additional guarantees that performers will not comment on political issues from stage, etc.
2. A 50% of the total potential box office must be paid as a deposit on the show to the Cultural Bureau. Should performers break the law, this deposit will be retained by the government. Additional fines may be levied.
3. Artist performances will be closely monitored to conform to the government pre-approved set-lists.
4. Artists will not be allowed an unapproved encore.

This will make it a whole lot harder for us, particularly number 2. For bigger shows, this may be near to impossible…

UPDATE

P2Pnet recently picked up some of our Bjork Backlash ruminations, including a couple CMR quotes in an article titled, “The Bjork Effect, echoing still.” A heated (and at times vitriolic) discussion ensued in the comments thread. We’ve posted some of the more colourful comments below.

5 Responses to “The Bjork Effect, echoing still”

1. Mostly Harmless Says:
   March 26th, 2008 at 11:15 am

This story is so full of hypocritical doublespeak it makes my head swim. The Chinese Government is an oppressive dictatorial regime. THEIR position is completely indefensible, right along with the money grubbing promoter who would try to defend them. It is plainly obvious that this guy sees his cash cow as being threatened. I do not believe for a second that the government of China wishes to move towards a more open, free society. If they are loosening up at all, it is out of economic necessity and the wish to appear so, all the while maintaining the tightest of grips on Chinese public perception, opinion, and behavior through brutal oppression, censorship, and propaganda. Is government sanitized art going to bring anything to the Chinese people other than some lite entertainment, and most notably, wads of filthy lucre for those slimy enough to take it? To me this promoter, and ironically the artists who take the gigs are on par with the companies that did business with the Third Reich during WWII. At least Bjork spoke out, if you can call it that.

1. China Music Radar Says:
   March 27th, 2008 at 2:08 am

@Mostly Harmless

As the guy with a “cash cow”, I think you should try to be a promoter before you wax lyrical about something you know nothing about. My company has currently “invested” (i.e. lost) considerable amounts of money bringing good, influential bands to China. We are here because we believe that the power of music can help this country to develop in a positive way. We work with environmental organisations in an attempt to increase knowledge amongst the Chinese of all the harm that they are doing to our planet. We invest significant amount of ticket revenues into the migrant worker communities (if you don’t know about migrant communities, you have no right to comment on what’s happening in China) and we are doing our best to make China a nicer place to live.

You do not believe that the government wishes to open up? This may be true, but what when the next generation (who will have been exposed to these positive influences) get into power? Perhaps they will want to change things for the better because they know better. Or what happens when the middle class increase their clamour for freedom of speech and choice? We help this process in a very small way…

Do you think Western sanctions will work here? China owns the USA, so the world’s most powerful country does not actually have a particularly powerful bargaining position. We are arguing that Bjork’s actions were ill thought out and will benefit no-one but herself. The Chinese here don’t know or care what she said…

So please wind your neck in before you accuse any of us of working with the likes of the 3rd Reich again…