Inspired by our friends over at Hypebot (things I hope for in the new music industry in 2011), we decided to put our own list together, Things We Hope For the Chinese Music Industry in the Year of the Rabbit. Rather than do it all ourselves (and take all the subsequent glory/ wrath), we enlisted the help of several of our fellow industry colleagues, trying to blend a good mix of indie and big, Chinese and Laowai.
This is what we came back with. Thanks to everyone for their contributions.
SHAN WEI, COO of the iconic Midi Festival
呵呵，我的两个2011期待是——
1）希望听到更多国内乐队创作的好专辑（是专辑，不是单曲或者EP。。。这两年好唱片实在是太少了）。
2）CCTV-1开始播出中国摇滚乐/音乐节的节目和新闻。
1. Hopes more Chinese bands will record good full-length albums (not singles, not EPs). There have been too few good albums in recent years.
2. CCTV-1 begins to broadcast programming and news related to Chinese rock music and music festivals.
GOUZI, GM of Beijing’s most popular live house, Yugong Yishan
希望2011年看到更多不同音乐风格的高质量演出在中国。 也希望有更多的中国音乐人走出国门，有机会展示自己并与国际音乐人交流。
1. Hopes that in 2011 there is more variety in genres of high-quality live shows in China
2. Hopes that more Chinese bands have a chance to tour outside of China to exhibit themselves and interact with international musicians.
ANONYMOUS from Beijing writes
1) A more level playing field in the distribution of revenues earned from music: The Baidus, Tencents, Sinas, Googles and China Mobiles of this world are simply making money off the traffic from music but little is going back to artists other than a select few.
2) More Chinese indie bands playing melodic pop: there’s an imbalance of too much attitude-driven indie rock currently
Michael Pettis, owner and founder of Maybe Mars record Label and D-22 live venue in Beijing
As for my wish list for 2011, its nothing dramatic because I think things are going quite well and on schedule, and I just want to see more of the same.
1. I hope interest in new and independent music continues spreading rapidly among young urban Chinese and not just in Beijing, Shanghai and a few other big cities. One of the problems we have in Beijing is that the music scene has grown so quickly that it actually is too big for the audience. It is still possible to pack 1000 people into Yugong Yishan to see PK14 and Carsick Cars, but most bands never get anywhere near that kind of audience. What’s worse, outside a few big cities, a great audience for a famous band might be just thirty people. This makes touring expensive and difficult for most musicians.
2. I think in the last five years music from young Chinese artists has been too dominated by a certain Beijing aesthetic. I think this is in part because the No Beijing crowd and their peers — Carsick Cars, Queensea Big Sharks, Ne Zha, Gar, Snapline, Hedgehog, White, the artists at Cult Youth, and so on — had such a sudden impact on the consciousness of creative young musicians that it became a little overwhelming. But more and more I see young musicians branching out, and I really hope scenes in Beijing and other cities start to develop stronger presences and their own sound in 2011. I am excited by the stuff Han Han is trying to do in Shanghai, for example, and by Zhu Wenbo’s “Zoomin'” crowd of 20-30 young, aggressive musicians many of whom are from Tianjin and who are developing a distinct abrasive and technology-driven Tianjin sound. I think Mr. Graceless and Rustic are two of the best young bands in China, but they sound like none of the older bands. I want more, more, more of this variety.
Morgan Short, editor of Shanghai’s greatest gossip column, bassist for Shanghai band Boys Climbing Ropes, DJ to the minuses – that’s him, back left
I’d like to see more locally-based infrastructure support for local bands and their recorded music, both in terms of retail and online outlets for produced CDs, as well as label support.
Just in regards to the latter: A lot of Shanghai bands these days are putting out recorded music on their own dime and promoting it themselves as best as they can to varying degrees of success. Even the most well-received and applauded local releases, though, don’t reach the audiences they could if they were actually backed by better retail and online outlets, and professional promotion entities (people dedicated to running labels) working with young bands to properly market their stuff. After a bit of (much appreciated) hype in local media, these CDs are just sort of released into a void and they don’t travel very far. There needs to be a stronger bridge between the bands producing recorded music and CDs, and larger audiences in Shanghai, in China and in the West.
So yeah, anyone qualified and dedicated and willing and to serve as that bridge — that’s something I’d like to see happen.
I think in Shanghai we’re starting to see the makings of it — respect to Andy’s Qu project, Lezi’s label and sporadic miniless stuff — but no one is running with it in an extensive way comparable to what goes on and what works in the west and even in Beijing.
And finally, China Music Radar
1. Oh that media again: we just want China’s mainstream media (particularly radio) to start feeding the people some good music. A move away from the cult of celebrity and towards the cult of meritocracy. Will it happen? Not quickly, for sure, but it will happen
2. Some of the gratuitous investment going into music festivals across the country actually stops for a moment and thinks about 2 things: a decent lineup and the consumer experience.
We’d love to hear what you want. Tell us. Now.
Enjoy this joyous Rabbit year.