And so another piece falls into place.
At the end of last year there was talk at the EARS on Shanghai conference of MAO (the long-running Beijing and Shanghai livehouse brand) looking to expand.
At a very traditional-looking press conference today, these dreams became a reality. Whether the ethos, the lifestyle, and the grime of the venue itself will travel to these parts with the brand is another question, but these new venues, if managed right, will provide an important platform for aspiring domestic artists, and of course, promoters.
Our correspondent reports that new venues will open in:
Beijing #2 – in/near 五棵松 (where the MasterCard Centre is)
Chongqing – near 日月光广场
*Chengdu
Hangzhou (near the site for Westlake / 西湖 Festival
Kunming – this is a merger between PRO livehouse and MAO.
**Xi’an
These two are yet to be confirmed.
They will begin opening from the start of 2015, and are backed by世纪乐梦文化传媒有限公司 (Previous investors of MAO) and 华熙 (Hua Xi, the main investors for the Wu Ke Song Mastercard centre.
Our correspondent also noted that nobody from MAO Beijing nor Modern Sky was present.
[UPDATE]
- Hangzhou site will just at the West Lake/西湖, not near the West Lake / Xi Hu Music Festival site).
- Beijing # 2, 五棵松: English name is Wukesong
- Century Music Dream Culture Media, Ltd. (世纪乐梦文化传媒有限公司)
- 华熙 – English name is: Bloomage International Investment
- Chongqing 日月光广场 – English name is: ASE Centre Square