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I’ve been speaking to one indie band who are second tier Glastonbury headliners. Their management
thinks that they can do five thousand tickets in China, but to do that here you have to be a tier one pop
star. That is why I’m almost in tears about how much bands like The Pet Shop Boys and Jamiroquai are
going to lose.
How do you think the big artists that are due to come to Shanghai in the future will fair? I remember November
2008, the Kylie/Kanye debacle; the industry collapsed after that. Kanye came and played Beijing and
Shanghai, both ten thousand seat arenas, I think they sold under a thousand for each show. Kylie played
Hongkou stadium, sold about three thousand tickets, and both of those promoters basically went under.
I think that something similar is going to happen over the next three months. All the ticket prices are
$100 - $300. I read that 6% of Chinese families have an income of between $16,000 and $34,000. 2%
have a family income of more than that. So a $250 ticket is something that only the very well-off can
afford, and how many of those 2-4% have heard of bands like Aerosmith, Jamiroquai or The Pet Shop
Boys? All of these acts, from Tony Bennett to Metallica are pulling on a similar demographic, and I just
can’t see anything but pain. I think that Bieber and Metallica will do well but the rest are bloodbaths.
There will be a lot of free tickets around. As a promoter it’s a horrible thing to say but, don’t buy!
Where do you see Chinese music in ten years in an ideal world? And where do you actually think it will be?
I think to predict anything in China over a decade is kind of futile, I don’t mean to bomb you out
completely! But that does shine a spotlight on how challenging doing any kind of business here is. I can
see in a lot of cases why the short-term mentality exists here because I rarely see anyone, from band
manager to band, to brand manager or agency, looking long term.
? Also changes in China are so rapid. By some estimates there are going to be a billion urban residents
here by 2025. How do you plan for that shit? Our little thing, entertainment, is such a tiny speck in
the grand scheme of things. I think the one thing I can say is that if it does keep going the
way it has been, and that’s a big if, people are going to get richer. And as people get
richer, ironically they work less and so entertainment becomes more important.
? So assuming it’s going to keep heading in this direction, there’s going to be
massive variety; more festivals, more live houses and the streaming services
might actually settle on a model to monetize music for musicians in different
ways than just playing festivals and live shows. I think that will happen
because people like money, especially here because very recently people
didn’t have enough food to feed their families. I think it will be bumpy,
but I think the bumps will create better music.
? Music suits the mood of the masses, so when people are happy and
optimistic you get that RnB, soft rock type of thing where everyone is
singing about money, Krystal and cars. Then when things are shitty you get
that angry kind of punk, metal and hard-core. This is happening in the West
now and I’m really looking forward to it happening in China. I’m looking
forward to musicians here standing up and being the agents of change. I’m
looking forward to China taking a look at itself and going back to it’s roots,
remembering that society is important and that people need to look after each
other.
•
Split Works are organising the Wood + Wires festival – for more details
on this see SHANGHAI247.NET
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