I’m getting paranoid importing from YouTube because of the tags they introduce, and tags might be one of the reasons it takes me hours to get a compose screen on Vox. However, this one came up on demand, which is a relief.
   I showed this to my neighbourhood yesterday, but as the YouTube one is public, I have no problems sharing it more widely. It was my TV appearance last month on CTV, with Angela and Megan on Good Living. This was not networked, but it was very fun to do. The set reminded me a bit of the Good Morning one at Avalon, except I got one thing that I was promised but never got: a subtitle with both my and Lucire’s names.

Megan & Angela are joined by Jack Yan, Judge of Cup Day 09, 11/11/09

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By Eric de Fontenay (Founder & Publisher) (more articles from this author) 2009-11-19

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Subsequent to my trip to Hong Kong last June for Music Matters, Dirt Star (a musician based out of Shenzhen in southern China) and I connected through Twitter. I quickly became interested in this Western expat who started from scratch as a one-man band, utilizing a modified acoustic guitar with built-in midi controller for rocking beats in sync with Ableton Live. Over time, he became a jack-of-all-trades, playing in a number of bands, including a stint as an electronic DJ, as guitarist and lead singer for an indie rock band, a street performer, an electronic jazz artist. He's even performed pop songs before live audiences of over 20,000. Dirt Star now performs in a 3-piece punk rock and has shared stages with some of the biggest names in alternative music, including the Dirty Three, Feeder, the Rheostatics, and China's biggest diva, Faye Wong.

Dirt Star recently released his latest project called "On The Street", a collection of nine electronic-garage-punk-rock songs. The English language album is a departure from his debut album, "The Score", which featured songs in both Mandarin and English.

So how did you end up in Shenzhen, China?

I'm originally from North America, but I'm an adventurer at heart, and love to discover new places. I passed though Shenzhen once on a music tour, and fell in love with the city's dynamic energy and melting pot.

Dirt Star at Beijing's best known indie venue

How important is the neighboring live Hong Kong scene for a Shenzhen-based band? How about the Beijing underground scene, home to 300 indie bands?

It's kind of two separate scenes, but there are more and more crossover opportunities -- definitely excited to see more interaction between the two cities. It's great to see how many bands are coming out of Beijing these days. I've played there in the past and it's always a lot of fun.

Is there a lot of collaboration between independent bands in major Chinese cities (Shenzhen, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai,...)?

I recently produced an album for a local singer named Liang Ying. On the album, we collaborated with a bassist in Taiwan, an accordion player from the Ukraine, and a guitarist in Beijing. We collaborated the whole time with each musician over the Internet, sharing files using Drop.io, and keeping on top of the project schedule using Google Sites. Each of us uses our own personal studio setup - either Pro Tools, Nuendo, or Ableton Live. With more and more computer savvy kids in China every day, it's really going to be an area that expands exponentially.

While your first album featured a mix of Mandarin and English songs, this latest release in primarily is English. Why the English focus? Won't this make it harder to connect with your fanbase?

Actually, I think creating in multiple languages has helped me to expand my fanbase. In the future, I plan on doing a CD with both an English and a Mandarin version of each song.

Where else have you played in Asia? What most differentiates music fans in the various Asian countries you've toured?

I've played on festival stages in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong. And it may sound cliche, but it's really true - fans in each place I've played share a common bond that transcends all their differences.

We've all heard of the scourge of piracy in China? How does an indie musicians such as yourself manage to survive?

Piracy is definitely bad for CD sales. On the bright side, the new music economy that we see today has allowed for a lot of musicians to get exposure that wouldn't be possible otherwise.

I really believe that if a young musician can get their act together in China, there's a great opportunity to get paid. For example, Liang Ying currently has a 30-city tour in the works. 30 cities! The big rewards are going to be found in other growing parts of the music industry, especially in live shows, licensing, creative sponsorships and touring.

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By Eric de Fontenay (Founder & Publisher) (more articles from this author) 2009-11-12

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The music industry in China has significantly changed over the past couple of decades, from a tightly government-controlled propaganda pipeline into an increasingly powerful and sophisticated economic sector. Spearheading the way in China's entertainment industry is Kenny Bloom, music veteran of over 30 years, and Founder and CEO of VisiTek Holdings, Ltd. Born in New York City, Mr. Bloom, at age 56, has accomplished more than most people do in a lifetime, and he has no plans of slowing his pace. To say that his list of accomplishments is impressive would be a gross understatement.

A winner of the Lincoln Center Award for Music Achievement at age 15, Bloom attended both Julliard and Manhattan Schools of Music Prep Departments. He joined Atlantic Records in 1977 (a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group) and launched KB communications in 1984, one of the first entertainment marketing companies. He formed a joint venture with China Film (China's film monopoly) in 1988 and secured the China license for the Warner Music library, which led to the first foreign owned PRC record company since 1949. Over the years, Bloom went on to produce numerous radio shows, television programs, concerts by internationally renowned artists, soundtracks, and Broadway plays. He is widely recognized as a major player in the entertainment industry.

One might wonder if Bloom would be ready to ride on his reputation for a while, coasting through the years to come after having such an illustrious career. But nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, Bloom is moving faster, striking harder with a bold strategy to become a leading content producer. Leading the charge is MOGO, a video site covering the emerging independent music scene in China to the young, hip (undeserved) urban music consumer.

I had an opportunity to interview Mr. Bloom regarding his past, and his vision for the future. It was one of the most enlightening, thought provoking, and inspirational interviews I've ever had the pleasure of doing.

You've had over 20 years experience in the Chinese music business, beginning with the launch of Warner Music China. What are some of the unique characteristics that have shaped its development?

For one thing, massive piracy. The only business left now is ringtones and live shows. That said, there are more artists now then every before. 20 years ago there were half a dozen big pop stars and 4 rock bands. Now there are scores of pop stars and well over 300 working rock bands.

So what's sustaining that growth in the face of piracy?

Basically, live shows. The entire industry is going through a global transition. China is no different in that regard.

There's been a lot of talk about the recent WTO decision opening the Chinese market to more Western entertainment, including music. The RIAA reaction to the decision was to state: "Enhancing the ability of the U.S. creative community to do business in China will generate needed revenue and jobs to the U.S. economy." This seems to fly in the face of the piracy problem. But having said that, do you believe that the decision will at least result in an increase in the international repertoire's share of the overall market?

China's music market has a 98% mandarin language repertoire. It's what they like. The WTO decision is certainly not going to change the musical tastes of the Chinese consumers. And why should China embrace western music in a language they don't understand. Does the West embrace Chinese music? That's a totally open market. This has been an inane concept for quite some time, that every market has a pent up demand for Western culture. In a way, it sends a very disturbing message that "your culture is not as relevant".

Let's discuss the latest western invasion in China - Google's oPhone vs. Apple's iPhone, China Mobile vs. China Unicom... While the iPhone launch in China thus far has been disappointing, it is turning into a new platform being seized by indie bands and labels to release content and manage their fan base. How will the smart phone impact the Chinese music business?

It will be a long time before smart phones are in the hands of the "average" Chinese consumer. They are just too expensive to have a huge impact outside of business applications.

But, the Chinese are super-status oriented and there is an upper-middle urban class. Why, when these products are launched in China, would they not be successful - especially with 400 million mobile users?

Even with 400 million users, you are talking about a relatively small percentage of the population who are upper-middle urban class. Out of the total population, maybe 3% can be classified as such. And they're not necessarily listening to music, certainly not Western music.

Pepsi has been making big moves in China with their nationally televised Battle of the Bands "Vox Rock" and launch of their music label QMusic. Is Pepsi really serious about supporting the independent Chinese music scene? And if so, is this a model that will have legs in China (i.e., might we someday listen to Tsingtao's latest buzz band)?

It is essential that corporate sponsors support the music industry. We are now seeing more of it focused on rock and hip-hop. But we also need local media to embrace those musical styles in order to build the consumer base. Otherwise, sponsors won't be able to quantify their investment in music that is outside of the mainstream.

Isn't QMusic much more than sponsorship? They're talking about developing and launching new bands, like Starbucks Hear Music.

Let's see what they do. It's still too early to make judgments as they have not yet started their operations.

I have one final question for you. Mogo is something of a 21st century MTV-like pioneer in China. You are creating original and professionally produced WebTV content (not user-generated), in support of the emerging independent scene (art, music...). That's difficult enough in the West. What are some of the unique challenges you face – the consumer, the government, advertisers?

It's China's own home-grown music TV station and all parties have been very supportive. The biggest challenge we are facing is finding qualified staff. Every company has problems finding experienced workers. Don't forget, the modern era of China is only 30 years old with most of the development coming in the past 10. The word of the day is "patience". It will all happen, but it will happen on China's terms.

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For overseas friends who would not have seen it live, here is the link to my TV3 appearance this morning on Sunrise. Props to Helen Baxter, to Ali Ikram and Carly Flynn on the programme itself, to Lars and Frankie at the Wellington studio, to Claudine for my make-up, and to Alison for the contact. Only one quip about the mayoralty; the rest was about Facebook and the dangers of having your photographs uploaded to it.

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The stories are different enough that one could not accuse the Hong Kong film-makers of outright copying, but there is clear inspiration between the English Ooh, You Are Awful (or Get Charlie Tully), starring Dick Emery, and the first of the successful franchise 最佳拍檔 (Aces Go Places). The films are 10 years apart.
   The plot lines are similar: in the original, Emery has to find a Swiss bank account number, separately tattooed on four different girls’ behinds. In the later film, Sam Hui (the father of Canto-pop) and Karl Maka’s characters have to find a map reference, tattooed on two different girls’ behinds. The following is of two very similar scenes, one set at Waterloo Station in London, the other at a taxi company’s radio department, and subsequent scenes involving photographic booths, where one might be able to claim there was a fair amount of direct copying. Emery is more blue, while the later film is more slapstick with better pacing.
   And yes, that is the lovely Cheryl Kennedy in the first clip.
   In the 1970s and 1980s, it was highly unlikely for Hong Kong cinemagoers to have seen the Emery film.
   Head to 2.45 for the above scene in the first video; 0.43 in the second clip.

Dick Emery Ooh you Are Awful But I Like You part 2

Aces go places part 7

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Six-digit phone numbers at the Yangtze

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Surprisingly, I have never pasted this video on my blog before. About time that was redressed.

1989 Tiananmen Square Protests

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India's second largest party, "Bharatiya Janata Party" translated in English means People's Party has been front page news, by expelling one of their senior members Jaswant Singh.  He is one of the few Indian politicians to have been the Minister for Defence, Finance and External Affairs.

released on 17 August 2009

The Party decision on Wednesday 19^th, August 2009 was triggered by his book release two days earlier; "Jinnah: India, Partition and Independence," in which he sympathizes with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan and describes of negatively portrayed in India. He also mentions Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel as key players in the Partition.

The controversy is causing a rift between its members and ideological views, crippling the party with internal disagreements. But book sales went soaring high after the news announcement, the buyers are interested to know why the party sacked its veteran politician and how the Partition came to be is still a heated topic of discussion and interest.

In the Times of India this headline caught my attention: “Don’t fix history, look at the future”, written by Chetan Bhagat (The underage optimist). In which he states that the media is fuelling a pointless debate about Mr. Jinnah and the book thereby failing to question instead the relevancy and whether we are electing leaders for the future or a history teacher. The article points out that the young generation is not passionate about politicians who live in the past, holding old believes and even promoting Muslim hatred  rather than facing present more urgent matters such as, colleges, road planning, electricity. The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is a Hindu revivalist organization in India and the BJP’s backbone in defending the Hindu cause, it does not appeal to any educated, young, urban Indians and they are taking a skeptical view. The writer advocates for the RSS to do right move in promoting a Hinduism of tolerance and acceptance, which is more relevant in India of today.

One thing is for sure The Partition has ruptured the lives of more than 100 million Indians by displacing households and separating families, disappearance of craftsmanship, confined cultural knowledge. And the boundary issues, left unresolved by the British, have caused two wars and continuing strife between India and Pakistan. And even within its own borders the states behave as like the warring states in ancient China fighting for supremacy.

If India elderly leaders are stuck in the past, will young India be able to rise above, leaving history behind and start making a new course? - A true beginning of an universal believe about peace and harmony, begins by appreciating cultural differences of a multicultural society and embracing diversity, allowing people full expression of their thoughts and abilities- 

Vision - It reaches beyond the thing that is, into the conception of what can be. Imagination gives you the picture. Vision gives you the impulse to make the picture your own.
Author: Robert Collier

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What is the first movie you saw in the the theatre?

Believe it or not, it was A Bridge Too Far. I hate war.
   As far as I can recall, we were new émigrés in New Zealand and with no one to look after me, my parents had to take me along to the cinema when invited by a relative. It was a late session as well and the movie bored the crap out of me. To this day I still despise war films (not to mention war itself).
   My second movie was either Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (very good stuff to a kid) or another gritty adult drama which was shown in my school’s hall, The Taxi Driver (not Scorsese, but a Hong Kong movie, 的士大佬, released a year before the US film). The latter was very violent and was only interesting then for its glimpse of life back “home”, in an age before video cassettes and long before Chinese cinema became mainstream in the west.
   Films took ages to make it out here, so the 1975 film, The Taxi Driver, would have been shown around 1978.
   The whole thing can be viewed on Youku, the Chinese version of YouTube that seems to be the home to a lot of pirated videos. The original, however, was in Cantonese. I glanced at a few minutes to refresh my memory that this was the right film, and sure enough, it was. I fast forwarded to the middle and there was a bunch of men beating the crap out of each other. As stupid today as it was in the 1970s, but this time I know it’s a movie with sound effects.

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During my recent trip to China for the Music Matters conference in Hong Kong, I met up with Christine Wang in Beijing. Ms. Wang started in the music business as a MusicDish intern in 2007 and went on to rise up the music ranks to Supervisor of International Marketing Department at Sony Music Entertainment China. Her insights and experiences gained working Sony's international roster in China should be of interest to anyone considering breaking into its music market. (see also Music Matters - A Window Into The Asian Music Market)

[EDF] So let's start with the basics. What are your department's [International Marketing Department] primary responsibilities?

[CW] Our department is responsible for everything related to international repertoire, including publishing, production, press releases, marketing, promotions, events, and strategic marketing. It is all focused on promoting international artists on Sony Music's roster in Chinese territory.

[EDF] And what are your specific functions as department supervisor?

[CW] My functions include everything above, with a focus on production, preparing all press releases, artist/album information and artist promotions across all media platforms. In addition, while we have a digital department, I am also responsible for online marketing as well as over ten artist global websites plus Sony Music official site updates. In short, we are a small version of a label, except for the A&R function.

[EDF] Right, your roster is given to you. But what a roster I must say! What are some of the artists/projects that you have worked on this year so far?

[CW] The releases I've worked on this year include Dido - Safe Trip Home, Pink - Funhouse, Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul, Beyonce - I Am.. Sasha Fierce (2CD), Celine Dion - My Love: Ultimate Essential Collection (2CD), Westlife - Karaoke DVD, John Legend - Evolver, Britney Spears - Circus, Christina Aguilera - Keeps Gettin' Better - A Decade Of Hits, Il Divo - The Promise, Sarah McLachlan - Closer: The Best Of Sarah McLachlan, The Fray - The Fray, David Archuleta - David Archuleta, David Cook - David Cook, Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted, and Michael Jackson 4 album re-releases (The Essential Michael Jackson, Thriller, Off The Wall, Invincible)

[EDF] The biggest star in that list is Michael Jackson, who passed away very recently. How did the Chinese media react to his death? And what was it like for you as the media's main intermediary for the story?

[CW] Yes, Michael Jackson's death had a huge impact on us. Do you know how I found out about his death? The news was announced around 3 AM Beijing time. I still clearly remember that morning. I was waken up by a phone call from a media outlet requesting his album information.

The Chinese media was so shocked by Michael Jackson's death. Early morning radio shows did features on him, print and internet all wrote positive reviews on his life and career. By noon, there were already programs dedicated to him on TV. So it was really widely covered and lasted for a couple of weeks. There are still TV programs rotating Michael Jackson's stories every day. Our department provided as much as information we could to the public, including sending out press release and audio/video content to support the media's coverage.

[EDF] The artists you work on are some of the biggest names in the music industry. So what works in reaching your chinese audience: radio, TV, print, web?

[CW] For international artists, the web naturally offers the most information, followed by radio and print. In the case of radio, despite the dominance of domestic repertoire, stations love to play the newest western music and they'll rotate a single quite often in the first two weeks, generally. Some radio stations even follow the US or UK charts.

But with respect to the artists that attracted the most media attention: Beyonce, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera and Kelly Clarkson. They all enjoyed good levels of print coverage, which also serves an important role in reaching our audience.

In regards to TV, there's very limited coverage for international content.

[EDF] What are some of the major Chinese media outlets that cover international artists; again in radio, TV, print, web?

[CW] Major radio stations that cover international artists include Hit FM, radio channels under Shanghai Media Group, and Guangdong Radio Station. For TV, CCTV digital channel, MTV China, and International Channel Shanghai. In the case of print, there's Hit Music, InMusic and China Daily. And while there are many outlets on the web, the two major ones are Sina and QQ.

[EDF] People are surprised when I say, "Chinese people don't like Western music." Of course, it's not that they don't like Western music, but we in the West tend to assume they do. So I use the phrase to drive a point: international repertoire represents a sliver of the overall chinese market.

[CW] Yes, the international repertoire represents a very small portion of the overall Chinese market. The domestic repertoire is very dominant. However, Chinese consumers do like big names and established pop/ R&B artists, such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Westlife, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Dido, Beyonce, Avril Lavigne, and Michael Jackson, of course. In more recent years, rock bands and hip-hop artists have been gaining popularity. In terms of sales, though, major Chinese pop stars seem to attract a broader audience.

[EDF] How difficult is it to create awareness around a new project?

[CW] It is relatively easy to create awareness on a new project for a globally established artists. However, the difficulty is in broadening the audience beyond their existing fanbase, or, even more challenging, breaking in new artists. Ten years ago, the domestic repertoire market was not very well developed. There weren't nearly as many pop stars as today. Most of the artists you'd hear of would be from Taiwan, Hong Kong or the West.

But over the past ten years, the Chinese domestic market has grown dramatically. More people are paying attention to the domestic repertoire now. This is particularly true for those with language barriers -- in other words, most Chinese -- who are being offered an ever-growing number of opportunities to enjoy Chinese music instead of being "forced," out of a lack of choices, to listen to western music.

Many assume that because the market is more open than before and young people have more foreign experience through higher education, there would be a larger amount of people enjoying western music. And while It's true that more people appreciate western music today, at the same time there are many new ways to access information and music. These people are innovative and creatively discovering unknown music. The chinese youth is more active than ever before and are finding their own cultural identity through music.

The Chinese media market is generalized and complicated; unlike the U.S. market which is fragmented along genres and lifestyles, such as, Disney Radio for pop music and The Source for hip hop. The lack of niche media markets in China makes it difficult to know which consumers you are reaching through a media outlet. This makes it particularly challenging to break new artists. For the people who like western music but cannot find a great music platform to know what is new, they tend to stick to the established names, which makes this small group of people very loyal to the artists, such as Celine Dion and Dido.

To add to the point about media, people working in the industry tend to have a preference for Chinese music. Therefore, DJs tend to play Chinese music more often and journalists are more likely to cover Chinese artists they know, rather than spending the time learning about what's new in western music market. In order to create greater awareness among media and the consumers, education still has a long way to go.

[EDF] The key point I retained is that China is a very challenging market, in large part because it is still on a path of development, from a copyright regime to supporting creativity. There is no question that the Chinese music industry and consumers will become increasingly sophisticated over the next decade. The question is how to position oneself to be able to play a role in that development.

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