CHINA, ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY, COMMENTARY: Why are their art lives so short? A Rebuttal
By Renee Lv
[Below is a commentary rebuttal to the WOW article: Why Are Their Art Lives So Short? Ed.]
With all due respect, I don't think the article touches the heart of the problem. The key issues are the immaturity of the system and the Chinese traditional opinion of popular music.
In the past, entertainers belonged to the lowest class of society in China. Chinese parents took it as a dishonor if their children worked in the entertainment industry. This stance has lasted for hundreds of years and is still the dominant one today. Since it's a cultural thing, it's very hard to change it. People want their children to be professors, lawyers and doctors, who receive respect from the public, not just money.
I think it's more or less the same in other countries. Unfortunately, adults' opinions mean more in a family in China than in western countries. Artistic achievements are cultivated as hobbies in China, not career goals. This results in the current situation with only the least intelligent and least talented people working in the entertainment industry. They lack professional training. I'm not saying that artists are born through education, but they need to be well-educated to be accepted. The problem is society still belittles this industry because, frankly, many entertainers are far from impressive. This means the entertainers themselves are not capable enough to have a long life in art.
The second point is Asian people tend to be more conservative. Few people will change their major direction in life after university. They think it's too risky. Even if he/she has a strong interest in singing, he/she would just keep it in Karaoke. Take a look at singers and performance artists in the west, many of them had totally different majors in college. This didn't drive them away from their performing careers, but provided them a more profound understanding of life. Therefore, the Chinese who might be highly talented in art but conduct their business in other areas due to family and social pressures seldom turn back to contribute to the art and entertainment industry. This indicates that those who might have a longer, better art life do not enter the industry.
Lastly, the Chinese entertainment industry is far from mature. I believe this issue is somewhat discussed in "LIFESTYLE, MUSIC, Commentary: Why are their art lives so short?" However, the author failed to offer any advice on how the system should be improved. In my opinion, the entertainment and performance companies need to classify their singers into different categories. None of them can develop well without a clear musical position and direction. Record companies need the truly commercial ones to support their financial base.
On the one hand, they need professional music and lyric writers to study the trends. Then they need young girls and boys who are good at singing and dancing so that dazzling performances are given, and the eye-ball economy is accomplished.
On the other hand, record companies need artists who own their own styles. These talents usually can work through the whole process. They write their songs, sing them and participate in producing them. These are called the real ORIGINAL ones. They are not expected to attract a huge amount of fans, but a group of constant devotees. Every record company needs such people to maintain their taste besides that which is only for money.
This segment of the market is not financially significant, but crucial for reputation. Yet it is basically ignored by Chinese record companies. Most companies only promote their commercial records, therefore many artists publish their albums in spite of their poor skills. Businessmen thus exert their influence over music foundation.
This might bring great financial benefits in the short term, but at the sacrifice of a real enterprise culture that could build through long term plans. Moreover, every company shouldn't expect to be proficient in every area of music. They should determine what kind of music they do best and then do their best to produce and promote music of that type. For instance, "D&G" and "London" are for classical music, "Verve" is for Jazz, "4AD" is for alternative, and so forth. At present, Chinese don't have much sense of labels. This tells us that record companies haven't learnt to create an ideal environment to prolong their entertainers' art lives.
All of the above is based upon my constant concern for the music industry. I'm sure my thoughts on this issue are still too shallow to disclose the central problem.
Renee Lv is a guest contributor; she recently graduated from the China Foreign Affairs University’s School of International Law.
[Below is a commentary rebuttal to the WOW article: Why Are Their Art Lives So Short? Ed.]
With all due respect, I don't think the article touches the heart of the problem. The key issues are the immaturity of the system and the Chinese traditional opinion of popular music.
In the past, entertainers belonged to the lowest class of society in China. Chinese parents took it as a dishonor if their children worked in the entertainment industry. This stance has lasted for hundreds of years and is still the dominant one today. Since it's a cultural thing, it's very hard to change it. People want their children to be professors, lawyers and doctors, who receive respect from the public, not just money.
I think it's more or less the same in other countries. Unfortunately, adults' opinions mean more in a family in China than in western countries. Artistic achievements are cultivated as hobbies in China, not career goals. This results in the current situation with only the least intelligent and least talented people working in the entertainment industry. They lack professional training. I'm not saying that artists are born through education, but they need to be well-educated to be accepted. The problem is society still belittles this industry because, frankly, many entertainers are far from impressive. This means the entertainers themselves are not capable enough to have a long life in art.
The second point is Asian people tend to be more conservative. Few people will change their major direction in life after university. They think it's too risky. Even if he/she has a strong interest in singing, he/she would just keep it in Karaoke. Take a look at singers and performance artists in the west, many of them had totally different majors in college. This didn't drive them away from their performing careers, but provided them a more profound understanding of life. Therefore, the Chinese who might be highly talented in art but conduct their business in other areas due to family and social pressures seldom turn back to contribute to the art and entertainment industry. This indicates that those who might have a longer, better art life do not enter the industry.
Lastly, the Chinese entertainment industry is far from mature. I believe this issue is somewhat discussed in "LIFESTYLE, MUSIC, Commentary: Why are their art lives so short?" However, the author failed to offer any advice on how the system should be improved. In my opinion, the entertainment and performance companies need to classify their singers into different categories. None of them can develop well without a clear musical position and direction. Record companies need the truly commercial ones to support their financial base.
On the one hand, they need professional music and lyric writers to study the trends. Then they need young girls and boys who are good at singing and dancing so that dazzling performances are given, and the eye-ball economy is accomplished.
On the other hand, record companies need artists who own their own styles. These talents usually can work through the whole process. They write their songs, sing them and participate in producing them. These are called the real ORIGINAL ones. They are not expected to attract a huge amount of fans, but a group of constant devotees. Every record company needs such people to maintain their taste besides that which is only for money.
This segment of the market is not financially significant, but crucial for reputation. Yet it is basically ignored by Chinese record companies. Most companies only promote their commercial records, therefore many artists publish their albums in spite of their poor skills. Businessmen thus exert their influence over music foundation.
This might bring great financial benefits in the short term, but at the sacrifice of a real enterprise culture that could build through long term plans. Moreover, every company shouldn't expect to be proficient in every area of music. They should determine what kind of music they do best and then do their best to produce and promote music of that type. For instance, "D&G" and "London" are for classical music, "Verve" is for Jazz, "4AD" is for alternative, and so forth. At present, Chinese don't have much sense of labels. This tells us that record companies haven't learnt to create an ideal environment to prolong their entertainers' art lives.
All of the above is based upon my constant concern for the music industry. I'm sure my thoughts on this issue are still too shallow to disclose the central problem.
Renee Lv is a guest contributor; she recently graduated from the China Foreign Affairs University’s School of International Law.
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