On the Chinese Music Scene, a rebuttal to a rebuttal
I read with great interest Renee Lv's commentary/rebuttal to Zhenhua Huang's Why are their art lives so short? on the shortcomings of the music business in China and the artistic half-life of promising musical talent. There isn't a westerner that comes to China that isn't disappointed by the apparent lack of good contemporary pop/rock music and the overwhelming diet of same-sounding pop that wafts out of storefronts and CRI radio. And I wonder often, with the abundance of artistic creativity and the vast and varied sources of inspiration that this great nation so obviously possesses, why it is so. From these two articles I gather that there is innovative and appealing contemporary musical talent, but it withers on the vine.
For talent to be attracted to a market, there must be a market. I wonder how any aspiring Chinese rock musician could imagine he or she could make a living when, if a CD gains any popularity, it is immediately pirated? This syndrome, which neither article mentions, affects the Chinese film community and other creative commercial arts as well. Among the many obstacles typically facing any aspiring artist, the neglect of intellectual property rights has to be one of the most discouraging ones in Asia, particularly in China. This also deters foreign investment of money and management talent. I personally don't believe that it substantially harms established artists, but for a new artist with something to say, it's a bottomless pit. That has to be said and you Chinese need to acknowledge and find a way to deal with that reality.
I know next to nothing about the Chinese music industry but I spent enough of my adult life around the American music industry to observe that it was the original artists, the singer-songwriters, both solo and ensemble, who fueled the rebirth of popular music in the 1960's and its enormous social and economic impact. I was an active part of this "cultural revolution" (which ran simultaneously with yours) in America as a writer and critic and later through my former husband, Jac Holzman who was the president of Elektra Records, which he started by himself in the 1950s.
The economics of the music artist in America:
I thought you might be interested in knowing about the economic model of a musician's life in America. Of course, as essentially free lance artists, this can vary widely, but once a musician is formally in the music business, or playing music full time, there are guidelines. A musician makes money in several ways: Artists are paid for personal appearances and recording artists are paid royalties from recording sales. Songs which are recorded must be formally published and the copyright is registered with the U.S. Library of Congress. Songwriters then receive royalties from radio play, which encourages musicians to be writers as well. If another artist records a songwriter's composition (called a "cover") the writer(s) gets royalties on the sales and airplay of these recordings. Royalties are guaranteed by two independent accounting agencies, BMI and ASCAP, who track and report as well as collect and pay out the proceeds of royalty-producing activity. Frequently record companies and music publishing companies (and they can be the same company) give cash advances against sales and publishing (song writing) royalties to artists when a contract is signed. In a more recent development, music tours receive corporate sponsorship and advertising can be another source of revenue when songs are licensed for television commercials.
To address a problem, it helps to ask and answer the right questions. Here are some of them: How many of these revenue producing opportunities are available to Chinese artists? How do record companies offset their investment in a recording artist? How are musicians chosen for recording opportunities? Do major international corporate labels have offices or liaisons here in China?
Regardless of what the answers are, and I assure you I do not know, the desire to be a popular music artist is a burning flame that is not extinguished by lack of opportunity or the many known and unknown obstacles and hardships that await the newcomer. It depends not one bit on a university education or parental support. Many western rock artists don't finish college if they start, and some don't even finish high school. Their musical talent is, for the most part, and with some notable exceptions, self-developed to the point where a personal following from live appearances begins to interest a record company. As far as parental support, it is not much better in America than what Renee Lv describes in China. Few parents want their children to be entertainers of any kind because of the odds against success, the difficult lifestyle that precedes success and the well known dangers that haunt successful entertainers. But year after year, decade after decade, artists with vision arise and spare no effort to get their talent in front of an audience. Out of that comes original work, community energy and a growing fan base that can lead to commercial development.
Our artists come from every range of economic and family situation and their road is never an easy one. There is no correlation between economic advantage and commercial success in the music business. If they don't get the respect from their families (which certainly comes when the money starts rolling in) they get it from their peers and that is more important to them. That is where the heart and soul as well as the financial support comes from. But there is a cultural difference between China and the west to consider on this point. In the U.S., it is considered normal, even a rite of passage, for youngsters to rebel against the wishes of their families in their teen years and beyond. In fact, the theme of youthful rebellion (and young love) was central to the appeal of the very first rock and roll that emerged in the 1950s. The theme of societal rebellion, in particular opposing social injustices and the Viet Nam War, was central to the second and most powerful wave of American rock in the 1960s.
I know some musicians that have made a living playing in bars, restaurants and lounges all their professional lives and never had a hit record. I also know of some "one hit wonders" such as the artists described in Why are their art lives so short?, but never for the reasons cited by Zhenhua Huang. Although all artists have their creative ups and downs, they most often develop, mature and improve with continuing and expanding experience, exposure and success. If they don't, the record label usually drops them.
Entering the music business is one thing; surviving it is another. The rate of survival in any field of entertainment is minuscule compared to those who enter it and fail to endure. But this has never dampened the desire or the number of American musicians who create and perform music to express their inspiration, vision and ambition. And it certainly hasn't hampered the emergence of vital original talent.
I personally have known many recording artists, both famous and not. One I'd like to tell you about is a singer-songwriter named Cindy Lee Berryhill. She is an exceptional talent but perhaps too quirky for the market at large, so she carved out a niche for herself. She began years ago by hosting a web site and chat room for her fans, who invited her to perform small concerts in their areas, sometimes in their homes. From this, she was able to book several low budget tours in America and Europe. She plays mostly small clubs but does so regularly. There is a network of small clubs for artists like this and she is very popular on that circuit. She is not a big star and perhaps never will be, but with the help of a sincere and passionate fan base which she developed herself and a supportive husband, she has a career. This takes two things: talent, and, as importantly, initiative. Now, even Wal-Mart carries her CDs and if you key her name into a search engine, dozens of sites come up. She just never gave up and neither did her first coterie of diehard fans. Do you like her songs? I'd really love to know. Look her up on the internet and listen to some clips.
If you ask any dedicated young American musician what's more important, playing or money, guess what their answer would be? Playing. There are certainly artists, successful and otherwise, whose careers slow down and they eventually join the mainstream workforce or live off investments made from the spoils of success. The career paths of artists are not restricted. A good friend of mine was a successful guitar player and singer in a very popular sixties band and is now a public defender and liberal political activist who has a "gentleman's R&B band" (a group of players that have day jobs) with whom he plays music clubs from time to time. (He completed his education after his musical career slowed down.)
A rock music lover like myself is kind of lost in China. I am so lonely for good rock music other than the CDs and MPsans I brought with me. All I hear is this revolting pop, endless replays of that quintessentially stupid song, "Yesterday Once More" and complaints about the vapid rock scene. I go to San Li Tun and hear infectious cover bands, so I know there is some interest in good rock/pop. But where is it? If you have a good underground music scene, please pass the shovel and the flashlight! I've been in Beijing for one year and five months and still haven't met Cui Jian.
Do you have a favorite artist that's struggling in the market? Rally around them with enthusiasm and good information. Create support. Publicize their venues, attend and bring friends. Sell their CDs and give them the money. Theoretical complaints do little to help.
I've gone on for so long and there is still so much I have to share on this subject. If there is interest, I could probably be convinced to set up and moderate a public message board (in English) to discuss music commerce topics as well as contemporary and legacy rock artists that could eventually include contributions from artists and business interests in America, Australia, U.K. and Europe.
INFO-MIX
For further information:
I've written a brief history of rock and roll which is published at http://home.xmu.edu.cn/~ellesander/yrocknroll.html if you'd like to take a look.
My personal web site, http://ellensander.com has a number of pages on some of the artists I've known and enjoyed during my involvement in the American music scene, and information on the book I wrote about that.
If you're interested in learning about the American music business, there is a really great book called This Business of Music, The Definitive Guide to the Music Industry (now in its 9th edition) by M. William Krasilovsky, published by Billboard Books ISBN: 0823077284.
If you have any comments or questions, you are welcome to post them here on WoW.
For talent to be attracted to a market, there must be a market. I wonder how any aspiring Chinese rock musician could imagine he or she could make a living when, if a CD gains any popularity, it is immediately pirated? This syndrome, which neither article mentions, affects the Chinese film community and other creative commercial arts as well. Among the many obstacles typically facing any aspiring artist, the neglect of intellectual property rights has to be one of the most discouraging ones in Asia, particularly in China. This also deters foreign investment of money and management talent. I personally don't believe that it substantially harms established artists, but for a new artist with something to say, it's a bottomless pit. That has to be said and you Chinese need to acknowledge and find a way to deal with that reality.
I know next to nothing about the Chinese music industry but I spent enough of my adult life around the American music industry to observe that it was the original artists, the singer-songwriters, both solo and ensemble, who fueled the rebirth of popular music in the 1960's and its enormous social and economic impact. I was an active part of this "cultural revolution" (which ran simultaneously with yours) in America as a writer and critic and later through my former husband, Jac Holzman who was the president of Elektra Records, which he started by himself in the 1950s.
The economics of the music artist in America:
I thought you might be interested in knowing about the economic model of a musician's life in America. Of course, as essentially free lance artists, this can vary widely, but once a musician is formally in the music business, or playing music full time, there are guidelines. A musician makes money in several ways: Artists are paid for personal appearances and recording artists are paid royalties from recording sales. Songs which are recorded must be formally published and the copyright is registered with the U.S. Library of Congress. Songwriters then receive royalties from radio play, which encourages musicians to be writers as well. If another artist records a songwriter's composition (called a "cover") the writer(s) gets royalties on the sales and airplay of these recordings. Royalties are guaranteed by two independent accounting agencies, BMI and ASCAP, who track and report as well as collect and pay out the proceeds of royalty-producing activity. Frequently record companies and music publishing companies (and they can be the same company) give cash advances against sales and publishing (song writing) royalties to artists when a contract is signed. In a more recent development, music tours receive corporate sponsorship and advertising can be another source of revenue when songs are licensed for television commercials.
To address a problem, it helps to ask and answer the right questions. Here are some of them: How many of these revenue producing opportunities are available to Chinese artists? How do record companies offset their investment in a recording artist? How are musicians chosen for recording opportunities? Do major international corporate labels have offices or liaisons here in China?
Regardless of what the answers are, and I assure you I do not know, the desire to be a popular music artist is a burning flame that is not extinguished by lack of opportunity or the many known and unknown obstacles and hardships that await the newcomer. It depends not one bit on a university education or parental support. Many western rock artists don't finish college if they start, and some don't even finish high school. Their musical talent is, for the most part, and with some notable exceptions, self-developed to the point where a personal following from live appearances begins to interest a record company. As far as parental support, it is not much better in America than what Renee Lv describes in China. Few parents want their children to be entertainers of any kind because of the odds against success, the difficult lifestyle that precedes success and the well known dangers that haunt successful entertainers. But year after year, decade after decade, artists with vision arise and spare no effort to get their talent in front of an audience. Out of that comes original work, community energy and a growing fan base that can lead to commercial development.
Our artists come from every range of economic and family situation and their road is never an easy one. There is no correlation between economic advantage and commercial success in the music business. If they don't get the respect from their families (which certainly comes when the money starts rolling in) they get it from their peers and that is more important to them. That is where the heart and soul as well as the financial support comes from. But there is a cultural difference between China and the west to consider on this point. In the U.S., it is considered normal, even a rite of passage, for youngsters to rebel against the wishes of their families in their teen years and beyond. In fact, the theme of youthful rebellion (and young love) was central to the appeal of the very first rock and roll that emerged in the 1950s. The theme of societal rebellion, in particular opposing social injustices and the Viet Nam War, was central to the second and most powerful wave of American rock in the 1960s.
I know some musicians that have made a living playing in bars, restaurants and lounges all their professional lives and never had a hit record. I also know of some "one hit wonders" such as the artists described in Why are their art lives so short?, but never for the reasons cited by Zhenhua Huang. Although all artists have their creative ups and downs, they most often develop, mature and improve with continuing and expanding experience, exposure and success. If they don't, the record label usually drops them.
Entering the music business is one thing; surviving it is another. The rate of survival in any field of entertainment is minuscule compared to those who enter it and fail to endure. But this has never dampened the desire or the number of American musicians who create and perform music to express their inspiration, vision and ambition. And it certainly hasn't hampered the emergence of vital original talent.
I personally have known many recording artists, both famous and not. One I'd like to tell you about is a singer-songwriter named Cindy Lee Berryhill. She is an exceptional talent but perhaps too quirky for the market at large, so she carved out a niche for herself. She began years ago by hosting a web site and chat room for her fans, who invited her to perform small concerts in their areas, sometimes in their homes. From this, she was able to book several low budget tours in America and Europe. She plays mostly small clubs but does so regularly. There is a network of small clubs for artists like this and she is very popular on that circuit. She is not a big star and perhaps never will be, but with the help of a sincere and passionate fan base which she developed herself and a supportive husband, she has a career. This takes two things: talent, and, as importantly, initiative. Now, even Wal-Mart carries her CDs and if you key her name into a search engine, dozens of sites come up. She just never gave up and neither did her first coterie of diehard fans. Do you like her songs? I'd really love to know. Look her up on the internet and listen to some clips.
If you ask any dedicated young American musician what's more important, playing or money, guess what their answer would be? Playing. There are certainly artists, successful and otherwise, whose careers slow down and they eventually join the mainstream workforce or live off investments made from the spoils of success. The career paths of artists are not restricted. A good friend of mine was a successful guitar player and singer in a very popular sixties band and is now a public defender and liberal political activist who has a "gentleman's R&B band" (a group of players that have day jobs) with whom he plays music clubs from time to time. (He completed his education after his musical career slowed down.)
A rock music lover like myself is kind of lost in China. I am so lonely for good rock music other than the CDs and MPsans I brought with me. All I hear is this revolting pop, endless replays of that quintessentially stupid song, "Yesterday Once More" and complaints about the vapid rock scene. I go to San Li Tun and hear infectious cover bands, so I know there is some interest in good rock/pop. But where is it? If you have a good underground music scene, please pass the shovel and the flashlight! I've been in Beijing for one year and five months and still haven't met Cui Jian.
Do you have a favorite artist that's struggling in the market? Rally around them with enthusiasm and good information. Create support. Publicize their venues, attend and bring friends. Sell their CDs and give them the money. Theoretical complaints do little to help.
I've gone on for so long and there is still so much I have to share on this subject. If there is interest, I could probably be convinced to set up and moderate a public message board (in English) to discuss music commerce topics as well as contemporary and legacy rock artists that could eventually include contributions from artists and business interests in America, Australia, U.K. and Europe.
INFO-MIX
For further information:
If you have any comments or questions, you are welcome to post them here on WoW.
