Pirates are on the retreat: Long live music

The alarm clock that pulled Su Wen from her sleep on April 30 signaled the start of a long and eventful day. It was 4:30 am, giving Su just enough time to dress and wash before heading to the main railway station in Jinan, Shandong province.

The 21-year-old Shandong Normal University student caught the first train to Beijing and arrived just before 8 am, then boarded a subway bound for Wangjing, in northern Beijing, where she would meet friends who would drive together to their destination.

That destination was 60 kilometers from downtown Beijing: Yuyang Ski Resort, where the Beijing Strawberry Music Festival was being held during the long May Day weekend, from April 29 to May 1.

Those in the car were meeting each other for the first time, but their common love of music proved to be the perfect icebreaker as they enthusiastically discussed which singers they were looking forward to seeing and hearing at the festival, and as they talked about music in general.

The Strawberry Music Festival, one of China's biggest outdoor music festivals, was first held 10 years ago and organized by Modern Sky, the country's biggest indie music label. This year was the first time that music aficionado Su attended.

Her decision to give the first day of the festival a miss was a calculated one, based on the fact that many of her favorite performers would appear on day two, including the folk singer-songwriter Zhao Lei, who would be on stage at 2:20 pm.

Any Beijinger will tell you that getting out of the city by road, particularly if you have an appointment, can be a nerve-jangling affair at the best of times, and this day was no different. Throughout the journey, Su nervously put the finishing touches to her makeup - again and again - as she and her companions crawled along with other motorists and stewed about the possibility of being late for their date.

Finally, after nearly five hours on the road, they arrived, counting down the minutes to showtime, and then having to line up with several hundred people waiting to have their tickets checked.

"The heat, the huge crowd and the sheer noise of the music were overwhelming," Su says. "I had never experienced anything like it. I just wanted to scream. I didn't want to miss Zhao Lei's performances.

Almost 10 hours after Su's day began, she finally squeezed in among the crowds just as Zhao was about to start performing one of his most popular songs, Chengdu.

"As I watched him play the guitar and sing that song, I knew all the hassle in getting to the festival had been well worth it," Su says. "I had been to a few of his shows in Beijing and Jinan, but it is completely different to watch him perform at a music festival, where you've got tens of thousands of people sharing music together."

More than 150,000 music lovers attended the Strawberry Music Festival, which took place in Beijing and Shanghai over the May Day holiday weekend, Modern Sky says.

Neither traffic headaches nor rain seemed to be able to dampen the enthusiasm of the music lovers, who descended on both cities from around the country. The Beijing event included popular domestic pop stars such as the singer-songwriters Pu Shu and Li Zhi, as well as international musicians making their debut performances in China, including the British indie rock band Alt-J and the Japanese group Wednesday Campanella.

"Chinese audiences, especially young people, love music, and they keep up with the newest singles online," says Wuli Yasu, vice-president of Modern Sky.

"Each year when we plan the Strawberry Music Festival, the kind of music these fans want is uppermost in our minds."

The company says it will organize about 30 outdoor music festivals throughout the country this year in first-, second-and third-tier cities.

The country's booming music scene has reached new heights, with more big-name musicians exploring the market. On April 30, on the other side of the capital, about 30,000 people enjoyed the first Grammy Festival at Beijing Changyang Music Theme Park, with headliners including American rapper Pharrell Williams, a 10-time Grammy winner, American singer-songwriters Macy Gray and Daya, and the French indie band Phoenix.

"I know hip-hop and jazz are growing in China," said Neil Portnow, chairman and chief executive of the Recording Academy, creator of the Grammy Awards, when he was in Beijing to announce the event in August last year. "That's what we want to do - to discover next-generation musicians for different kinds of music, to encourage them that there is a good future in the industry."

In a recent report, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said the global recorded music market grew by 8.1 percent last year, its third consecutive year of growth since the federation began tracking the market in 1997. China ranked 10th for the size of its music market last year, the first time it has been in the top 10.

"China's music market continues to be one of growth, challenges and innovation," the report said. "It also remains, fundamentally, a market of potential, gradually but determinedly being realized by record companies working together with local and global partners."

The Chinese music industry "is transitioning to transactional data to calculate the size of the Chinese market, but not all companies have this data available", the report said.

Income from the country's music market last year was $292.3 million (247 million euros; ￡217 million), the digital component being 90 percent, the report said. Revenue grew by 35.3 percent, driven by a 26.5 percent rise in revenue for streaming music.

"After years of decline, which was mainly caused by piracy, finally we have some good news for everyone involved in the industry, especially the singer-songwriters and record companies," says Guo Biao, the federation's chief representative in China. The federation's Beijing office was set up in 1994.

"Global record companies are keen on investing in China, which is seen as a market for international artists as well as a place to discover new talent," Guo says.

"Chinese consumers' tastes have changed, and there is now more appetite for a wider range of genres than ever before."

What is seen as making China a market of opportunity at home and abroad is that the country has undergone a cultural shift in regard to the value and protection of copyright - a process driven by government regulation alongside the efforts of record companies and other rights holders.

In 2011, a landmark agreement was signed by three international record companies and the Chinese internet company Baidu. The agreement involved a settlement of anti-piracy litigation and a commitment by Baidu to close its service that allegedly infringed copyrights.

That agreement paved the way for other internet companies as they changed their approach and became licensed.

In July 2015, the National Copyright Administration of China issued a notice saying that "online music delivery platforms must have all unauthorized musical works removed by July 31, 2015".

Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the copyright administration, says more than 2.2 million illegal songs had been removed within two months of the notice being issued.

One of the companies at the forefront of the revolution is the technology company Tencent, home to three of the country's leading streaming services: QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo.

In 2011, QQ Music, which now has about 800 million registered users, forged a partnership with many music labels, including Warner Music, Sony Music, Universal Music and independent labels. The move allowed QQ Music to become sole distributor for these labels in China and helped them fight piracy.

In February, QQ Music signed a deal with another Chinese technology company, NetEase, to share 99 percent of all content to which they respectively hold the rights. The agreement has propelled the growing movement toward a more competitive market, in which Tencent already sublicenses music to, among others, Alibaba Music and Taihe Music Group.

"The entire music industry in China is developing rapidly and soundly," says Tencent Music Entertainment Group vice-president Andy Ng.

"The copyright protection environment has greatly improved, users' awareness of the value of music is also greatly strengthened, and high-quality music is emerging from Chinese artists. We believe that 2018 will see another significant turning point for Chinese music, and it will play an increasingly important role on the world stage."

Ng says consumers are heading toward the model of paid online streaming, and that Tencent's future "lies with fans not only listening to music, but also watching video, singing along and even creating their own music to share. Music is at the core of what we do, but we are building a pan-music entertainment ecology".

Adam Granite, Universal Music Group's executive vice-president for market development, says: "There is considerable focus now on the evolution of the Chinese music market. It's impossible not to be excited at the opportunity, although it will take time and concerted effort to move a significant part of the population onto paid services."

Paying for online streaming and downloading legal music have been contentious issues among online consumers.

On Zhihu, the Chinese mainland's question-and-answer community version of the US-based Quora site, some fans say they would like to pay for music because it is natural that music creators should be rewarded for their work. However, there are also people saying that it's important to keep the transparency of the pay model, and the price for erable each song is still debatable.

"I would like to pay for good music because the money will enable the singers and songwriters to keep on releasing good works. But now I have no idea about where the money goes," says one internet user named Phillipe.

Another one, named Dong Nora, says that "I will pay if the price is fair".

Guo, of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, says that despite his optimism about China's music market, there are concerns. For example, he notes that China still lacks the performance and broadcast rights that, if given, will significantly contribute to greater investment in the development of the Chinese music market.

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 06/08/2018 page16)