D-22: The Mother of Beijing - and China's - Indie Music Scene

By Eric de Fontenay

UNiXX rocks out D-22 on the final leg of their 7 Deadly Sins tour

Website: http://china.musicdish.com
A prime objective on my recent trip to Beijing was to connect with the leading force behind the city's burgeoning independent music scene: D-22. Anyone who is anyone... and many no-ones... have played Beijing's version of CBGB, and in the process, China's most pioneering and vibrant indie music scene was born.

I was running late to meet Nevin Domer, who manages daily operations at D-22, in no small part due to Beijing cabbies' utter ignorance of the city they are meant to drive you around. In my experience, it doesn't matter whether you have that slip of paper with the address in chinese characters or not as they will get lost anyway.

I finally arrive at a relatively modest doorfront that belies the club's influence. D-22 is a warm mix of dark red walls, wood and brick which fits well with its low-key, easy-going style. No flash or pretense here. And all along the balcony are pictures of the bands that have become household names in China's indie scene thanks to D-22: Hedgehog, Carsick Cars, White, PK-14,...

Up-and-coming rock trio Ourselves Beside Me

Your eyes quickly catch sight of 'Mike', the owner of D-22. You can't miss him with his exuberant NY personality and downright love for the music and young bands that play it. He not only is the father of Beijing indie rock, he acts the part, hugging and encouraging musicians throughout the club as if they were the prodigal children returned. He proceeds to point out a 16 year old kid whose band he predicts will shake Beijing's scene and tells me to keep an eye out for all-girl band Ourselves Beside Me. But my treat would be that night's headliner UNiXX, a Hong Kong-based band on Lona Records I've been following since I launched MusicDish*China (more on both of them in an upcoming article).

Actually, it's more likely that they were at D-22 no more than a few days ago. You see, D-22 is not just a club, it is the heart of Beijing's indie community. Bands performing that night often come during the day to practice - D-22's doors are always open. And half those people attending that night were themselves members of various bands, supporting and learning from each other. So much so that I got the rare pleasure to catch a veteran of the scene who was there from the beginning: Hedgehog guitarist and vocalist ZO(子健).

"At D-22, we are tied to each other and grow together," he explained of the late 2006 series of gigs at the club that propelled the band out of obscurity. "Many creative artists and new bands played there every week and we released our album "Noise Hit World" in 2007. That year, the Beijing scene bubbled to the surface." On a personal note, I think Hedgehog is one of the most exciting acts in China and has become part of my daily musical diet.

At the center of that community is Mike (Michael Pettis), a NY finance banker expat who opened the club on May 1, 2006. As Matthew Niederhauser writes in the preface of his photographic anthology of Beijing's indie scene "Sound Capital":

"The new club's foremost priority was finding and developing new talent, regardless of its musical style and commercial appeal. It demanded originality from musicians and was willing to go to great lengths to indulge them."

And that they did, literally reshaping Beijing's musical landscape. Michael went on to launch the Maybe Mars label with PK-14's Yang Haisong as an natural extension of D-22 to support the scene it had created. Nevin Domer, who had given me a tour of the club and introduced that night's performing acts, is a member himself of Fanzui Xiangfa (who we first featured in MusicDish*China Sounds Pod#2) and works at both the club and label. And all the bands on the label's roster developed and grew in D-22's embrace.

It's ironic that I would have to fly halfway across the world to China to find such a rare pearl as D-22. The analogy to New York's CBGB's is striking. Just as CBGB's did in the 80's, D-22 has given birth to China's hardcore and punk rock scene. Like CBGB's, D-22 is more than a club: it is like a mother, feeding, caring and educating each individual band in this movement. Ironically, many of the t-shirts in the crowd paid homage to NY bands of that CBGB's era like The Cramps and Souxie and The Banshees.

Now don't get me wrong, D-22 ain't perfect. They definitely need to work on the sound. And while this is a serious though correctable flaw, what Michael has done to find and nurture the incredible talent that might otherwise opt to go C-Pop or just not pick up an instrument is immeasurable. None of it would have been possible without his personal and financial commitment to the cause. So, speaking for myself - who would otherwise not have much to write about or play in my podcasts - a big thank you to the entire D-22 crew and bands who went along for the party.

Music Matters Scoop: China's Plan To Fight Piracy

from right to left: Christopher Martius, Bill Zang,
Yushu Le Guyader and Thomas Reemer

By Eric de Fontenay
http://china.musicdish.com

I don't usually go to conferences expecting to get scoops. Oh sure, you have lots of announcements - so and so have partnered, such and such launches new service, blah, blah, blah... Didn't he announce that at another conference last month? Even during last year's Music Matters, the launch of Google Music China had been covered well beforehand, though it was neat to actually get a demo. So I had to literally stop and rub my ears when I could have sworn that I'd caught a scoop at this year's Music Matters.

The setting was a presentation by 88tc88, which had introduced at SXSW its Web-based translation service for Western bands wanting to enter the Chinese market - more about that here. Joining Chairman Thomas Reemer, CEO Christopher Martius and Partner Yushu Le Guyader (who provided translation) on the stage was Bill Zang, Vice President at Shanghai Synergy Culture & Entertainment Group. Owned by one of the largest media conglomerates in China, SSCEG is at the core of the Chinese government's efforts to develop comprehensive multimedia entertainment services for its domestic market while fighting piracy and addressing royalty collection.

Let me stop here to remind readers of a little fact. Until relatively recently, copyright in China was illegal. All intellectual property belonged to the people, ie. government. If you wrote a book for example, the government would 'own' it and reap any 'profits,' while providing the author with a salary, housing, medical and education. So when some rant on about piracy or the lack of enforcement, this should be put in context. The Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China was adopted in 1990 - we in the US on the other hand have had a Copyright Act on the books since 1790 and we still can't seem to get it right!

On the other hand, the government does often seem capricious in its enforcement of copyright. They like to point to last year's shutdown of 200 pirate movie sites, including the largest video BitTorrent site. It just so happens though that the crackdown coincided oh so nicely with the launch of CCTV's major online video initiative. Nor is it clears whether the shutdown didn't have more to do with fighting pornography - a much bigger taboo for the government - rather than piracy. Having said that though, the fact is that for both economic and diplomatic/political reasons, the Chinese government will increasingly get serious, get tough and tackle the IP issue in the broad sense, not just piracy.

For one thing, China is no longer the low-quality, copycat manufacturer people still seem to imagine. As its economic power has grown, so has domestic innovation. It is following the path of Japan and South Korea, except at warp speed. You've certainly heard that they now have the fastest train, 2nd most powerful computer,... you get the picture. Nor is all this growth in IP restricted to patents & gadgets. Anyone who has hung out at Beijing's indie clubs like D-22 and Yugong Yishan, or strolled through its 798 Art District quickly realizes that China has a big cultural muscle it is anxious to flex. So it will become an economic imperative to protect its intellectual property which the government will increasingly view as a strategic asset.

Secondly, the Chinese government wants to attract more Western culture and the know-how that comes with it. To do this, they are building three national music industry parks, located in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong that are slated to be operational in 2011. These high-tech parks will serve as performance stages as well as provide facilities for Western and Chinese musicians and professionals to collaborate. But of course, in order to attract Western musicians and firms, they need to tackle piracy.

This is all good, but it is at this point where I start get sceptical. It's fine to talk about tackling piracy and shutting down sites, but without a strategic plan to develop a legal market for IP content, it's pretty much talk. So it was with a little surprise (shared by my friends at 88tc88 who assured me it wasn't in the script) that I heard Mr. Zang get very specific and present the outlines of a plan: The Chinese government will use watermarking technology to embed a unique code into every creative works released - music, film, graphic,... - allowing the government to easily identify, fine and shut down websites peddling pirated material as well as track all plays for royalty collection and disbursement.

"That's it?! Aren't we doing that already?" you say. Sure, watermarking technology has been around for well over a decade and while not a panacea, has become an important tool in IP management and protection. But it is the fact that the government is publicly outlining a strategy and process to tackling the problem which is a watershed... and the scoop. Even more encouraging was the emphasis on using the technology not just to fight piracy, but also properly compensate rightsholders for the use of their music. Just consider that China has the potential to be the largest music market in the world, easily surpassing the US and Japan.

And unlike in the West, when the Chinese government sets its mind to something, it usually gets done.

Lona Records Keeps The Experimental Flame in Hong Kong Alive

By Eric de Fontenay

Lona Records is a Hong Kong boutique indie label set up by Alok Leung in 2003. The label has attracted a very international and growing roster of acts focused on alternative and experimental music. I first discovered the label through four-piece rock outfit UNiXX that plies its trade in dark, shoegazing garage rock, flecked with overtones of The Horrors and circa-1993 Suede and is about to tour the mainland.

Alok is a self-taught guitarist and bassist who formed several bands in the 90s, including Pillow and Slow Tech Riddim, which combined electronic music with live instruments. He decided to go solo in 2001 and set up his own record label Lona Records the following year. Working as a producer, he released 5 albums and 5 CD singles from 2002 to 2009. He has played and participated in more than 50 shows and experimental events / projects in Hong Kong and across China.

How did you come to launch Lona Records in 2003 and how have you grown since?

At the beginning, I only set up Lona Records to release my own works. I subsequently met a number of recording artists that shared the same vision as myself. So from around early 2005, I started to release works of other artists from countries like the UK, US, Italy, Germany, Poland, Japan, Netherlands, mainland China and Hong Kong. We are also planning on releasing some works by artists from Denmark and Argentina etc.

Lona Records has also organized several concerts and exhibitions in recent years. We've gotten some very good feedback, but still there is not much room for survival here in Hong Kong.

Let me get straight to the point: how has a label focused on alternative/experimental music survived over the last 7 years in a market like Hong Kong?... no offense of course.

Every record label has to have its own direction. Experimental / alternative is my favorite music genre. Lona Records though has never looked at the Hong Kong market as a viable one - experimental music can't really survive here.

Tell me a little about the 3" CDR series you launched in 2005 "to explore the aesthetic boundaries of experimental sound."

After launching this series, I found that many people were interested in it. Personally, this idea is almost like the 7" vinyl. One shortcoming though is that Mac users cannot play these CDRs.

China is notorious for piracy. How has it affected Lona Records' business?

The problem of piracy does not really affect us a lot, because the quantities for each releases is still relatively small. I believe that the people who like our works are be willing to buy the originals. We are also planning to enter the digital download market.

I've become a huge a fan of UNiXX, which I've called one of my Hong Kong band's to watch in 2010. How do you choose which bands to add to Lona's roster?

The main directions of Lona Records include:
1) experimental, i.e. Avant-garde, Ambient, Minimal, Noise,...
2) Alternative, i.e. Alternative rock, Neo-Classical,....

With the latter, apart from UNiXX, we also have a Hong Kong band called The Yours and Jeffrey Butzer from the US. We always have an open-minded attitude when considering the demos received.

How do you see the growing independent music scene in the mainland affecting Hong Kong?

There are many excellent recording artists in mainland China. You'll notice that while these artists have been influenced by foreign cultures, they are still able to retain elements of traditional Chinese culture in their works. On the contrary, we don't have such a 'local' culture in Hong Kong. I might also explore the possibility of doing something in Beijing in the future.

Dirt Star Walks The Indie Path Through Shenzhen, China

By Eric de Fontenay (MUsicDish LLC Founder & Publisher)
(more articles from this author)

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.

Kenny Bloom: China's Music Mogul

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

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.

MusicDish Announces Premium Music Video Service: MusicDishTV Plus

Url: http://tv.musicdish.net
Sound: http://www.dailymotion.com/MusicDishTV

MusicDish, LLC announced that a new premium video service for artists has been launched: MusicDishTV Plus.

MusicDishTV Plus is an upgraded stand-alone option to MusicDishTV, which delivers cutting edge music videos and recorded live performances on the leading video sharing platforms, such as YouTube and Dailymotion. MusicDishTV Plus distinguishes itself from MusicDishTV in that video submissions are guaranteed acceptance (provided the content is appropriate), and the process for releasing the video is expedited from what can be a 4-5 month waiting period (due to its popularity) to two weeks. MusicDishTV Plus also includes a professionally written video review.

Eric de Fontenay, Founder and CEO of MusicDish stated, "MusicDishTV Plus is our way of providing an alternative to talented artists who want more exposure for their music and videos quickly and effectively. As music videos are a very popular way to reach one's target audience, MusicDishTV Plus harnesses the power of the internet to efficiently maximize an artist's visibility."

The MusicDishTV Plus premium service also includes:
* postings to over 40 MusicDish LLC branded blogs & profiles
* distribution to over 35 Mi2N syndicated newswires
* features in both Mi2N and MusicDish e-Journal websites and newsletters
* targeted posting to over 75 online forums, eGroups and blogs
* increased SEO (search engine optimization) for their music brand

MusicDishTV currently has channels & profiles on the following websites:
* YouTube
* Dailymotion
* Blip.tv
* WildscreenTV
* Yahoo! Video
* myspacetv
* Facebook
* Megavideo
* Vox
* Vimeo
* Veoh
* Buzznet
* Current TV
* MusicDishTV's Blogspot
* Twitter

To submit your music video for MusicDishTV Plus, http://tv.musicdish.net

About MusicDish, LLC
Since 1997, MusicDish LLC has served as the bridge between the music industry and the artist. Through its extensive online presence, MusicDish provides artists with an edge over the ever-prevalent competition the music industry entails. MusicDish gives the artist the opportunity to take advantage of several different services: a creative approach to artist development and representation; online press release distribution & marketing; publications disclosing all the latest information involving the music industry; and even a indie music video channel.

MusicDish uses a personal and approachable staff, highly informative content delivery, and creative marketing strategies to give the artist the best way to approach & advance in the seemingly inaccessible - and ever changing - music industry.

CONTACT:
Jessica Wilson
MusicDishTV Program Director
(718) 278-0662
tv@musicdish.net