China Music Now
International music industry representatives from key Chinese music companies came together with local industry for the China Music Now panel. Offering an invaluable insight into unprecedented opportunities that exist in China’s contemporary music market now, the expert panel further explored potential future connections.
With a focus on touring within China as well as connecting to international Chinese audiences, the panel focused on the VMDO’s aim of supporting local music businesses, in order to create pathways and networks into new markets within China.
Moderator:
Mindy Meng Wang
Panellists:
A.J (Ai, Jing), Showstart & Rye Music Festival
Ni Bing, Taihe Music Group
Ran Zhang, Modern Sky
Zoe Huang, Mega Stage
Presented by the VMDO, Melbourne Music Week and Arts Centre Melbourne.
Moderator & Speakers
Mindy Meng Wang
Moderator
Mindy Meng Wang is a versatile Chinese/Australian musician, teacher and composer. Her cross-cultural life and professional experience create her unique style, which has been influenced by Chinese classical and western contemporary music. She excels in experimental and improvisation and her long-term vision is to create a deeper and reciprocal musical connection between Australia and China.
Her music and composing career has seen her perform across China, Europe, UK and Australia. Locally, has performed at Sydney Festival, Dark Mofo, Asia TOPA, NGV, Port Fairy Folk Festival, OzAsia, Australian Open and has performed with contemporary artists Gorillaz and Regurgitator.
A.J
Showstart & Rye Music Festival
Project Director of Showstart (Taihe Music Group), Artist Director of Rye Music Festival, Founder of HazeSounds, Manager of the band Default.
Born and raised up in Beijing, graduated with Master Degree in Entrepreneurship from KTH, Sweden. He entered the music live industry in 2006 when studying music productions in Norway when he brought his classmate’s band to play at MIDI Music Festival in Beijing. Over the years he has brought many top quality foreign acts to China, such as Carl Barat, Ride, Slowdive, Angus & Julia Stone, Wolf Alice, Amadou & Mariam, The Drums, Marian Hill, Toy, The Royal Concept, and is considered one of the most influential and competitive promoters in China. Rye Music Festival is seen the most remarkable and acclaimed music festival in China, primarily known for its artists selection which A.J is responsible for. He is also actively engaged in promoting young Chinese bands. The band he manages - Default, has become a new icon of the “after-95” Chinese bands, young but sophisticated with huge potential yet to exploit.
Ran Zhang
Modern Sky
Director, International Business of Modern Sky / Founder/Producer, Sound of the Xity / Booking Director, Strawberry Music Festival / Director, Modern Sky International Booking Agency
Modern Sky Entertainment, which is China’s largest music entertainment group, annually hosts more than 30 festivals, 500 shows and entertains 3 million people. By the end of 2018, Modern Sky had signed over 89 music artists, produced an annual series of Strawberry Music Festivals in more than 20 Chinese cities, and also held Modern Sky festivals in New York, Seattle, and Helsinki. The Strawberry Music Festival Series is China's biggest festival series, organised by Modern Sky Entertainment. In 2016 edition, the festivals sold out tickets about 20,000/day/city.
Ran oversees the planning of the China tours of international performers such as The xx, The Prodigy, alt-J, Disclosure, MEW, Wolf Alice, Franz Ferdinand, Crystal Castles, Radwimps, BRMC, Mando Diao, Fourtet, The Vaccines, Charli XCX, RHYE, Marky Ramone, The Drums and More. International artists who have played in Modern Sky's festivals include: The prodigy, Disclosure,Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Hives, Justice, Mogwai, Modestep,Tricky, Cat Power, Cut Copy, Liars, The Cardigans, The Big Pink, Travis, Brett Anderson, Tegan and Sara, Explosions In The Sky, Blonde Redhead, Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, Radio 4,Camera Obscura, Dinosaur Jr., The Go! Team, Mono, HIM, Classixx, and more.
Ni Bing
Taihe Music Group
Bing Ni (China), DJ,Promoter, Podcaster, Founder of Martial Artists Management/Drum Rider GmbH
Ni Bing is one of the founding fathers of China’s electronic music. He started as a radio DJ in Shenzhen boomtown back in the mid-‘90s. After promoting indie shows in China over 20 years mostly focus on electronic and hip hop music, Ni just set up his own record label in Chengdu Drum Rider Records at 2015 targeting the increasing potential of local talents and working with world class producers. Ni also runs the most popular podcast Midnightalks with his radio show Future Mix which always has 4-5 millions clicks each episode with 20 million fans.
Ni was hired as the Chief A&R Director for online TV production show called Rave In China, invested by Tencent and producers by Star TV to handle mostly three celebrities and all talents music production A&R works. He’s now also work as Head of International for the biggest music company, Taihe Music Group in China.
Ni believes the future between East and West is to learn from each other and work together tightly, that’s another reason he decided to set up his office in Berlin where is his favourite city in West.
Zoe Huang
Mega Star
Zoe Huang, with more than a decade of working experience in copyright licensing and music distribution focused on China market, has been consistently playing an indispensable role in improving copyright regulative circumstances and exploring new revenue model for local music industry.
Zoe is the founder of Mega Stage, a company engaged in helping international non-mainstream musicians and independent music companies to grow and monetise in China. With its handful of connections with industry sectors from digital platforms, radio networks, event organisers and brands, Mega Stage develops a full-dimension marketing model tailored to international non-mainstream music.
Before that, Zoe was the Content VP of Starmaker Interactive Inc., a San Francisco based tech company, taking charge of global copyright licensing for music content made available at StarMaker, a Karaoke APP operated by the company. Under Zoe’s efforts, StarMaker built up a global legitimized Karaoke backing track library offered to its 40 million users located worldwide. She also successfully operated cross-promo campaigns with influential, globally or locally, music talent shows like The Voice, American Idol, Sing Like A Star, etc., and high-profile musicians in multiple jurisdictions.
Before joining Starmaker, Zoe had been working for R2G Limited since 2004. R2G is the forerunner of legitimate digital music distributor in China and was acquired by Tencent Music Entertainment as the most influential music distributor with the biggest licensing repertoire. It was in those years that Zoe was able to participate to create some of the most marking milestones in history of China’s music industry. Zoe led the campaign to separate publishing right from recording right, which was taken as a whole right in practice before.
