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OneRepublic play China’s most-watched TV event

OneRepublic made history as the first American band to perform during China’s Spring Festival Gala, the country’s biggest televised event.

First aired in 1983, the long-running annual variety show is a key cultural event during the Lunar New Year and is broadcast on China Central Television (CCTV).

This year’s five-hour live programme, which took place on 29 January, drew a record-breaking 496 million livestream views, up 18% year-on-year.

Produced by China Media Group, the show includes music, dance, opera, martial arts, and comedy, shaping pop culture and national conversation around the Lunar New Year.

OneRepublic’s performance of their hit song Counting Stars in front of Wuhan’s famous Yellow Crane Tower marked a rare English-language set at the Spring Festival Gala.

“By featuring OneRepublic, the gala not only added a touch of international flair but also sent a message of China’s cultural openness,” CCTV said.

“By featuring OneRepublic, the gala not only added a touch of international flair but also sent a message of China’s cultural openness”

The rare performance comes as China makes a concerted push for international artists in the country. It was reported earlier this month that Shanghai officials held preliminary talks with Taylor Swift about a potential concert in the capital this year.

Last year, advisers to the Shanghai government referred to superstars such as Swift as “walking GDP” because of their massive economic impact, and called for restrictions on international performers to be relaxed to host more high-profile shows.

The counsellors’ office of the Shanghai municipal government said on its social media account last year that government departments should streamline approvals, visas, customs and other logistical challenges that limited the potential to attract top-tier talent.

China’s financial hub has hosted many large-scale, commercial performances in recent years, but “it lacks stars that are weighty, internationally influential or truly appealing to young people,” the counsellors’ office said in an article posted on its official WeChat account.

Spilt Works managing director Archie Hamilton spoke to IQ late last year about the future of international acts performing in China.

 


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What’s next for international artists in China?

Spilt Works managing director Archie Hamilton has spoken to IQ about the future of international acts performing in China.

Founded in 2006, Split Works has enjoyed a long-standing reputation as a pioneer in importing international performers to China, organising tours for Sonic Youth, Death Cab for Cutie, Grimes and Ghostface Killah.

Nowadays, Hamilton’s focus is on artist development in order to “build bridges between Asia and the West” via his booking agency Scorched – no easy task given China’s strict policies for international artists.

Chinese authorities will often require foreign artists to submit set lists and song lyrics before getting approval to tour – and even then acts are often unsuccessful.

However, this looked set to change last month when infamous rapper Kanye West was granted rare approval for two “listening parties” at the Wuyuanhe Stadium in Haikou.

The sold-out stadium gigs, which drew 70,000 people, marked Ye’s first performances in the East Asian country in 16 years – in which time the government’s tolerance for Western artists less divisive than him rapidly diminished.

“China likes stable, bankable stuff that’s not going to upset the apple cart and Kanye is about as firebrand as you could be”

In 2017, Justin Bieber was barred from China because of his reputation as a “badly behaved entertainer” while, in 2016, Lady Gaga’s entire repertoire was reportedly forbidden after she met the Dalai Lama.

More recently, Chinese authorities clamped down on hip-hop, blacklisting songs and dropping rappers from shows. Its media regulator banned Chinese television from featuring “actors with tattoos or depictions of hip-hop culture, subculture and immoral culture”.

“China likes stable, bankable stuff that’s not going to upset the apple cart and Kanye is about as firebrand as you could be,” Hamilton tells IQ.

“There was some excitement about the concert happening because it’s the first time in a while there’s been a big international stadium show – one of the last [successful] ones I can remember is Linkin Park in 2016. Plus there wasn’t a lot of preamble [ahead of the concert]. It just sort of happened. And no one knows who promoted the show. It was just really obscure.”

The show reportedly took in 51 million yuan ($7.3 million) in ticket sales and generated close to 373 million yuan (€47.2m) in total tourism revenue for the city. But its success doesn’t necessarily mean all Chinese cities will follow in the footsteps of Haikou.

As Hamilton points out, Haikou, the capital of the island province of Hainan, is somewhat of an outlier in China.

The island is one of seven Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in the country, which benefits from a separate administration, liberal economic laws and enhanced infrastructure support among other things.

“Kanye’s show was a bit of a shot in the arm after a pretty bleak year for the Chinese live market”

“The local government seems to be willing to support [concerts] from a financial standpoint and also from a permitting standpoint,” he explains. “Permits are obviously difficult to obtain in China and always have been. Given Hainan’s status as a SEZ, I think it wants to try and flex a bit of muscle and show that it can be different to the rest of the mainland.”

With its tropical climate, beach resorts and five-star hotels, Hainan also benefits from a reputation as the ‘Hawaii of China’ and a healthy influx of tourists.

“Given the challenges of travel for a lot of Chinese people who don’t necessarily have passports and money, it’s a huge destination,” Hamilton adds.

The downside of Hainan is the absence of a local audience, continues Hamilton, which perhaps explains why 95% of attendees at Ye’s show travelled from outside the island.

“It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any kind of follow-through,” he muses. “Often in China, when there’s a big moment, everyone jumps in and gets excited. But after that, people will get hopelessly over-invested and then kind of implode or explode, or just wither on the vine.”

Though Hamilton is doubtful that Ye’s concert in Hainan will kickstart a trend with international artists flocking to China, there’s no denying it’s piqued interest.

“I’ve already had three or four requests from Hainan since the concert – there is definitely more attention,” he reveals. “Kanye’s show was a bit of a shot in the arm after a pretty bleak year for the Chinese live market.

“As with any market, if artists are willing and available to put the time in, they’ll reap what they sow”

“There was a push for international artists in early ’24 but it was all really disappointing because the internet just isn’t set up for those artists,” he explains.

Indeed, the Communist Party is known to control the flow of art and content from foreign producers, and strictly censor domestic publications, performances and social media postings.

“There’s been a requirement for TV and platforms and stuff to focus on promoting and investing in domestic talent predominantly so the international stuff just gets marginalised,” Hamilton adds.

“An artist that can sell 500 tickets in China can probably sell 1,500 tickets in the West or anywhere else,” the Split Works co-founder adds. “Artists that can sell 5,000 tickets in China could probably sell 20,000 tickets anywhere else.”

However, international artists who have consistently invested in the market have reaped the rewards.

“We’ve got three arena shows with Cigarettes After Sex in March of next year that are just about to go on sale,” he continues. “That’s a band that we built from 500 capacity to arena level right in seven years – though it would have been shorter without Covid. They worked hard on coming early and coming regularly.

“We also brought Honne through twice in the last two years. They played nine cities, three festivals, six hard ticket shows and the money is pretty good, I would argue. But again, Honne started working in the market in 2017. So it’s been an eight-year cycle of investment in platforms and channels, and speaking to fans and doing collaborations and coming to the market regularly.”

Other Western stars that have recently visited the market – or are planning to visit soon – include Mariah Carey, John Legend and Charlie Puth.

Hamilton concludes: “As with any market, if artists are willing and available to put the time in, they’ll reap what they sow.”

 


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China promises ‘severe punishment’ for scalpers

China’s police authority has launched a year-long campaign to stamp out ticket scalping in music, sports and other cultural events.

The Ministry of Public Security asked police authorities nationwide to comprehensively strengthen measures to crack down on violations, prevent and control further offences, and better regulate these sectors.

The ministry has encouraged severe punishment for organised criminal groups of “professional” scalpers. Efforts will focus on investigating and punishing criminal gangs that use cheating software to snatch tickets and disrupting the collusion between scalpers and business insiders. Additionally, there will be regulations implemented for online platforms used in ticket scalping.

Key measures include enhancing identity verification to prevent fraudulent bookings and blocking virtual phone numbers and high-frequency IP addresses.

The department will also coordinate with other organisations such as China’s cyberspace regulator and culture, tourism, sports, and cultural heritage agencies to achieve effective ticketing governance throughout the entire process including ticket sales, circulation, verification and consumer rights protection.

“Efforts should be made to thoroughly collect and examine information and tip-offs on scalping activities from various channels and to bust the developers of relevant cheating software,” reads a statement from the Chinese government.

“Business insiders who get involved in scalping, including those who work for the sponsors, ticketing platforms, and travel agencies, will also be strictly punished.”

Due to high demand, some fans face difficulty in buying tickets legally, so they’re forced to seek alternative methods”

In the summer, Beijing police set up a special task force to tackle the illegal activities of scalpers who seize and resell tickets, detaining nearly 180 individuals on criminal and administrative charges respectively.

The Chinese government started its crackdown on scalping last year by implementing real-name verification for ticket purchases, which requires the ticket purchaser and the spectator to be the same person. The method also prevents one ID-card holder from booking more than one ticket.

Elsewhere, ticketing powerhouses such as Damai and Maoyan have incorporated blockchain technology to combat fraudsters and scalpers.

According to the 2024 International Ticketing Report, the sharp rise in scalping is a result of unstoppable growth in China’s live entertainment sector.

“Due to high demand, some fans face difficulty in buying tickets legally, so they’re forced to seek alternative methods in the form of secondary ticketing platforms,” Lesley Zhang, market expert and head of Creative China, told the publication.

Last year, the sector saw soaring ticket sales, multi-day artist shows in major cities, and a glut of new festivals across provincial regions.

According to an annual report published in June by the Communication University of China, the overall live entertainment market will reach $3.7bn by the year’s end – an increase of 31.8% compared to 2019, and an increase of 122.3% compared to 2022. Statista’s projections are that event ticket revenue will reach up to $10.4bn by 2027.

 


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Kanye West’s China concert provides tourism boost

Kanye West’s first performance in China in 16 years has been credited with providing a tourism boost for the country’s economy.

West attracted around 40,000 fans to his show – billed as a “world tour listening party” – at the Wuyuanhe Stadium in Haikou last Sunday (15 September).

The event was held on the opening night of the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, contributing to an average hotel occupancy rate of more than 83% – double last year’s figure – according to data from the municipal bureau of tourism, with 95% of attendees travelling from outside the island.

The majority of fans were from Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Beijing, with others coming from further afield such as Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and abroad.

The Los Angeles Times reports the show grossed more than US$7 million (€6.3m) in ticket sales, while Xinhua notes the concert is estimated to generate close to 373 million yuan (€47.2m) in total tourism revenue for the city.

“The show had a significant influence, with the vast majority of attendees coming from outside the island, bringing a large influx of tourists to Haikou”

“The show had a significant influence, with the vast majority of attendees coming from outside the island, bringing a large influx of tourists to Haikou,” says Lyu Xiaolei, deputy mayor of Haikou.

“These visitors are engaged in duty-free shopping and various cultural and tourism activities, which will greatly boost Haikou’s holiday consumption.”

A follow-up West listening party in Haikou is slated for 28 September. The rapper also performed at Goyang Stadium in South Korea last month. CAA cut ties with the 47-year-old in 2022 following his antisemitic comments and other controversies.

Xiaolei adds that Haikou, which is the capital of the island province of Hainan, is bidding to entice more global and domestic artists as it looks to build a reputation as an international city of performing arts.

Mariah Carey also performed in China during the festival, playing two nights at Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium on 15-16 September. And Wang Jiansheng, head of the Hainan Tourism Development Research Association, says that concerts by Western artists are on the increase in the country.

“Attending concerts has become a new form of social interaction,” adds Jiansheng. “Fans, mostly young people, are also the main consumers in the tourism market.”

 


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EDM festival STORM returning for ‘Shanghai Summer’

China’s STORM Electronic Music Festival is to be resurrected as part of the inaugural “Shanghai Summer” International Consumption Season.

Running from July until mid-October, Shanghai Summer is being launched by Shanghai Municipal People’s Government to help attract international tourists to the city. It will include more than 100 events, including concerts, music festivals, cultural performances, art exhibitions and major sports.

Hailed as “the largest and the most influential local electronic music IP in China”, STORM is booked for Citizen Sports Park in Shanghai from 2-3 October. The festival brand was founded by Eric Chow of A2LiVE in 2013.

Starting out in Shanghai, STORM was aligned with the IMS Asia-Pacific conference and ran for five years, expanding to eight other Chinese cities and debuting an Australian spin-off at The Crescent in Sydney in 2017. DJs such as The Chemical Brothers, Axwell & Ingrosso, Marshmello, Kygo and Afrojack starred during its most recent edition.

While details of its return are currently scarce, it promises “a star-studded lineup, stunning stage production, interactive experiences and spectacular fireworks displays”. Both local and international acts are set to feature.

“STORM strongly believes in collaborations and aims to nurture the EDM culture with up-and-coming new talents”

“STORM strongly believes in collaborations and aims to nurture the EDM culture with up-and-coming new talents,” states the Shanghai Summer guidebook.

Other notable events being held under the Shanghai Summer banner are the Civilisation of Ancient Egypt Exhibition, Shanghai International Cruise Festival, City Walk Pro: Experience Shanghai Now, Shanghai Tourism Festival, Shanghai International Light Festival and ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters.

Global partners include China Mobile, China Telecom, China Eastern Airlines, Bailian Group, Jinjiang International, Ctrip, Marriott International and Cathay Pacific.

According to a press release, more than two million foreign visitors entered Shanghai through its ports from January to June this year – about 2.8x more than the same period last year.

 


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Montreux Jazz boss targets ‘iconic destinations’

Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF) chief Mathieu Jaton has revealed he is eyeing up “iconic destinations” for the brand’s continued international expansion.

The iconic Swiss festival returns to the Lake Geneva shoreline from 5-20 July this year. However, Jaton and the team are also exploring further overseas spin-offs following the festival’s successful debut in the US in Miami, Florida, earlier this year.

MJF has previously held international editions in Tokyo, Japan, Suzhou, China and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. And Jaton, who has directed the event since 2013, tells IQ that there is much more to come on that front.

“The future of the festival is very interesting because next year we’re going to have at least six international festivals in iconic locations,” says Jaton. “Tokyo is coming back in ’24, as is China and Brazil, which will maybe move from Rio to Salvador, Bahia. We will also continue in Miami.

“We will open in Abu Dhabi at the Louvre. We’re going to have the stage on the sea facing the museum, which is going to be great. And the last baby is a Montreux Jazz Festival in Ibiza. We’re still processing, thinking and talking about it. It’s not definitely signed yet, but we have the date, we have the partners, we have everything.

“The goal is to bring jazz into the mecca of electronic music. I love the idea: the electronic music needs recognition from the jazz scene, and the jazz scene needs electronic music to be open to the word. So having Montreux in the middle is a very nice sign. I love that.”

“The goal is not to have 10 or 20 festivals around the planet. We’re looking for iconic destinations that make sense with our DNA”

The third Montreux Jazz Festival China is set for 25-27 October at Suzhou Culture and Arts Centre, while talks have also taken place regarding a potential MJF South Africa.

“We are having discussions [about an event] close to Cape Town,” adds Jaton. “But it’s not a strategic development in terms of us wanting a very big expansion and having 10 or 20 festivals around the planet – that’s not the goal. We’re looking for iconic destinations that make sense with our DNA.”

Montreux Jazz Festival Miami premiered over three days in March at waterfront venue The Hangar, with actor and rapper Will Smith joining event co-owner and ambassador Jon Batiste on stage for an impromptu rap performance on the second night.

“Miami was crazy. We were very happy with it,” says Jaton. “We decided to start small and beautiful in Coconut Grove with only 1,500 people. Jon Batiste headed the festival, and as an ambassador, he brought all of his friends. We got the appearance of Will Smith coming in and jamming with Jon, which was very much in the spirit of Montreux.”

Batiste headlined the first two days of the event, which also featured the likes of Daryl Hall, The Wailers, Cimafunk, Emily Estefan, Cory Henry, Mathis Picard, Daniela Mercury and Adrian Cota & The Winston House Band, topped off with the Legendary Montreux Jam Session, curated by Elmo Lovano.

“The American audience was quite surprised to see a little bit of a different way of doing things,” adds Jaton. “It was a really interesting first edition and we will continue in that vein.”

 


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K-pop festival Waterbomb splashes into new markets

Touring K-pop festival series Waterbomb Festival is expanding to several global markets this year, with new editions set for the US, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, the UAE, Singapore, and China.

Set to kick off this May in Xiamen, China, the international series will take water-soaked stars to Hong Kong in June before touring South Korea and Japan in July and more cities across both, plus Singapore, in August. A Bangkok edition has been set for September, with stints in Los Angeles, Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei, and Dubai to be announced.

First held in 2015 in Seoul, South Korea, the festival series first expanded to new markets in 2023 with two editions in Japan and one in Bangkok. This year, the series will visit nine cities in South Korea, four in Japan, and one in Thailand, along with the new editions.

The event was launched by Hong Kong-based streaming platform Viu and Singapore-based Evergreen Group Holdings, with local promoters helping bring it to new territories.

The K-pop genre continues to soar to new hights and into new markets

As the name suggests, Waterbomb intertwines various water activities alongside local and international lineups of K-pop, hip-hop, and EDM performers. Though lineups vary by city, performers include K-pop supergroup TWICE’s Nayeon, American rapper Jay Park, and SHINEE’s Taemin, and South Korean singers Hwasa, Chung Ha, and Bibi, among a variety of others. Former performers include Blackpink, aespa, Simon Dominic, and Jessi.

The K-pop genre continues to soar to new heights and into new markets, with behemoth HYBE reporting its concert revenue skyrocketed by 40% in 2023, reaching KRW 359.1 billion (€253m) in the year. Last autumn, fellow agency SM Entertainment announced its Q3 revenue surged 40% year-on-year, partly attributed to their star’s expansive world tours.

KCON, the world’s biggest K-pop and culture convention, also expanded to a fifth region this year, adding Hong Kong to its 2024 lineup of Japan, Los Angeles, Saudia Arabia, and to-be-announced Europe.

The 2024 schedule is as follows:

May
18-18: Xiamen, China

June
1-2: Hong Kong

July
5-7: Seoul, South Korea
13: Jeju, South Korea
13: Fukuoka, Japan
20: Daegu, South Korea
27: Busan, South Korea
27-28: Tokyo, Japan

August
3: Incheon, South Korea
10: Daejeon, South Korea
10: Osaka, Japan
17: Sokcho, South Korea
17: Nagoya, Japan
24: Suwon, South Korea
24-25: Singapore, Singapore
31: Gwangju, South Korea

September
TBA: Bangkok

TBA
Los Angeles, United States
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Taipei, Taiwan
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

 


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El Salvador to build largest stadium in Central America

El Salvador has broken ground on a new 52,000-capacity stadium, set to be the largest in Central America.

The US$100 million venue, developed by the Chinese government, will host El Salvador’s national football team along with other events, such as concerts by international artists.

Located to the west of the capital city, San Salvador, the new Estadio Nacional stadium is being built in the municipality of Antiguo Cuscatlán on land currently occupied by the Capitán General Gerardo Barrios military school.

The new stadium, expected to be complete in early 2027, will replace Estadio Cuscatlán, which opened in July 1976 but is now limited to a capacity of 34,000 due to regulations from world football’s governing body, FIFA.

“We are laying the first stone of what will be the most modern stadium in Latin America”

Estadio Nacional will also offer parking space for 1,400 vehicles, with the wider complex to include two basketball courts and another football pitch.

“We are laying the first stone of what will be the most modern stadium in Latin America and the largest stadium in all of Central America,” El Salvador president Nayib Bukele told local newspaper El Mundo.

In January 2022, it was revealed that China would continue its ‘stadium diplomacy’ strategy by helping to develop a new national stadium for El Salvador.

Bukele called the partnership “a testament to the friendship between the governments of China and El Salvador”.

 


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Alibaba acquires Damai to expand live events biz

Alibaba Group’s movie division is paying US$167m to take a majority stake in Pony Media Holdings, the parent company of promoter Damai, which produces concerts, festivals, theatrical events, exhibitions, and sporting events across mainland China.

The South China Morning Post reports that Alibaba Pictures filed details of the deal with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). The news outlet is also owned by Alibaba.

The filing states that the acquisition will allow the expansion of the “upstream presence of the Damai brand in the live entertainment industry value chain, such as events production and promotion, venue operation and artist management.”

Damai has more than 100 million registered customers, paving the way for Alibaba Pictures to “further build brand awareness for its offline entertainment business.”

For the quarter ending June 2023, Pony Media sales totalled CNY4 billion (US$547m), surpassing the CNY3 billion (US$410m) achieved for the previous full financial year

The filing adds, “The target group is considered a strategically valuable asset to the company, diversifying [our] revenue structure into live entertainment and expanding IP monetisation channels.

“The acquisition will also strengthen the company’s competitive position by consolidating customer resources and industry expertise from the target company.”

Despite Pony Media reporting net losses over the last three financial years, Alibaba believes that the company has turned a corner post-pandemic, noting that “it has recently witnessed a material recovery in the business.”

Indeed, for the quarter ending June 2023, Pony Media sales totalled CNY4 billion (US$547m), surpassing the CNY3 billion (US$410m) achieved for the previous full financial year, which ended in March 2023.

Alibaba Pictures president, Jie Li, comments, “We believe this transaction heralds a new chapter for the new Alibaba Pictures. Before today’s announcement, we had already established a deep connection with Damai through our exclusive service agreement, and accumulated over 20 million Taomai VIP members to date.

“Following the transaction, we will strive to integrate our resources, expand a presence along the industry value chain, drive development through technology innovation, and ultimately create value to our customers and shareholders.”

In 2017, Alibaba acquired a stake in Damai.cn, thought to be China’s market-leading ticketing agency.

 


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International K-pop festival transported to China

International K-pop festival HallyuPopFest will be exported to China this October, following editions in Singapore, Sydney and London.

The China debut will take place on 21 and 22 October at Wynn Palace, a five-star hotel situated in Macau (informally known as the ‘Las Vegas of Asia’).

NCT Dream and SHINee – both South Korean boy bands formed by SM Entertainment – will headline the Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Hyolyn, Sam Kim, Omega X and Nine to Six will also perform on the first day, while Kard, Verivery, Cherry Bullet and H1-Key join Sunday’s lineup.

“This annual K-pop festival has rapidly become a global sensation”

Attendees can expect an on-site Hallyu Town, as well as red carpet and meet & greet events in addition to the concerts, according the festival’s website. At the time of publishing, HallyuPopFest has yet to release ticketing details.

“Music tourism is on the rise around the world, and this annual K-pop festival has rapidly become a global sensation,” says Linda Chen, president and vice chairman of the company behind Wynn Palace.

“By hosting major international music festivals such as these at Wynn Palace, our goal is to put Macau on the map as a top-tier destination for international events.”

HallyuPopFest first debuted in 2018 with a three-day event in Singapore, before returning to the city-state the following year.

The festival has since expanded beyond Asia, and held its first UK and Australian events in London and Sydney in 2022.

HallyuPopFest is the latest festival brand to be transplanted in China after 88rising recently revealed plans to launch Head in the Clouds festival in Guangzhou this September.

 


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