China Daily Global Edition (USA)
STAR SOUNDS WARNING NOTE ON STATE OF MUSIC INDUSTRY
Liu Huan says singer-songwriters struggling to break through
Although he is one of China’s best-known pop stars, Liu Huan manages to keep a low profile away from the entertainment scene. Starting his career in the entertainment industry in 1987, he has become well known, but as a professor of Western music history at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, Liu distances himself from show business. When the 57-year-old recently appeared on the television show Talk to Lu Jian, which is produced and broadcast by China Central Television, he made headlines with his remarks about saving the music industry in China. “It’s true that the Chinese music industry is booming, but we are in an awkward situation,” Liu said on the show. “We have lots of platforms to showcase Chinese singer-songwriters and promote their songs. We possibly produce the most songs in the world. However, why are singer-songwriters still struggling to break through in the industry? Why don’t we have songs that enjoy lasting popularity and can be termed classic? “Many reality shows feature new singers performing classic pop songs from the 1990s, which receive warm feedback from fans. Why? Because those songs are classic, but sadly we don’t have any new songs good enough to replace them.” Liu, who has been a judge on TV reality shows aimed at introducing new singers, said the traditional way of bringing forward music stars and hit songs, which is dominated by recording companies, changed with the birth and boom of the internet.
Although the internet helps showcase new talent, which connects with fans through social media platforms, such platforms can be a double-edged sword.
Liu said figures suggest the music scene in China is booming. The 2021 International Federation of the Phonographic Industry annual Global Music Report ranked the nation as the seventh-largest music market last year.
According to the year-end report on China’s music market released by domestic online music entertainment platform Tencent Music Entertainment Group, or TME, more than 748,000 new songs were written in China in 2020, surpassing the total number written from 2017 to 2019. Some 133,000 Chinese singer-songwriters released new songs last year, a year-on-year rise of 82 percent.
The Tencent report also said that in the fourth quarter of last year, the number of active monthly users of QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo — online streaming services run by TME — reached 622 million. Some 56 million users paid to listen to music through these services.
Liu said: “It’s great to enjoy music from around the world by just clicking the ‘play’ button on your phone. The money people pay to listen to music online for a whole year may only have bought one or two CDs 20 years ago. However, without a traditional ‘engine’ such as a recording company, the music industry doesn’t work in an orderly way.
“After a singer-songwriter shares his or her songs on the internet, what’s next? If the song goes viral, will the artist receive sufficient reimbursement to invest in the next song?”
Liu added that the quality of songs appearing on the market is also a problem.
“Music is amazing. The songs you listen to can inspire you and even change your life. Inspiring lyrics or melodies can motivate you or remind you to appreciate the beauty of the world you live in. This is one of the best things about songwriting and enjoying music,” he said.
“However, if you try to appeal to everybody in the world, then you become lost. I’m just trying to produce music that makes sense to me, and I’m lucky there are people with whom I can share the music I create.
“From my experience of songwriting, you can never predict the next big thing, because you don’t know what the listeners want. I just express myself and stay true to my music, which has really taken on a life of its own.”
Changing culture
Online TV reality shows have become key to advancing a new singer’s career. The music industry creates pop idols, and leading songwriters are flocking to write for them. Music drives a show, and the show in turn propels music sales.
However, the industry hasn’t always worked in this way, and pop is often considered a reflection of changing culture.
The concept of original Chinese music, including pop and rock, emerged in the late 1980s, largely influenced by pop from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Stars such as Taiwan singer Teresa Teng and Hong Kong singer-actor Alan Tam won a large and solid fan base with their songs, especially love ballads. In the 1990s, Hong Kong stars Andy Lau, Leon Lai, Aaron Kwok and Jacky Cheung were regarded as the “four heavenly kings”, dominating the music charts and sweeping awards.
Homeland Love, a mellow ballad written by Ma Jinghua and Zhang Peiji, is considered the first original pop song from the Chinese mainland. It was first performed by Li Guyi in 1980, when she was 36.
In contrast to the solid singing style and wide vocal range that dominated the country’s music scene at the time, Li performed the song sweetly, softly and romantically.
Pop soon won a large fan base among music lovers on the mainland, and more singer-songwriters emerged, such as Faye Wong, Na Ying and Han Hong. Millions of their cassettes sold during the golden years for Chinese recording companies.
In addition to pop, other forms of music, including rock, hip-hop and folk, started to appear.
In 1986, Cui Jian, a then-25-year-old trumpet player with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, took part in a concert at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing, performing his original song Nothing to My Name. By the end of his performance, a rock star had been born.
In 1994, the Chinese Rock Power concert was held in Hong Kong. Bringing together He Yong, former Black Panther lead vocalist Dou Wei, Zhang Chu and rock band Tang Dynasty, it was the first time mainland musicians had performed in the city. Local audiences were stunned by the acts, and the momentum was created for a wave of rock to music to wash across China.
“At that time, recording companies were the major force in leading and driving the music industry. They discovered new tal
I just express myself and stay true to my music, which has really taken on a life of its own.”
Liu Huan, pop star and songwriter
ent, created singer-songwriters’ images and released cassettes or CDs, which were their major source of income,” Liu said.
Born in Tianjin, Liu graduated in French at the Institute of International Relations in Beijing. Self-taught, he showed his talent for music at university — writing songs in his dormitory after classes.
In 1985, he won first prize in a French songwriting competition, which included a free trip to Paris, during which he first heard foreign music, which broadened his horizons and inspired him.
A year later, Liu was sent to work as a teacher in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, where he listened to and became absorbed in local folk music.
He has won numerous awards in China and has experimented with a range of music, including classical, jazz, reggae and pop.
Liu wrote and performed the theme songs for many popular Chinese TV series, including Sun in Heart for Snowing City in 1987, Asking Myself a Thousand Times, the theme song for the popular drama A Beijing
Native in New York, in 1993, and Heroes’ Song for the 1997 TV series Shui Hu Zhuan ( The Water Margin).
He also wrote and performed Asian Mighty Winds, the official theme song for the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, and You and Me, the theme song for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which he performed with British singer Sarah Brightman.
It is not the first time that Liu has voiced his concerns about the music scene. In 2019, when he appeared on Hunan Satellite TV’s reality show Singer, he said the pop music industry in China was in crisis and he called for domestic singer-songwriters to produce “good original music”.
That year, he also said he planned to support young original Chinese singer-songwriters by donating 20 million yuan ($3.08 million) to launch the Liu Huan Original Music Foundation.
Music industry veterans, including songwriters Zhang Yadong and Gao Xiaosong, along with recording company heads such as Shen Lihui, founder and CEO of Modern Sky, which has more than 100 rock bands on its books, act as judges for an annual competition staged by the foundation. The winner receives 1 million yuan, which is used to produce songs. Liu also trains the winner in songwriting.
On Jan 11 last year, 24-year-old singersongwriter Qin Fanqi became the first winner of the competition. This year, the contest was won by Qiu De.
“I was attracted by these two winners’ creativity. Their lyrics are realistic and reflect their lives. They have something to say through their music, rather than following a trend,” Liu said.
Fan base gained
Graduating from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music with a major in pop music performance, Qin said, “Liu shares his experience as a singer-songwriter, which gives me inspiration.”
Qin gained a fan base after performing on popular reality shows such as Chuang, produced by TME and Youku. Such shows are aimed at promoting young Chinese original singer-songwriters.
Taking part in the foundation’s competition after being recommended by producers of reality shows she appeared on, Qin said: “I am very lucky and grateful. It’s exciting to share my songs with other people.”
She said she enjoyed singing during her childhood and started to play guitar at university, adding that songwriting is “like doing jigsaw puzzles”.
“It’s a very mysterious process and my only rule is I have to love the song or be moved by it,” she said.
She takes her guitar wherever she goes. “I try to write down my feelings about life and use my guitar to tell my stories through melodies,” Qin said.
Qiu, this year’s winner, stood out from the competition with his original songs, especially a new number he wrote about COVID-19 — the only material in the contest to center on the pandemic.
A graduate of Guiyang Normal University’s Music School in Guizhou province, he plays guitar and piano. Since university, Qiu has written more than 200 songs and shared them online.
“Liu is like a mentor, telling me to be creative and learn to incorporate new elements into my music. I have long written songs every day, which I like doing,” Qiu added.