Recently we posted some statistics for social networking in China that showed some staggering numbers demanding musicians not overlook the potential of these resources.

Let’s look at some of the top sites used in China for social networking.

China’s Twitter equivalent, Sina got smart after the first 2 Twitter knock offs got shut down and automatically censors ‘micro blogs’. It has now outdone Twitter only 6 momths after launching with over a million users.

Youku.com is China’s leading Internet video website with 30 million unique viewers a day, and 200 million a month according to Nielsen and iResearch. (That’s right, per day!)
Striving to be more than just a Chinese youtube clone, Youku also features professionally produced content.
Check out Pro Soul artist Elika Mahony on youku.

The largest Internet service portal is Tencent, with 1 billion accounts (485 million active users). In 2009, its revenues surpassed $1.5 billion, 90% of which came from digital goods and games and 10% from ads. Tencent is the most important Internet company in China and the third largest in world, after Google and Microsoft. Tencent’s social network Qzone has 310 million users. Their IM service, QQ, has 50 million concurrent users. China’s answer to Facebook, Renren has 200 million users, 55 million of whom are mobile. Another popular social network, Kaixin001 has 75 million users. The numbers are overwhelming for some marketers – a scale that is hard to imagine.

Another interesting statistic is that 40% of Chinese Web users are creators, compared with 21% of Americans, this is far too great of a market to ignore, marketers and corporations are finding creative ways to circumvent any restrictions when it comes to music marketing.

According to Forbes’ Russell Flannery ~ China Wealth, Aug. 10 2010 article Hard Pickin’ Into China’s Growing Music Industry, Mr. Flannery acknowledges that “China is a growing yet difficult market for the music industry.” He references Abigail Washburn a 30-year-old Nashville folk singer and banjo player, who’s toured with Steve Martin’s bluegrass band and enjoyed successful albums and tours on her own. With some success in the US, the artist now calls China home, and has felt the music industry in China to be welcoming but challenging at times. But she says that “In some ways, it feels like Beijing and Shanghai are ahead of the States, because they’ve actually skipped over CDs and record labels. They just do direct to consumer sales (artist to fans), which is where it needs to go in the U.S.”

Flannery’s interview with Abigail Washburn, supports the 176 million Chinese connecting via social networking system (SNS) with their “real” friends and online networks is where consumers talk about products, services and music.
These interactive online message boards are the heart of social media in China, representing a vibrant online market.

In future, Pro Soul plan on exploring more about how these social networking resources can be used effectively for promoting music virally, a significantly different approach to how it is done in the west.
We also plan to look at the part mobile phones play in this, a huge part of social culture in Asia.

Facebook, YouTube and Twitter may not work, but that doesn’t mean that social networking isn’t huge in China!

According to Sam Flemming of See i See, China’s first social media blog, “Everything that happens in the West is happening on steroids in China.” Chinese social networking statistics show:

• 384 million Internet users in China, 75% of whom are under 34
• 221 million bloggers,
• 222 million creators of online video,
• 272 million instant messaging users,
• 265 million online gamers
• 321 million users who download music

These numbers ring true and gave us a sense of the magnitude of social networking in China, clear proofs of Sam Flemming’s statement that “Everything that happens in the West is happening on steroids in China.”

The key is how to use these amazing new markets effectively for music? You can bet Pro Soul is researching this and will report our findings.

In our Part 2 post about social networking and the music business in China, we’ll look at some specific sites, and what it’s like doing business in China with music.

Google China has finally decided to make some noise (translated story) about their free MP3 search service.
They’ve been giving away mp3 downloads paid for legitimately by advertising.

When this went into beta almost a year ago Ed Peto predicted that it would be game-changing news, but somehow it has remained under the radar. At their press conference last week, however, Google China announced that all four major labels are on board, as well as all the major publishers and some 140+ indie labels, through their partner in the project, Top100. This amounts to some 1.1 million songs being given away for free.

Check out more translated details and links on Ed Peto’s music industry in China blog:

http://outdustry.com/2009/03/30/google-china-mp3-search-finally/

I just got back last week from another trip to Beijing, my longest one yet as I had 3 projects to work on and a number of meetings…

I was working with artist Elika Mahony as usual, she has just released a new album on the theme of Love, ‘Birds of Love’ that we were consulting about the promotion for, and developing a limited edition version of. We were also recording new material for an upcoming new age style progressive pop album as well as her instrumental album.
I was also producing an ambient instrumental relaxation album for Green T. Living owner, Jin R, who is also a very talented artist and performer of the beautiful Yang Qin. We also recorded some other traditional Chinese instruments I had never worked with, such as the Gu Qin (an over 2000 year old traditional Chinese instrument).

I met with some local Chinese artists including Chinese pop music legend, Cheng Lin who wanted to discuss the changes in the music industry since she started in the 1980′s and how she could move forward based on these changes connecting her offline and online marketing efforts.

In order to better assist her and assess where things were going with music 2.0 in China, I met with Tze Ern Liew, founder of the music 2.0 group on LinkedIn, and translator of the The 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online in Chinese.

We talked about how due to bootlegging, China was ahead of the west in terms of digital delivery being the primary method people get their music, and word of mouth being a primary source of new music. We discussed how China has very different social networking sites musicians use rather than Facebook, Youtube and Myspace, often much more sophisticated than the English versions.

One of the most important things I wanted to learn on the trip is how to monetize music in a country with so many millions that are online, but do not use credit cards. The key was realizing that in Asia, by far the most popular way to communicate and get information is via mobile phone. That means the hub of the future of the music industry is the mobile phone, and in fact, artists using music 2.0 business techniques in China successfully are using cell phones to promote and earn income from music, since they are so prevalent there.
It all goes back to finding out what people want, how they like to do things, and what is convenient for them, and ultimately how to get their attention and keep it. China is a huge market, so understanding these things and experimenting with them to be able to assist artists is something very exciting to me.

I was invited to go to a live recording session with Ed Peto (hub of the Chinese music industry) as part of his new ‘free music, advertising funded’ music 2.0 Chinese record label, but I was to busy to do it this time. Next trip, most likely in the fall, I hope to meet with him and many others there in the business including some artists who are successfully using new music industry techniques to reach fans, and are monetizing their efforts using the mobile phone in China.

- Jarome

The following is the first of many posts by label founder, Jarome Matthew.  Jarome will be blogging about his exciting experiences as a producer and label owner, so be sure to check back often!

I recently spent an amazing couple of weeks working with some talented musicians in Beijing, China, for various projects. 

I recorded several incredibly talented musicians in the studio of Pro Soul’s own Elika Mahony. The studio has gradually been upgraded to the point where it is almost as good quality as my own. This visit, we further enhanced it with the SE Reflection filter on the left.

The first artist we recorded was talented musician, Jin R, on her beautiful Yang Qin. Jin R is a famous modern chef in China and the owner of Green T Living restaurants across China and Hong Kong. The Yang Qin is a famous Chinese hammered dulcimer originally from Persia and resembles the Persian Santur.

Jin R played improvised compositions with fluidity and emotion for a special spiritual Chinese CD featuring a number of Beijing artists. It was inspiring and moving to capture live.
We also had the privilege of recording Phil Morrison and Keith Williams, two extremely accomplished American jazz musicians who are fusing jazz with traditional Chinese instruments, such as the Erhu, and are taking advantage of a new emerging jazz scene in Beijing and Shanghai. Their song was one of 30 selected for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

In addition, we had the pleasure of being able to record Chinese superstar singer and Erhu player, Cheng Lin, who was recently honored with a lifetime achievement award for some of the most memorable Chinese songs of all time.

It was great to work with such a seasoned professional and a genuinely kind and humble person, considering she has sold over 23 million albums in China! She is also a victim of the changes in the music industry. Especially in China, things are challenging, even for those who are well-known. We have been discussing how Pro Soul can help her, and she is excited about it.

One of Lin’s dear friends, Lily, is another talented vocalist on the project. Lily will be singing several of the songs from Elika’s most recent album, Fire and Gold, in Chinese.

In between sessions with these artists, we were working on new material with Elika for an instrumental album and a new progressive original pop album that I am very excited about. We were also putting the finishing touches on her latest album, Birds of Love, a special book and EP album on the theme of Love and Marriage. The package will be an elaborate fabric-covered book of quotes with CD inside, which would typically be far too expensive to produce, but we met with a fantastic product designer in Beijing that can design our product very beautifully at a fraction of what a simple CD jewel case and booklet would cost in North America – another great resource for Pro Soul artists!

While in China, I talked with other artists, some of which were originally from North America but had moved to booming Beijing to escape the instability of the economy. China represents over 60% of the world market for music, so I will undoubtedly be working with more artists in China and spreading the Pro Soul philosophy and assistance to artists in Asia next year.

- Jarome

The multi-talented international artist, Elika Mahony, is a vocalist, composer, pianist, and artist. Her beautiful music is a reflection of the diverse cultures to which she was exposed while growing up in various countries, including the US, Kenya, and Israel. She currently resides in China.

Elika’s music draws upon classical Western structures but incorporates instrumentation and styles from Iran to Ireland and China to Spain. The result is a unique musical experience that is distributed independently in over 23 countries and has captivated her fans from around the world.

Elika’s current spiritually inspired album, “Fire and Gold”, blends eastern and western musical styles and features a number of languages including English, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese. Click here to buy her CD now.

Elika is currently working on several projects to be released shortly. You can learn more about Elika and hear her music, as well as download free songs and videos, on her official website. You can also become a member of the Elika Mahony group on Facebook.

Elika has been a Pro Soul artist for some time now. As our inaugural artist, she tested new techniques and pioneered ideas for the benefit of future Pro Soul artists. This has proved successful in developing a growing audience for her unique music.

The Pro Soul team looks forward to continuing to assist Elika engage and expand her audience and ultimately share her gorgeous music with the world.