Hao Hao ReportThe best China news and blog posts

The first part in an introductory report on the state of the Chinese independent music industry, written from a western industry perspective.

A group representing more than 1,400 music companies in 73 countries has said it is preparing to sue Yahoo! China over allegations that it links users to Web sites offering pirated music.

A general introduction to the music business in China from a western industry perspective.

Here's an interview I recently did with Neocha SEO Sean Leow. Sean gives us the low-down on the changing Chinese creative landscape as well as talking about his company, Neocha - a social network of creative Chinese who upload everything from pictures to music.

Also in the article are links to Neocha's cool NEXT player, which streams non-stop independent Chinese music free for all to listen to. Let it never be said again that China doesn't have any "good" music.

"The plaintiffs include Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, and they are suing Alibaba, which runs Yahoo China, for a total of RMB5.5 million for their combined economic losses," says China CRS. "They are also asking Alibaba to stop having Yahoo China infringe on their copyrights."

Oh boy, I’m guessing this is like party music, similar to Japanese hip hop (for Western people, think Beastie Boys and Will Smith, not JayZ or 50 Cent). The closest I get to Chinese hiphop is Jay Chou(Zhou Jielun) and Coco Lee (Li Wen), which is not saying much. I found it interesting that the article stated some complaints from locals, saying “you can not rap in Chinese…it is not suitable” when Jay Chou, in Taiwan, has been doing it for some years now. The vast majority of Chinese words end in vowels and are often monosyllabic, that is perfect for rap…much easier to rhyme.

It's hard to not lose faith in the Chinese music scene. It would appear, on the surface at least, that China is happy enough filling their ears with prefab crap - but this article shows there's hope in the wings.

Violinist Alec Hou was concertmaster for the Shanghai Conservatory when Mao's Cultural Revolution ended his classical musical career. Imprisoned and forced into labour camps, he fled to Canada. Now, more than 25 years later, he's returning to Shanghai, to face the demons of his past in China, but also to perform the music he loves.

A lovely song turned into a horrible music video that does not even try to be one.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0V34XuGxm_k