From dark gothic Taiwanese rock to Japanese bossa nova, Chinese classical crossover and Korean opera, the sounds of Asia are blasting this year's annual MIDEM music industry market.
As the digital music revolution that took off in Asia's digital power houses gains worldwide momentum, music, mobile and gaming industries in both East and West are hungering for a bigger slice of action in each other's territories.
And signs that China's potentially massive market is beginning to court foreign companies ahead of the Beijing Olympics has whipped up a buzz of anticipation across the trade floor of the world's premier music trade show.
PHOTO: AFP
The world is now "looking to China as it develops and becomes a world power," China specialist Alastair Hunt of SWAT Enterprises said at a conference at MIDEM, which is seeing its largest Asian presence ever.
Japan, now the world's second-largest music market, is the biggest Asian attendee, with a pavilion hosting 127 companies.
But the spotlight has also turned to China, which has brought its largest official delegation ever to Cannes, with some 30 companies.
Still, with Internet and physical CD piracy rife across Asia, and in China in particular, the Western music world is extremely cautious about venturing into Asian markets.
The latest statistics from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) say it all.
While digital music sales in the US, the world's biggest music market, clocked up US$635 million last year, they registered zero in China, the world's fastest growing economy.
Despite that, the IFPI report noted that new markets like China that were historically closed to legitimate business by ruinous levels of piracy now are offering the prospect of a "leap to digital."
Moreover, China appears to be battling hard to curb piracy and is keen to publicize the fact.
This will be a reassuring message for the music executives who have packed the large number of Asia-oriented conferences held in parallel to the hectic bread-and-butter business of buying and selling.
But they will probably also follow the advice of the experts to take their time to get to know their potential markets.
Meanwhile, live Asian groups are turning up the volume at the trade fair, with Taiwan in the limelight on Monday evening at a Taiwan Beat night.
A showcase for three totally different local acts, the gig could prove to be an international break for dark, gothic rockers Chthonic, refined electro artist Lim Giong (林強) and carnivalesque Hohak Band's mix of tribal music with modern sounds.
ECONOMIC RESILIENCE: Only 11.4 percent of Taiwan’s overseas investments last year were in China, and businesses are dispersing their investments elsewhere, Lai said China’s ambition to annex Taiwan is based on a desire to change the rules-based international order, rather than a desire for territorial gains, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an interview. During an appearance on the talk show The View With Catherine Chang, aired last night, Lai said China aimed to achieve hegemony, and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was an issue of worldwide concern. During the interview, Lai also discussed his “four-pillar plan” for peace and prosperity, which he first outlined in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on July 4 last year. That
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
RSS