Mapping China: Music - Music Companies: PRC

Together with Korean entertainment companies, Universal, Sony, Warner and Avex dominate East Asia, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. Due to rampant piracy and the direct involvement of the state, the PRC is less hospitable to these transnational companies. Even companies from Hong Kong and Taiwan retracted in the course of the 1990s. Currently most music companies in the PRC are local, and they offer a wide range of services, among which putting out albums is relatively unimportant.

The core activities of PRC music companies consist of:

Obtaining publication numbers and permits. Officially, only state-owned enterprises are allowed to publish albums, hence privately owned record companies have to pay these SOE’s for publication numbers and collaboration in the official approval process.
Physical distribution. Distribution of physical albums is a problem, as there are no nation-wide chain stores that can do in-store promotion and that can be relied upon not to sell knock-off versions of the albums. In the new millennium online retailers such as Alibaba have taken over this role, and almost all physical stores have disappeared.
Digital distribution. Nowadays, distribution is almost exclusively digital and goes through the streaming websites described below. Music companies are better equipment to negotiate income from these digital platforms, and might own their own platforms. However, because most artists sell their copyright for a lump sum they do not share in any of these revenues (nor do they know how well their album did exactly).
Booking shows. This is actually the main source of revenue. Next to a copyright agreement, artists typically also sign exclusive, world-wide management agreements which entitle the music company to a percentage (usually 20%) of the artist’s net profits. In the band scene this means that the music company gets busy contacting promotors, especially of music festivals.
Promotion. Usually limited to shout-outs on the company website, social networking accounts and perhaps a mailing of news items to befriended journalists, as well as in-house design of album covers and touring announcements. Most promotion is for the company as a whole rather than for individual artists. Usually the artist needs to go out and find his or her own access to media (participating in talent shows, online talk shows, English language interviews, media sponsors and so on).
Endorsements and other revenue streams. Most music companies lack the manpower and long-term commitment (contracts are 3 to 5 years) to engage in more tailor-made management. Sometimes companies work with sponsors in other fields and then introduce them to artists for endorsement contracts. More often the artist needs to go out and find his or her own sponsors, from which the music company then takes its share.

Mainstream

All international record companies have offices in the PRC, as do the K-pop’s major producers (SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment). However they promote and look after the interests of their artists. If they scout and sign local talent they relocate the aspirant star abroad.
In 2004 Universal announced a joint venture with the Shanghai Media Group, called SUM Entertainment. Currently it represents a number of major PRC singers, including Jane Zhang.
Ocean Butterflies. Originated in Southeast Asia, now its Beijing office (opened in 2003) is its main branch.
Huayi Brothers. Mainly known for its film production.
Tianyu Media was established in Shanghai in 2004 and has a monopoly on the winners of the hugely successful talents shows that appear on Hunan Satellite Television.
TH Entertainment. Beijing company of Voice of China judge Yang Kun, boyband Hit-5, pop rock singer Sitar Tan (Tan Weiwei) and world music band Hanggai. The company also offers star-making courses inspired by K-pop example.
A number of major Chinese singers have signed with small management companies in which they have a large amount of autonomy, for instance Wang Feng with Rock Forward Entertainment,
Others have signed with media conglomerates that are otherwise not involved in musical production.

Indie

Since Beijing is the center for rock music in China, it is also the home of a number of medium and small indie music labels.

Modern Sky. Established in 1997 by the lead singer of the hipster Britpop band Sober was almost bankrupt until it started organizing festivals in 2007. Especially the success of the Strawberry festival brand convinced investors, which in turn prompted Modern Sky to (1) professionalize, in preparation for audits (2) grow by signing almost all popular bands, from metal, to folk to hip hop to techno (3) diversify from their reliance on festivals (and hence local governments) by (a) opening a chain of live houses (b) organizing festivals internationally, in New York, Seattle, Helsinki, and so on (c) developing an online ecology including ticketing, concert streaming and social networking. Modern Sky works with a range of international partners, from sponsors such as Tuborg (including the production for its music festivals) to music companies (local partners for their international festivals, distribution deals with copyright holders and so on) and individual artists (licensing, management, and booking).
Maybe Mars. In 2005 the American Beijing-based economics professor Michael Pettis opened a small rock venue called D-22 with the ideological goal of giving Chinese youngsters a place to find their voice. The venue produced a number of exciting new artists, and to publish their recordings Pettis set up (and bankrolled) the label Maybe Mars, together with the rock singer and producer Yang Haisong. D-22 became XP, which closed in 2015, but Maybe Mars continues to bring out great music, and organize national and international tours, including of Chinese bands to SXSW.
Tree Music is a local indie record label that also started doing their own festival, called Moma. Real estate developers Moma China are their angel investors, also contributing a live venue in Beijing (Post Mountain).

There are a few small companies producing vinyl, such as Genjing Records, run by the American Nevin Domer.

Mapping China: Music - Music Companies: PRC