Introduction
In this essay, I argue against the statement that China will be a leading market for both recorded and live music by 2028. My argument is based on the fact that China is one of the leading countries in pirated music. In spite of the digital advancements in the country that are making music lovers buy authentic live and recorded music, China is still rated as the leading country in pirated music. If China is to be the leading market in live and recorded music by 2028, its traditional values and cultures will have to shift dramatically to accept all music content locally and globally. However, this is a far-fetched idea given that the Chinese government bans certain types of music from being listened in the present day. This is mainly because of the communist system, where the government controls and regulates the political, social, and economic aspects of the country. The high piracy and cultural elements seem to be the most impeding factors in this narrative. As I argue my case, I will present a PEST analysis that illustrates the external environment barriers that hinder China from being a leading market for live and recorded music. I first begin by providing a definition of both recorded and live music. Sanden (2013) defines recorded music as the process of capturing ephemeral sounds of music that can be replayed and reproduced (p. 4). There have been various methods of recording music, but the most popular are mechanical and acoustic recording where the vibrations of musical instruments are captured during a performance. Human voices, in this case, musical tones, can be recorded using a multi-track recording system. Live music on the other hand, is defined as “music on record provided by a disk jockey for an audience gathering in a public place” or sang by a musician together with a band (Matt Brennan, 2013, p. 5). The advancements in digital platform have made it possible for both recorded and live music to be converted to this platform. This has created opportunities in terms of easy access that enables increased sales of music records online as well as challenges in terms of piracy and copyright infringement. High sales volume is the backbone of any leading market in music and unless this is the case, then a country may have difficulties becoming a leading market. Foremost, China cannot become a leading market in recorded and live music by 2028 because of state censorship. This owes to the Chinese strong culture and traditions, which are dominant to this day. The Chinese culture is founded on Confucian philosophy, which emphasizes on respect of elders, integrity, and social etiquette/appropriateness (Fan, 2010). These values persist in the contemporary society and consequently, every aspect of the country’s including music. In China, the music sector is governed under the Chinese Ministry of Culture and over the years there have been numerous censorship of local and foreign music. Each music content is monitored to make sure it does not contravene the values of the constitution, should not contain any form of incitement to national security or discrimination, and it should not promote any religion or superstition among other values (Richard, 2013). In August 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture banned a ‘list of 120 songs from being distributed online” as they were considered “morally harmful” (Carsten, 2015). The heavy censorship hinders the sale of recorded music and live performance of the banned music. Currently, China is ranked number 19 with a retail value …show more content…
But it is estimated that the wealthy who compose the highest music consumers buy recorded music and attend live music shows. Savage (2016) notes that the wealthy Chinese population prefer “western or English-language music “ like hip hop, rock and jazz music. This can be explained by the fact that this segment of the population is highly exposed to different cultures through factors like education and international travelling. However, it is the wealthy – who account for a small fraction in the population compared to the working class population – who buy and listen to foreign music. This makes the market for foreign music small. Moreover, the country is bilingual and very few people – the affluent – speak and understand English
In this essay, I argue against the statement that China will be a leading market for both recorded and live music by 2028. My argument is based on the fact that China is one of the leading countries in pirated music. In spite of the digital advancements in the country that are making music lovers buy authentic live and recorded music, China is still rated as the leading country in pirated music. If China is to be the leading market in live and recorded music by 2028, its traditional values and cultures will have to shift dramatically to accept all music content locally and globally. However, this is a far-fetched idea given that the Chinese government bans certain types of music from being listened in the present day. This is mainly because of the communist system, where the government controls and regulates the political, social, and economic aspects of the country. The high piracy and cultural elements seem to be the most impeding factors in this narrative. As I argue my case, I will present a PEST analysis that illustrates the external environment barriers that hinder China from being a leading market for live and recorded music. I first begin by providing a definition of both recorded and live music. Sanden (2013) defines recorded music as the process of capturing ephemeral sounds of music that can be replayed and reproduced (p. 4). There have been various methods of recording music, but the most popular are mechanical and acoustic recording where the vibrations of musical instruments are captured during a performance. Human voices, in this case, musical tones, can be recorded using a multi-track recording system. Live music on the other hand, is defined as “music on record provided by a disk jockey for an audience gathering in a public place” or sang by a musician together with a band (Matt Brennan, 2013, p. 5). The advancements in digital platform have made it possible for both recorded and live music to be converted to this platform. This has created opportunities in terms of easy access that enables increased sales of music records online as well as challenges in terms of piracy and copyright infringement. High sales volume is the backbone of any leading market in music and unless this is the case, then a country may have difficulties becoming a leading market. Foremost, China cannot become a leading market in recorded and live music by 2028 because of state censorship. This owes to the Chinese strong culture and traditions, which are dominant to this day. The Chinese culture is founded on Confucian philosophy, which emphasizes on respect of elders, integrity, and social etiquette/appropriateness (Fan, 2010). These values persist in the contemporary society and consequently, every aspect of the country’s including music. In China, the music sector is governed under the Chinese Ministry of Culture and over the years there have been numerous censorship of local and foreign music. Each music content is monitored to make sure it does not contravene the values of the constitution, should not contain any form of incitement to national security or discrimination, and it should not promote any religion or superstition among other values (Richard, 2013). In August 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture banned a ‘list of 120 songs from being distributed online” as they were considered “morally harmful” (Carsten, 2015). The heavy censorship hinders the sale of recorded music and live performance of the banned music. Currently, China is ranked number 19 with a retail value …show more content…
But it is estimated that the wealthy who compose the highest music consumers buy recorded music and attend live music shows. Savage (2016) notes that the wealthy Chinese population prefer “western or English-language music “ like hip hop, rock and jazz music. This can be explained by the fact that this segment of the population is highly exposed to different cultures through factors like education and international travelling. However, it is the wealthy – who account for a small fraction in the population compared to the working class population – who buy and listen to foreign music. This makes the market for foreign music small. Moreover, the country is bilingual and very few people – the affluent – speak and understand English