{"id":952,"date":"2010-11-26T14:26:31","date_gmt":"2010-11-26T06:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mdnphoto.com\/blog\/?p=952"},"modified":"2020-09-23T15:19:10","modified_gmt":"2020-09-23T15:19:10","slug":"new-york-times-china-music-festival-explosion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matthewniederhauser.com\/research\/2010\/11\/26\/new-york-times-china-music-festival-explosion\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Times: China Music Festival Explosion"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I should have blogged about this last month, but I only just received a PDF of the New York Times print version of my work on the explosion of music festivals across China. Such an article<\/a> was a long time coming and received the usual criticisms aimed at mainstream media coverage of the alternative music scene in China from industry watchers such as China Music Radar<\/a> and Beijing Daze<\/a>. Obviously it was too short to cover all the historical and social nuances bound up with proliferation of music festivals across China. Unfortunately the New York Times rarely publishes extended think pieces that such a subject deserves. I actually read a longer version of Andrew Jacob’s first draft which was much better, but the editors decided to cut it down as they are wont to do in this day and age – apparently they feel readers can’t last more than a thousand words in a row. Still, I was really happy with the article and thought Andrew did a quality job trying to introduce the China music festival scene to the rest of the world with his insightful descriptions and awesome quotes. My favorite came from Zhang Fan of MIDI fame, \u201cThe government used to see rock fans as something akin to a devastating flood or an invasion of savage beasts, now we\u2019re all part of the nation\u2019s quest for a harmonious society.\u201d Some of the other issues Andrew addresses such as the paradox of having government-backed festivals filled with subversive bands as well as the rising commercialism of the entire alternative music scene also needed to be laid out. Yang Haisong, of P.K. 14<\/a> fame, really nailed it on the head with his closing comment, \u201cThe government used to see us as dangerous, now they see us as a market.” I feel an approach employed by the Chinese state where they try to appropriate cultural scenes rather than empower them through censorship is becoming the norm.