On October 5, Beijing Yanqing blew its first cold wind since the cooling, but the weather did not affect the enthusiasm of "scalper" Xiaodong (pseudonym). This day is the first day of the 2020 Beijing Strawberry Music Festival. Xiaodong seized the best position in the parking lot of the World Garden Club at eight o'clock in the morning, but until three o'clock in the afternoon, he received only a few "refunds". "I didn't expect it to be so hot."
The audience of the 2020 Beijing Strawberry Music Festival is crowded. Image from Modern Sky Weibo
Xiao Bai (pseudonym) went to the music festival for the first time this year, and the tickets on the day of the pre-sale were sold out in almost half a minute. It is reported that a few days before the start of the show, the pre-sale single-day tickets resold online have risen from 420 yuan to 600 yuan, and the three-day ticket has soared directly from 1080 yuan to 1800 yuan. "Mainly there are too many well-known bands this year." Xiao Bai watched two seasons of "Summer of the Band" (hereinafter referred to as "Le Xia") and claimed to be a half-new music fan. This year's Beijing Strawberry Music Festival concentrated the popular bands in many programs such as new pants, the right to reshape statues (hereinafter referred to as remodeling), Gojo Ren, Jiulian Zhenren, Big Wave and many other programs, "Many people around me want to come, but they can't buy tickets." ”
The band became a commercial gimmick from the first season of "Le Xia" in 2019. With this as a springboard, the band gradually moved from niche pop to mass out of the circle, and its commercial value also rose, not only limited to music festivals. The Beijing News reporter took stock of some of the work development after the variety show of 15 popular bands, of which the new pants participated in the recording of popular variety shows such as "Strange Story" and "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves"; Wutiao people made guests in the live broadcast room and opened Taobao stores to sell peripherals, and the monthly sales of single products exceeded 1,000; Mandarin undertook the promotion of more than ten well-known brands in two months. The band seems to be on its way to a clear mass commercial monetization path.
Wu Tiao Ren Picture from the artist's Weibo
However, in the eyes of industry insiders, the bands and music fans who belonged to the elite circle in the past have not been stirred up by the "public". They still enjoy the music of "independence" and do not classify themselves as so-called entertainers. Shen Yue, vice president of Modern Sky, admitted in an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Beijing News that business and variety shows are all things that go with the trend, but they have no meaning to the art of the band. "We pay more attention to the artistic value of the band."
phenomenon
Commercial performances, endorsements, and variety shows have increased
Young, trendy bands are more popular
In today's band market, the new pants that won the first season of "Le Xia" HOT1 are undoubtedly the biggest winners of commercialization. According to incomplete statistics, the new pants received as many as 9 brand endorsements and promotions in 2020 alone, including a large FMCG home brand, soda drinks, coffee, etc. In addition, the new pants also appeared on june 18, 8.15 and other national shopping festival evenings, and also sang and danced with "sisters" such as Tranquility and Zhang Yuqi in "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves". Peng Lei, the lead singer of the new pants, once revealed in an interview that the band used to work almost two days a week, but now every day is full. Keyboardist Pang Kuan also admitted that now before going to bed every day, he has to think about where he is going to go tomorrow and what to do, "I am really tired." In addition to the new pants, the first season of HOT5 Band Pain, Hedgehog, Click15#, penicillin in the past year's announcement of the popularity, is no less than Aidou's peak state.
New pants Image from Modern Sky Weibo
From the perspective of the number of endorsements and brand tone, young and popular bands are more respected by business. For example, the popular tour group band, although the first season only won the seventh place, its commercial promotion number and ability are better than the second and third places of the pain, hedgehog, and their appearance in the TV variety show "Singer: The Year of the Fight" has once again consolidated its popular base and won more favor from the gold lord's father.
The band Mandarin, which represents the young and trendy band in the second season, is also a good example. Although they failed to reach the finals, they have endorsed and promoted as many as 13 in two months, including digital, automotive, skin care, e-commerce platforms and other high-end mass categories. Tickets for their national tour also sold out quickly within minutes and are currently preparing for the 2021 show.
Bands, which were once regarded as "niche arts" as well as rap and hip-hop, seem to be gradually and comprehensively opening up the mass market.
effect
The business closed loop is small to large
Reinvigorate niche musical superstitions
"In fact, whether it is new pants, five people, or remodeling, it has always been the king in the vertical market, and it has not been miserable at all in the past." Shen Yue said bluntly. Since its inception in 1997, Modern Sky has operated at least 40 bands, including New Pants, Pain, Remodeling, Gojo Man, Dada, big waves, etc. Although the exposure and topic popularity of the band in the past were not high, it was not a "dismal operation". For example, New Pants held a national tour as early as 2006, with 18 shows being full; the tour before the broadcast of "Le Xia" in 2018, its ticket sales were directly due to too many people and the system collapsed.
Also as a reinvention of indie bands, it toured the United States as early as 2007, and its musical style was welcomed by a large number of overseas music fans. After 2011, Remodel has also been invited to participate in music commercial performances held by a number of digital, fast fashion and sports brands, and is the darling of high-end gold lord fathers.
The right to reshape the statue Picture from the band Official Micro
In Shen Yue's view, the income of the head bands such as new pants and remodeling before participating in "Le Xia" has been regarded as "middle and upper class" among all active musicians, but their audience market is not "the masses", but a niche "elite class", such as creativity, art, planning, fashion, etc. These brand owners have never separated from independent music since 20 years ago, and rely on a vote of young people with independent aesthetics, forming a large-scale market. "Even if there is only one niche market, it is [the market] that supports them." This in itself is a commercial closed loop. ”
The change of the variety show to the band is only to expand the small closed loop to the big closed loop. "Everyone's enthusiasm is higher, tickets are selling faster, and the public FMCG brand will come to invite," Shen Yue admitted. Previously, the band's tonality, audience class, and aesthetic orientation were valuable to the brand, but in the negotiation process, they often "failed" due to popularity, and variety shows made the band constitute a national topic, and the biggest help was to make up for this last shortcoming.
Fulu Shou Band Image from Modern Sky Weibo
On the contrary, Shen Yue believes that the biggest success of "Le Xia" is actually to let the audience of independent bands who usually do not watch variety shows pay attention to entertainment programs again, and independent music also has more "right to speak" under the pursuit of the public, and has obtained rare aesthetic recognition. "Originally, fans thought that bands and rock music represented a more fashionable and more advanced aesthetic, but who approved? And after the show aired, everyone said, 'The show is on fire, you're really right.'" ”
Helpless
From elitism to secularization
Few people really understand niche music
If you compare the band to a very scenic but very niche ancient city, it has long been famous, and artists and poets often come here to drink and have fun. Until one day through the mass media, more and more ordinary tourists came here to punch in and consume, it became a secular Internet celebrity attraction, "people in the ancient city should feel more helpless." Shen Yue said bluntly, "Because it has become vulgar." Gone are the days of the past. ”
Festival promotional posters. Image from Modern Sky Weibo
After the broadcast of "Le Xia", the tour tickets of bands such as New Pants and Mandarin quickly sold out in a matter of seconds as usual. The Strawberry Music Festival and the Wheat Field Music Festival have also become hard to find tickets, and even the bands that have not been on the show have "rubbed" some exposure. In the scene of "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves", the fans of new pants are not even less than the sisters, and most people can hum a few classic songs of new pants.
But the band and people in the circle know that whether it is the sister on stage or the audience offstage, in fact, most people can't understand the band's expression in music, variety shows, commercial performances are more for the band is just "making money" activities, they do not expect to be able to grow a few fans who really understand them in this way.
"This year, Gojo people are so hot because they said something on the show. But how many people really understand their music? In Shen Yue's view, the so-called "music fans" brought by variety shows to the band are mostly "fans", and only a few people will really pay attention to post-punk music because of remodeling, to deeply understand every song that reshaped the past, and even many real fans will be squeezed by the heat, and it is difficult to grab the tickets for the band's offline performances. "In the past, the Strawberry Music Festival before the epidemic reached up to 8 stages, tens of thousands of tickets, and sometimes sold out, but people who came were purely like niche music."
Gojo people perform. Image from Modern Sky Weibo
develop
The heat is just a moment
Business has no meaning to artistic value
"If Le Xia will give HOT 10 bands a little traffic, very few of them will last more than half a year." Shen Yue said frankly. From "China New Rap" to "Le Xia", whether it is an artist or a group, when there are hot topics and exposures, the public popularity increases rapidly, and it is common for business and opportunities to come and go. The band itself did not have a great sense of accomplishment. On the contrary, they define business and music clearly - business and variety shows are things they have to face, which will not affect their positioning of themselves and the principles of creating music.
Trojan Band Image from Modern Sky Weibo
Dada Band Pictures from the internet
In an exclusive interview with the Beijing News, Huadong, the lead singer of The Remodeling, admitted that the Remodeling did not want to participate in the variety show again, because it would make the band not have much time to focus on its own affairs, "The variety show has its special attributes, we can participate in it in a short period of time, and we can do our best to complete a relatively good result, but we can't participate in this thing for a long time." He said that Le Xia will not change the reshaping in any way, including that it will never use the public and the market as a prerequisite or consideration for creation.
Remodeling Image from the band's Weibo
"If they don't want to participate in the variety show, we will communicate and explain to them, but also respect their ideas." Shen Yue said that after "Le Xia", Modern Sky did not make a big adjustment to the operation mode of the band, and business, variety shows, etc. were more in line with the trend, but it would not let the band change its speech and demeanor because of exposure, or let them cater to the market to do creations that were not conducive to musicality.
Big Wave Band Picture from the web
In Shen Yue's view, what really promotes the development of the band and makes the band move from the "dead end" of the tree village to a good day that can make money is not a variety show, but the progress of the entire music market. Twenty years ago, everyone could search and download songs on the Internet at will, without paying for it, without paying attention to copyright. Infringing websites also do not have to give any compensation to the creator. Nowadays, the online distribution of copyright is gradually standardized, the rights of musicians are more guaranteed, and at the same time, music festivals are booming in the country, even if there is no variety show exposure, the band can survive with their works, or even live well.
Shen Yue cites the example of a world-famous artist. If, before they died, they had a particularly strong agent who made him and his work a "star", allowing him to have no worries about food and clothing in his lifetime, but had an impact on the artistic value of the artist? "A good band is always a good band. We pay more attention to their artistic value. ”
Beijing News reporter Zhang He
Edited by Tong Na Proofread by Xue Jingning
Source: Beijing News