Zhou Xiaochuan (center) with singers Zhu Jingxi (right) and Luo Yishi (left).
↓ Extraterrestrial also set up a "Sumire Orchestra", which gathered a group of outstanding composers and performers of Chinese and Western instruments to promote new folk music and new national music.
Star Alien Records is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary, and it is a very impressive presence in the Guangdong music scene and throughout the Chinese pop music range. Many people are saying that music is not easy to do, it is difficult to make money, and the star alien with physical record distribution as the main business has rarely persisted for 1/4 century, participating in and witnessing the ups and downs of the Chinese music scene in one dimension.
Under the new regulations, the sales of digital albums on the Internet platform can only buy one per person, some fans shout that physical records will continue to pick up, and Zhou Xiaochuan, CEO of Star Alien Records, is very calm, he joked that fans may buy 1,000 digital albums at once before, and now it is impossible to buy 1,000 physical records at once, because storage is a problem, but no matter how radical and changeable the Internet platform is, physical albums have always had their own value and unique beauty.
As a domestic "head" record distribution company, Star Alien is working hard to improve its service system, while not forgetting that it is a music company, insisting on making relatively niche but listening music. Zhou Xiaochuan said in an interview with Nandu that he could not dream too much, that he could do a good job of small and beautiful, small and fine, and that the music he had invested in was still moving after 10 years, and he was very content.
Written by: Nandu reporter Ding Huifeng intern Li Na
Pleasure
Zhou Xiaochuan believes that there are currently nearly 1.2 billion genuine records space in the mainland every year, but there are still great problems in the sale and service of genuine records, so he founded the "Hedonistic" company to develop a "Hedonic Music Mall" to provide music fans with a listening and collection experience of "touching the real texture of music".
Southern Metropolis Daily: Many people will have this question, now that the Internet platform shopping has been very convenient, why should we develop and make a record mall?
Zhou Xiaochuan: In 2018, Star Alien did the official member mall of physical music, and Mr. Duan Zhongtan of Rolling Stone Records asked me why I did not do a mall dedicated to serving physical record users. In the past, the most painful thing for us to do records was anti-piracy, and now many e-commerce platforms, Jingdong, Tmall, Taobao, and even idle fish, Pinduoduo, are still flooded with a large number of pirates, and even pirates open shops on some large e-commerce platforms to hang sheep's heads to sell dog meat, ostensibly selling genuine copies, and fans buy or pirated copies. We have also been defending our rights, investing a lot of energy, with little success, we can at least make a platform where the album can identify and certify the genuine record, and ensure that the fans buy the complete genuine version in our place.
Nandu: Why do you have to make one yourself, such as going to an e-commerce platform to open a store, will it save time and effort?
Zhou Xiaochuan: In the past, we had supply cooperation with an e-commerce platform, the requirements for us were getting higher and higher, the conditions were becoming more and more demanding, and in terms of self-operated prices, we would compete with us through traffic monopoly and malicious low prices, and the merchants who sold pirated records and smuggled records were taking a laissez-faire policy, resulting in our profits getting thinner and thinner, on the basis of protecting their own interests, in the past few years, the two major e-commerce platforms have even not opened the application for new stores for audio and video operations, and after dealing with the big e-commerce platform, The other party is very easy to "reduce the dimension" of the small enterprises in our music industry, and I feel that we should establish our own system to protect our industry itself, so Extraterrestrial has done hedonism, but not only sells the records released by Extraterrestrial itself, almost all the records legally published and distributed in Chinese mainland can be found in the "Hedonic Music Mall".
Nandu: Star Alien has been making physical records for more than 20 years, which is one of the largest record distribution companies in China, is it still a "micro enterprise"?
Zhou Xiaochuan: Of course, it depends on who to compare, and it is definitely small compared with these big e-commerce platforms. I have a survey assessment, all of China's record sales in the mainland, including pirated records, there are about 8 billion, which is already much lower than when the record industry was booming, of which 50% are pirated, 35% are smuggled records, the remaining 15% are genuine, there are also 1.2 billion, this is the data of 2020, and I estimate that there will be an increase in 2021.
Nandu: 1.2 billion, there is indeed still room, before saying that an idol singer digital single sold 100 million.
Zhou Xiaochuan: It is in this 1.2 billion consumer consumption volume, we just want to serve this part of the user well, through their circle to influence more users who are willing to listen to music experience and collection, open up accurate information flow channels, through the various information platforms and self-media content links and services more users willing to pay for music; hedonistic from 2018 onwards, has also accumulated almost 2 million record consumer groups, these people have aesthetics, but also have consumption power, We just want to do a good job of this channel and system.
Nandu: After the restrictions on the sale of digital music albums by Internet platforms, what are the impacts on physical records?
Zhou Xiaochuan: First of all, this is a good thing, good things are to create value rather than waste, and the fan economy should not be for vanity, but for the pursuit of a better life. For the music industry, good music content should not be evaluated and priced with traffic, the Divine Comedy will be tired after listening to it for a long time, and only those with real artistic value can become classics. Internet companies should not just become a fan platform or a star-chasing platform, but consumers will not buy physical albums in turn because digital albums cannot buy more, and it is impossible to buy 1,000 copies at once and put them at home. It's certainly a good thing in the long run, and the industry is only good when music is becoming more and more diverse.
Nandu: Now that it is too convenient to get music, Star Alien insists on being a physical entity and providing real music fans with choices.
Zhou Xiaochuan: For example, being squeezed by e-commerce platforms includes vicious competition in prices, inaction on smuggled records and pirated records on the platform, using data advantages and financial advantages to grab business with third-party stores on the platform, and not accepting new third-party record stores to open applications. But we insist on a logic, that is, with the copyright owner clearly to split the royalties, we developed our own digital system, contact more suppliers, docking more willing to provide consumers with legal genuine records of various types of music and cultural platforms, we hope to be able to achieve a new era of record distribution system. Physical records from mass goods to niche consumption, is the choice of the times, but we can still do a better job of more accurate information services, order services, with our professional ability to recognize the record to link the major platforms, link the major self-media and users, and slowly get involved in building a healthy consumer environment related to music appreciation.
Nandu: What sustains you to be an entity all the time?
Zhou Xiaochuan: Idealistically, I always think that there are only two best ways to listen to music: one is the scene, because that is the artist's real emotional expression; one is to hear the perfect music, the recording engineer's work is constantly created and debugged, and now the mobile PHONE APP playback is convenient, but it is difficult to support the sense of space and layering of music, and at present, only CDs or vinyl can do it. I'm not saying that music apps are bad, it's a convenient way to touch music, but we can provide a better experience, so that fans can enter the link and atmosphere of enjoying music, and touch the real texture of music with us.
Make fun
Extraterrestrial is not only doing distribution, but also doing a lot of independent musicians and independent musical works, Zhu Jingxi, Ma Bang Band, etc. are all out of the extraterrestrial. In addition to the "hedonists", Star Aliens also established the "Cuckoo" label and the classical music label, and invested in music production and copyright for a long time.
Nandu: In addition to the "hedonism", what other strategic plans does extraterrestrial have?
Zhou Xiaochuan: Because Extraterrestrial has been doing distribution for too long, many people have ignored that we are still a music company, and we have invested and funded a lot of musicians to make records, and these are not "traffic". We also made a label called "Cuckoo", which manages the copyright we invest in production, and when it comes to copyright investment, it is longer, because the domestic music industry copyright use settlement system has not yet been fully established, including many large platforms are still developing barbarically. Many independent musicians and companies are not qualified to talk to the big platform about the bottom, and can not see their own real data, a child in our company in a platform to release their own music, dozens of songs, three years down only 24 yuan, such examples are too many. As a music company, we must discover excellent musicians and works and help them get back the pricing power of their works.
Nandu: Extraterrestrial does do a lot of niche independent music, and Zhu Jingxi, who participated in "Sister Lang", was also in your company at the earliest.
Zhou Xiaochuan: If you make music to chase the trend, you will definitely be abandoned by the trend, just like copying the Vibrato Divine Comedy, 99.9% of people are failures. After doing so many years, I think making music is to adhere to their own aesthetics, when we worked with Zhu Jingxi during the production of the "dream as a horse" album, it is only based on our own aesthetic to produce, the final market also proved that our choice is right, like Zhu Jingxi is now a good friend, her new album we are still cooperating, people who love music will always do something together in different ways.
Nandu: Before The Alien and modern sky set up a sub-label "Beihe San", like the Horse Gang Band, Fu Lu Shou, who participated in the "Le Xia", are all its artists, is there any new action?
Zhou Xiaochuan: In the current era, the cooperation between artists and music companies has undergone profound changes, I think we must think about a way to help musicians, "Beihe San" focuses on the world music sector, bringing the horse gang band signed by Star Alien before, modern sky can indeed give them more opportunities, I also hope that the horse band is getting better and better, let them share more and better future. We extraterrestrials ourselves are also reconstructing the signing model with musicians in the new era, and soon there will be new actions.
Nandu: Like Modern Sky, in fact, it was established at about the same time as The Star Alien, and now it is the largest independent music company in the country, and the Strawberry Music Festival is also very popular, will there be an impulse to benchmark?
Zhou Xiaochuan: Guangdong, or South China, should have such a company, but I think there is no point in fighting for scale, I prefer to be small and beautiful, not to be big and complete. I think people's ability, resources and aesthetics have boundaries, if you are 15 years younger, I may still want to fight, now I don't want to do it simply for the sake of scale, I want to promote the establishment of a healthy and orderly music operation environment, I can make money, can help musicians make money, really produce good works, small and beautiful does not mean less income. I have almost 1/4th century of experience and ears in making music, and the benefits of good music are sustained for at least 50 years. We not only continue to invest in various types of works, but even set up an alien classical music label, signed a group of young classical music players who have won awards in international competitions and have experienced performances, to invest in some of the peak performers and leave their representative works behind.
Nandu: What do you think have been your best work lately?
Zhou Xiaochuan: For example, two or three years ago, Wang Luobin's son Wang Haicheng cooperated with us, in addition to cooperating with young musicians in the mainland, we also found Japanese, British, And French musicians to rearrange the recording, including a British electronic musician, a Japanese pianist, after the cooperation was released on the global platform, the response was very good, I think this is an innovation, and can go out, there is an innovative heritage, not a limitation. We also set up a "Sumire Orchestra", bringing together a group of outstanding composers and Chinese and Western instrumentalists, in addition to the just-produced "Drum Feast Sumire Three Kingdoms" new folk music new national tide music album, but also will launch more works, the newly launched music single "Luna" once entered the second place in the Douyin hot song list, which even I could not imagine. In addition, the songs of Malaysian singer Fidoll, whom we signed, are also worth paying attention to, and his masterpiece "Gulf of Alaska" is worth listening to.
future
Doing music may be hot-headed, doing business can not be hot-headed, Extraterrestrial and Zhou Xiaochuan have been engaged in music distribution and production in the nearly 1/4th century, but also tested the Internet and music festivals, the transformation of the environment is imperative, insisting on itself is also a kind of refinement and beauty.
Nandu: What is your ideal music company?
Zhou Xiaochuan: I'm still thinking, because doing record sales and e-commerce, and doing music creation and copyright investment, are two completely different heads, and two completely different conducting systems. "Hedonism" and "Cuckoo" are doing it at the same time, and they are still going well, what kind of development it can be, I don't know, I just think these two directions are right, do my best to rush. The biggest fear of this industry is the hot head, is to punch the face and fill the fat, we can still control our desires. "Hedonistic" will also open offline physical stores, to establish some different music social exchange places, open up online and offline; "cuckoo" words, will always maintain investment in valuable music, this is our original intention, there is value in listening to music, 10 years later, not to be humiliated, to feel still beautiful.
Nandu: You said that you were afraid of hot heads, but you had a time when your head was hot?
Zhou Xiaochuan: For two years, from 2015 to 2016, I did YYQ.COM with a hot head, did not have the experience of operating user traffic on the Internet, and burned a lot of money. The other is to invest in music festivals, ignoring various environmental impacts. In those two years, I experienced the first layoffs of The Star and stepped on too many pits, but my understanding of the product was profound, and all the failures became some of the elements that we were likely to succeed.
Nandu: Will you invest in music festivals in South China in the future?
Zhou Xiaochuan: I can't say that it is impossible. Before doing music festivals, I didn't know the environment, and now everyone is growing. Just like Guangdong had a golden period of popular music, and later became popular with internet songs, but did not leave a truly influential work, I would rather make a really influential work through hard work, and make a real fine product to spread. The "hedonists" and "cuckoos" are like the left and right wheels of the extraterrestrial star, so that the walk will be more stable. In addition, we also have Shanghai Star Alien, which mainly collects music from ethnic minorities across the country, and then creates secondary works to create music works for some urban cultures and promote their urban tourism culture.
Nandu: You mentioned "no shame", are you still afraid of "shame"?
Zhou Xiaochuan: Of course, after doing so many years, I have always walked on thin ice. Two days ago I chatted with the famous Chinese horn player Han Xiaoming teacher, I said that I have no understanding of classical music, my ears are built on the music friends and professional colleagues around me now, everyone helps me listen, give me professional advice, I will go to comprehensive judgment from my listening experience and the market perspective of the relationship, I am always worried that I do wrong on the laughter and generosity, popular music can occasionally make mistakes, classical music is not a joke.
Nandu: Can the alien be ready to transform from TO B to TO C?
Zhou Xiaochuan: The previous business of Star Alien was mainly the nature of TO B, but the nature of TO B has been unable to break the circle, and has been squeezed by major platforms to no way to work, and it is not possible without transformation. Because I have a wealth of experience in doing TO B before, we can in just two or three days, all the records, through the "hedonistic school" to reach NetEase Cloud, QQ music, to the major e-commerce platforms, we have distributed, disseminated and channels are opened, I think until now, no company in our industry in China can cover such a comprehensive channel to contact so many accurate users, and then we will develop electronic record collection cards, including the unique anti-counterfeiting number of all physical records , and the construction of data systems to do value-added services for consumer groups. I have to do these things within the scope of our ability, and then I have to make sure that the business is profitable, I don't dream so much, I want to do a good business that is small and fine, small and beautiful, and then I have a bunch of music partners to have fun with.