New Music Industry Watch original article, unauthorized refusal to reprint
Author | Julik
On April 24th, a group of young people from all over the world, who did not know each other, gathered in Tencent Musicians "Bole Project" Songwriting Camp in order to pursue their love.
The "Bole Project" is a songwriter support project launched by Tencent Musicians at the end of last year, which explores talented songwriters through the songwriting competition, and the winners have the opportunity to be selected for the songwriting camp and co-create music works with big coffee mentors. From December 28 last year to March 22 this year, more than 600 songwriters participated in the "Bole Project" songwriting competition, with more than 2,000 entries. In the end, 30 groups of creators, such as Liu Yaoyao, Wang Weilin, Song Daiting, Lin Guo, and Qing Sang, stood out and had the opportunity to learn directly through the songwriting camp.
Three musician mentors at the "Bole Project" Songwriting Camp
In the four-day "Bole Project" songwriting camp, young songwriters, under the guidance of well-known musicians Wen Zhen, Chen Weilun and Wu Xiangfei, polished their personal skills from five different dimensions of lyrics, songs, arrangement, recording and mixing, and jointly created songs.
The songwriting camp also selected the top 10 songwriting competition, and its works will have the opportunity to be produced by three mentors into a music collection. The top three musicians also received cash prizes totaling 300,000 yuan. In this process, Tencent musicians will use the power of "black technology" and the strong ecological closed loop of Tencent Music Entertainment Group to help songwriters promote their works and find confidants.
"Bole Project" songwriting revenue officer scene
"Maxima is often there, but Bó Lè is not." An old saying that speaks to the importance of "Bole". In this era of tens of thousands of new songs released every day, creators need their own "Bole" even more if they want to stand out.
Tencent musicians are trying to play such a role, creating a new path for creators to grow- become talented and become famous.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="11" > about growth, this is an era that needs "Bole" more</h1>
At the opening dinner of the creation camp, the appearance of Jia Minshu, a master producer in the Chinese music scene and the founder of Street Sound, surprised everyone. Jia Minshu encouraged all the students to sincerely be a musician who is "as good as his people".
At the opening dinner of the "Bole Project" Songwriting Camp, Jia Minshu spoke
The productivity brought by technology and communication sinks, so that music creation is becoming a matter for everyone, technological progress has liberated the productivity of the masses, the fragmentation of channels, the socialization of communication and the use of algorithms, so that the channels of music are accessible in all directions, and It is more and more convenient for Internet users to express themselves through music.
Wang Lei, the general initiator of the "Bole Project" songwriting camp and the general manager of Tencent Musicians, believes that "for independent musicians, this is an era of freedom and the best era, and all people with dreams can see the hope of the way forward." ”
Wang Lei, the general founder of the "Bole Project" songwriting camp and the general manager of Tencent Musicians, delivered an opening speech
This is indeed the fastest growing era in the history of Chinese music, and according to the International Association of the Phonographic Industry, the Chinese recorded music market has risen from 14th in the world five years ago to the current 7th place, and is still growing at a world-leading rate.
And the original musicians who are growing rapidly on the Internet have proved their strong creative power and desire for expression.
Not long ago, the You Music Research Institute under Tencent Music released the "2020 Chinese Digital Music Annual White Paper". According to the white paper data, the number of new songs in Chinese will reach 748,000 in 2020, which means that 85 new songs will be born every hour. That's a 216% increase from 2019 and more than the total in the three years from 2017 to 2019.
Source: 2020 Chinese Digital Music Annual White Paper
The sharp increase in the number of new songs has brought more opportunities for songwriters, but it has also put forward higher requirements for songwriters: the growth of the number of works means that creators have to face more fierce competition.
Creators who want to stand out from the competition need to constantly improve their skills, "When you learn more professional things, you may write better." Chen Weilun said.
Among the 30 groups of creators shortlisted for the "Bole Project" songwriting camp this time, the names of musicians and teams such as Wang Weilin, Qing Sang, Song Daiting and Yihua Xiaoliang may have some impressions, and more unfamiliar names are the fresh blood on Tencent's musician platform, of which the Z generation (post-95-00) creators account for 70%.
These young music creators are all over the country, and their works are also in full bloom. Among them, there are many songs with strong local characteristics, which can be seen in the creativity of the young generation in China. Moreover, they have taken the steps of growth, with their own musical dreams, eager to grow, eager to become talents, eager to stand out from the fierce competition, for this, they need guidance, need help.
This is the original intention of Tencent musicians " Bole Project". Tailor-made a growth ladder for songwriters, skills training and publicity support in parallel, so that creators can continue to grow at the same time, but also to gain the appreciation of the audience, and eventually embark on the road to fame.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" How do you become a talent > data-track="26"? Creative Day Group escorts</h1>
The "Music Creation Camp" is a popular creator support project in recent years. During the intensive training time in the "Creation Camp", the instructors will guide the creators in every detail, and the creators will create new songs under the guidance of the mentors and be evaluated by the tutors.
In 2020, Tencent Music joined hands with Sawyer Music Copyright to create the "Polar Star International Creative Camp Program", which created opportunities for domestic musicians to cooperate with top international musicians.
Behind this trend is the rapid expansion of the creator group under the background of the rapid development of Internet music: on the Tencent musician platform with more than 200,000 residents, Generation Z (post-95-00) accounts for 54%, plus post-90s, young musicians under the age of 30 account for 73%.
Many of them, not from a professional background, are more self-taught. In the eyes of the instructors, they are helping the trainees to tutor the "industrial process". "To understand the whole music industry, to understand the whole music form, to know where you are, what you are doing, find your own position." 」 Chen Weilun stressed.
During the "Bole Project" creation camp, Wen Zhen, Chen Weilun and Wu Xiangfei passed on their years of accumulated experience to the trainees through a 1-on-1 approach, and personally guided everyone to carry out creative practice.
At the scene of the "Bó Lè Project" creation camp, Wen Zhen imparted experience to the trainees
Referring to the necessary qualities of excellent music producers, Wen Zhen said, "In addition to professional qualities, creators have a curious heart for music, only curiosity can drive you to continuously improve, continue to learn, and constantly iterate. ”
Wu Xiangfei told his story to the students. When I first arrived in Beijing, I couldn't even afford to sit on a bus, and in order to save money, I walked several kilometers, stood on the overpass and counted the lights, so there was Yang Kun's "Stand-in". After sharing this experience, he seriously said to the students: "Before filling in the words, we must first live ourselves as people with stories." ”
The students expressed their fruitfulness. Dong Xiaoliu, a member of a small green onion, said: "It is really a nameless teacher and I am traveling, and there is a lack of a teacher around me, listening to Wu Xiangfei's guiyun and multi-use suggestions, I feel suddenly enlightened." Song Daiting said, "After listening to what the teachers said, the previously uncertain approach and direction are now determined." ”
Most of these young musicians are in the initial stage of their careers, and what awaits them is a long growth and a future full of infinite possibilities. At this stage, if they can get professional guidance and training, it will undoubtedly help them to take a more stable path of growth in the future.
At the scene of the "Bole Project" creation camp, Wu Xiangfei explained the analysis to the students
In the end, the creative camp selected the TOP10, and its works will have the opportunity to be produced into a music collection by three instructors. Next, the story turns another page, and another important role of "Bole" is about to appear.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39" > the road to fame: famous teachers, traffic, black technology, no less</h1>
"The pain point that existed in the music industry before was that in the long-term operating mode, the musicians at the top of the tower took the most traffic and the opportunity to release their works, while a large number of growing original musicians were scattered everywhere and difficult to survive." At the beginning of 2021, Wang Lei, general manager and senior music critic of Tencent Musicians, analyzed it in an interview with "Three Voices".
The large-scale expansion of the group of musicians brought about by the Internet has brought about great changes in the creative ecology, and professional musicians, contracted musicians, and ordinary creators have competed on the same stage, bringing about a surge in the number of works, and also caused survival problems.
In particular, a large number of original musicians, whose creations support the pyramid of the industry, but because most of them sink to the bottom of the tower.
New Music Industry Watch once conducted a survey on the needs of original musicians, and the survey data showed that the most urgent need for original musicians is publicity. Song Daiting, a student of the creation camp, also mentioned, "In fact, for a creator, the biggest difficulty may be promotion.
The "Bó Lè Project" creative camp may be a solution. It is not just a training class, it is a "greenhouse" created by Tencent Musicians for creators, the temperature comes from the systematic training of famous teachers, from Tencent Musicians and TME's various platforms to create various characteristic projects, and TME's strong ecological closed loop.
Here, while receiving the guidance of famous teachers, the outstanding works created in the creation camp are preferentially selected into the top projects of Tencent Music Entertainment Group's QQ Music "S Manufacturing", "Galaxy Plan", Kugou Music "Xingyao Plan", And Kuwo Music "Music Movement Plan" and "Producer", and obtain TME's massive resources and traffic promotion on all platforms.
At the beginning of this year, Tencent musicians launched the "100 Million Yuan Incentive Plan 3.0" specifically to support songwriters. The plan introduces AI intelligent delivery technology, and songwriters upload songwriters or original songs will enter the PDM scoring system, and high-scoring songwriters will have the opportunity to be sung by high-quality artists.
High-scoring original songs have the opportunity to automatically be classified into the recommended delivery category, participate in the top promotion plan of QQ Music, Kugou Music, and Kuwo Music, and obtain 100 billion level promotion and exposure. At the same time, the 100 million yuan incentive plan 3.0 also adds a genuine cover and playback incentive package, as long as all musicians successfully upload their original works and sign contracts, they can get sound shells and cool beans.
According to reports, PDM technology can accurately predict the potential of songs from multiple dimensions such as audio content understanding, uniqueness, pitch, melody, etc., and quickly recommend and distribute them to a large number of potential music fans; even if it is a work with 0 plays, it can also give full and matching audience recognition and exposure according to the audio and lyric content, so that good music is no longer buried.
Imagination doesn't stop there. Looking at the various projects that Tencent Musicians have opened up for musicians in recent years, we can see that the creators who have come out of the "Bole Project" creation camp will have the opportunity to enter Tencent Music's powerful pan-entertainment cooperation resources in the future, create music for film and television and games, and participate in various project cooperation.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="50" > their journey is a sea of stars</h1>
"It's a great time." As a witness to the traditional recording industry, Wu Xiangfei said.
The development of the Internet has brought too much convenience to creators, so that creators can grow more calmly. At the same time, Jia Minshu hopes that everyone will continue to enrich themselves, not to set limits for themselves, to find nutrients from their own lives, only in this way, creative ideas will continue to flow.
In addition, it is also necessary for the platform to establish a long-term mechanism to help musicians continuously deliver their works to the corresponding audience and help them grow continuously. The growth of original musicians will eventually promote the healthy and orderly development of China's music industry.
From the continuous iteration of the 100 million yuan incentive plan to the "Bole Plan" songwriting competition and songwriting camp, Tencent musicians have created many opportunities to support songwriters, and a "long-term mechanism" for support has gradually taken shape.
Group photo of some students of the "Bole Project" Songwriting Camp
In Wang Lei's view, when the influence of the platform has developed to a certain extent, it is necessary to consider how to make some contributions to the entire industry. "In order for the entire industry to achieve sustainable development, it is not only necessary to let the music scene continue to complete the metabolism, but also to promote more new people to join the industry."
With the deepening of the Degree of Internetization of Music, the mode of music creation is also changing from professional creation in the past to civilian creation, at the same time, creators and platforms have begun to establish a "symbiotic co-creation" relationship, creators grow, become talents and become famous on the platform, continuously provide works for the platform, and the platform creates good conditions for creators to produce and disseminate.
The "Bole Project" songwriting competition and creation camp, through the first-line music celebrities as lecturers, exclusive customized music courses, TME multi-platform top resources to escort the original new forces, for young creators to provide upward channels and display windows, to provide full-link support. Perhaps the confusion of original musicians and producers is still there, but there is no doubt that their journey is a sea of stars.
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