On August 16, 2021, Universal Music Group, a global leader in the music entertainment industry, announced a major restructuring of its operating structure in China and the launch of a new "multi-label operation strategy". The move aims to elevate Chinese music content to a new strategic focus in search of the next generation of Chinese pop superstars. Among them, the "re-emergence" of PolyGram Records, a synonym for Cantonese pop classics for half a century, has inspired many friends who love Hong Kong Cantonese pop songs.
Hong Kong, the magical "Pearl of the Orient", has undergone many vicissitudes since its opening in 1842. The pop music industry that has influenced Chinese people around the world, commonly known as the "Hong Kong pop music scene", has composed immortal legends with the classic golden songs of the galaxy in the past half century.
Under the background of the integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, we try to look at the successes and failures and great changes in the successes and failures of Hong Kong's century-old record industry from different historical stages such as its origin, maturity, take-off, prosperity, turning point and agitation.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="11" > the origin of The Hong Kong record industry: Cantonese music</h1>
As we all know, China's record industry originated in Shanghai in 1904, and this year, China began to have its own records: Peking Opera "Juding Guan Painting". In 1908, the "Oriental EMI Records Company" was officially established.
Throughout the 30s, EMI occupied 70% of the market in popular music, creating famous singers such as Zhou Xuan, Li Xianglan, Wu Yingyin, bai guang, etc., and also created a brilliant era called the "Chinese Era Song" in old Shanghai.
As early as the 19th century, Cantonese opera originating from Cantonese opera and eight major tones had become popular in Heung Kong.
In the Republic of China era, the representative figure of cantonese opera was Zhang Yue'er. Between 1929 and 1931, a large number of record companies were opened in Hong Kong, such as Gao Ting, Gao Ping Bairong, Feilong, Xin Lefeng, etc., all of which invited Zhang Yue'er to produce records, and Zhang became the first Cantonese singer to make a movie.
The collector is Lu Wencheng, who came to Hong Kong from Shanghai and is from Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, who is known as "the early Cantonese opera player in Hong Kong", and recorded a large number of Cantonese music (Cantonese music) and Cantonese music records for record companies in Shanghai in the 1920s. In 1932, he returned to Hong Kong in the Cantonese-speaking area, filling in the lyrics for the record company's "score", recording records by singers, and releasing them in Singapore, creating the so-called "Cantonese Era Song Era".
▲ Hong Kong's early Cantonese qu player Lu Wencheng, picture source network
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="294" > the maturation of the 1960s: "times songs" and English songs</h1>
In 1949, after the founding of New China, a large number of Shanghai musicians settled in Hong Kong and brought the Haipai "Chinese Era Song" to Hong Kong, including Chen Gexin, Yao Min, Yao Li, Wu Yingyin, Bai Guang, Gong Qiuxia, Zhang Lu and so on. The traditional Cantonese opera girl oratorio began to decline, and the Haipai "Chinese Era Song" swept through The Xiangjiang River.
In the 1960s, Taiwan's "Chinese Era Song" represented by Yao Surong and Qingshan was also popular in Hong Kong.
▲ Taiwan's "Chinese Times Song" represented by Yao Surong is quite recognized by the Hong Kong market, and the source network
Influenced by the "Chinese Times Song" ethos, Hong Kong record labels have launched their own home-made "Cantonese Times Songs", most of which are derived from Cantonese opera, Cantonese opera excerpts or Cantonese filler adaptations of "Chinese Times Songs", representative figures include Lisa and Cheng Kam Cheong from Xingma and local Fen Yanfang, Wei Xiuxian, Siu Fang Fang and Chen Baozhu.
▲ Lisa's "Tears of Acacia" is constantly covered by people, picture source network
However, at that time, due to the strong position of the "Chinese Era Song", the status of the "Cantonese Era Song" that was rejected by the urban working class was relatively humble, and the creation/production and interpretation of music was relatively old-fashioned and crude, and it was considered to be "difficult to climb the elegant hall".
Most of the producers involved in the "Cantonese Era Song" were also the people who wrote Cantonese songs, and Zhou Cong, who was appreciated by The Harmony Records Company, tried to use American pop songs, Chinese times songs and Cantonese music scores and small songs with lyrics and sang themselves, and the "Zhou Cong Cantonese Times Songs" published in 1961 contained more than 100 works, and Zhou Cong was also known as the "father of Cantonese era songs".
▲ Zhou Cong is known as the "father of Cantonese era music", the source network
The 1960s were a time of economic transformation in Hong Kong, and new immigrants began to build their own identity and sense of belonging. International record labels were also bullish on this emerging potential market, with record giant EMI entering Hong Kong in 1962. The entry of international companies has injected a strong international element and the color of the times into the Hong Kong record industry, which oscillates between traditional Cantonese and era songs.
▲ Lotus Band is the leader of the band trend in the sixties, the source network
Due to the promotion of Occidental pop music and rock music all over the world, international companies have also brought this wave to Hong Kong. The arrival of the Beatles in Hong Kong in 1964 became a landmark event, quickly leading to a new generation of young people in Hong Kong to play bands.
English songs have become a symbol of more fashion and vitality than "era songs". Diamond Records specially recorded these bands, including Playboy, Lotus, and in the 1970s there were Wenna, Jade, New Special Music, etc. In the future, the hong Kong music scene's superstars Teddy Robin, Hui Guanjie, Tam Wing Lin, Zhong Zhentao, Lin Zixiang and Yip Chun Tong all originated from here. The trend of bands that mainly sing English songs has actually reserved a new force for the local Cantonese original record market in the future.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="295" > take-off period: "Cantonese pop" entered the room</h1>
The 1970s were the take-off period for Hong Kong's economy. Many experts in Hong Kong Cantonese pop music have invariably regarded 1974 as the "first year" of Hong Kong's modern Cantonese pop, and the flag figures were none other than Hui Guanjie and Gu Jiahui.
▲ Xu Guanjie's "Ghost Horse Double Star" made Cantonese pop songs enter the room, the source network
In 1974, the cantonese album "Ghost Horse Double Star" sung by Hui Guanjie and the two albums of Xiandula", composed and supervised by Gu Jiahui, were released, which made the previously discriminated "Cantonese Era Song" truly upgrade to "Cantonese Pop", and since then it has ascended to the hall of elegance and become a popular trend in the future marketing of the Chinese world.
Hui Guanjie's 1974 "Ghost Horse Double Star" album "Tower Clouds" is considered to be one of the "city songs" representing the spirit of Hong Kong, he was deeply influenced by Western rock music such as the Beatles, while the lyrics were very "Chinese", this wonderful chemical effect catered to the middle class and the working masses, becoming a classic of "elegant and popular appreciation".
Along with Hui Guanjie, he is known as the godfather of music, Gu Jiahui, who studied jazz and used the arrangement of Western orchestral music to compose music for the theme song of TVB in Hong Kong at that time, thus opening a prosperous "theme song era".
▲ Gu Jiahui's "Laughter Karma" opens the era of TV theme songs, picture source network
Under their influence, many singers/bands that originally sang Chinese era songs and English songs began to transform into Cantonese pop records, and Cantonese songs have since become the undisputed mainstream of the Hong Kong music scene.
In the 1970s, international companies such as Polydor/PolyGram, Warner, sony and other international companies entered the Hong Kong market one after another, in order to conform to the increasingly localized music trend, they also began to sign singers to launch Chinese records, while local companies had TVB Huaxing and Lifeng, Fengxing, Eternity, Entertainment, Wenzhi, etc. The competition between international companies and local companies stimulated the virtuous circle of Hong Kong's record industry and created the take-off of the record industry.
In addition to the commercial pop songs belonging to adults, the Cantonese nursery rhymes created by Wei Ran (Lai Wai Yin) are also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the Music Coordination Office of the Hong Kong Government has compiled a series of Cantonese nursery rhymes as "Selected Cantonese Songs", which is used as a tutoring reference for major primary and secondary schools, and Wei Ran is also revered as the "father of Hong Kong children's songs".
In 1977, the CASH Hong Kong Composers and Composers Association was established by Huang Xia and others, which was the first copyright protection agency for the Chinese recording industry to protect the rights and interests of local music creators.
In the same year, the first Hong Kong Golden Disc Awards Ceremony, hosted by ifPI International Phonographic Association (HONG KONG), was successfully held, and the auditors counted the highest-selling local and international record sales in Hong Kong, and the winners of that year were not only local Hui Guanjie, Xu Xiaofeng, Luo Wen and Zheng Shaoqiu, but also Teresa Teng from Treasure Island Taiwan.
▲ Teresa Teng at the first Hong Kong Golden Disc Awards ceremony in 1977, Source Network
Since then, "Golden Records" has become the highest commercial indicator of Hong Kong's record industry.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="296" > heyday: Tan Zhang contended for hegemony, superstars brilliant</h1>
In the 1980s, Hong Kong became a world-famous free port and a global financial center, and the economic prosperity also promoted the flourishing of subcultures such as pop music.
As the music chart and award ceremony of the "barometer" of the recording industry, it has increasingly become an arena for superstars to dominate under the fierce commercial boost, and the three major awards ceremonies of RTHK 's "Top Ten Chinese Golden Songs", TVB's "Top Ten Golden Songs", and commercial radio's "Billboard Pop Chart" have become the annual year-end awards of fans and even the general public.
▲ Every year, the "Top Ten Golden Songs" has attracted the attention of the public, and the source network
In 1984, influenced by the pop culture of Occidental and Japan, record companies began to focus on commercial, idol packaging, competing for record sales, concerts, and major awards on the radio charts.
In this context, more than a dozen idol singers who can be called "emperor superstars" were concocted, including: Xu Guanjie, Guan Zhengjie, Zheng Shaoqiu, Wang Mingquan, Ye Zhentang, Ye Liyi, Luo Wen, Zhen Ni, Xu Xiaofeng, Tan Yonglin, Zhang Guorong, Mei Yanfang, Chen Baiqiang, Lin Zixiang, Ye Qianwen, Lin Yilian, Jacky Cheung, etc., and the musicians also included Gu Jiahui, Huang Xia, Li Xiaotian, Lu Guozhan, Zheng Guojiang, Lin Zhenqiang, Pan Yuanliang, Pan Weiyuan, Lin Minyi, Lun Yongliang, Xu Riqin, Du Zizhi, Bobida, Lu Dongni, Richard Yuen and other strongest behind-the-scenes elites. "Tan Zhang Zhengba" is a characteristic product of this era.
▲ Tan Zhang Zhengba was the focus of the music scene in the 1980s, the source network
In 1984, Tam Wing Lin was elected TVB's "Most Popular Male Singer", opening a new chapter in the era of superstardom, and his white-hot competition with Cheung Kwok Wing lasted for six years, until Tan Wing Lin announced that he would no longer accept the award and Cheung Kwok Wing bid farewell to the music scene. This fierce commercial competition was also one of the driving forces that set the pinnacle of the Hong Kong record industry in the 1980s.
In the context of "Tan Zhang's Struggle", in 1988, Ye Qianwen's "Blessing" sprang up, creating a record of the most awards for albums and songs (three stations combined with 12 awards, surpassing Tan Yonglin), sold 350,000 copies (7 platinum), and was on the "LingQu Music Pop Chart" for 9 months and 5 weeks, a record that has not been broken so far.
▲ Ye Qianwen's "Blessings" created the myth of 1988, the source network
A series of figures also confirm the boom of Hong Kong's record industry in the 1980s:
1) Pop music record sales: More than a dozen singers have sold more than 200,000 records. Record sales peaked in 1988, when more than 60 platinum records (including the 1985-88) were awarded.
2) Concerts: High-grossing pop concerts increased from 18 in 1983 to 129 in 1989, and the number of spectators increased from 150,000 to 1.35 million.
▲ Tai Chi blew up the "band storm", the source network
But there are also hidden worries behind the prosperity: due to the weakness of local creative forces, Hong Kong's "emperor superstars" often adapt a large number of Occidental and Japanese pop songs.
In 1986, the original band trend initiated by the Carlsberg Pop Music Festival emerged, and they were more obsessed with avant-garde British electronic and rock metal, the lyrics were no longer fancy, and more critical of social reality, including Tai Chi, Daming, BEYOND, RAIDAS, and Blue Jeans.
Although this second wave of bands is only a flash in the pan, the impact on the Hong Kong music scene is far-reaching, it not only changed the atmosphere of the Hong Kong music scene relying on song adaptations, but also added a lot of cutting-edge creative talents to the music scene, such as Liu Yida, Tang Yicong, Huang Liangsheng, Su Dehua and other musicians have tailored pop songs for many mainstream superstars.
With the trend of reform and opening up in the mainland, Hong Kong's Cantonese pop songs have been enlightened in the mainland with the help of popular film and television dramas.
In the early 1980s, "Huo Yuanjia the Great Hero", "Chen Zhen", "Huo Dongge" and "Journey to the Tiger Mountain" directed and supervised by him were successively broadcast in the mainland, and the theme song was also sung in the streets and alleys.
▲ Xu Xiaoming's "The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia" has become the enlightenment of Hong Kong Cantonese songs in the mainland, the source network
In addition, TVB's "Shanghai Beach", "Thousands of Rivers and Mountains Are Always Love", and "The Legend of the Eagle Shooter" have also been broadcast in the mainland, and many Cantonese golden songs in the drama have swept the north and south of the river. Hong Kong-made films such as "The True Colors of Heroes" and "Ghost of a Woman" circulated through channels such as video halls and laser discs have also cultivated a generation of film fans. Hong Kong dramas, Hong Kong films, Hong Kong stars, and Cantonese songs have become the most popular fashions in the land of Shenzhou.
In 1984, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala invited Hong Kong stars such as Zhang Mingmin and Xi Xiulan to sing for the first time, which was a sensation at home and abroad.
▲ Zhang Mingmin is the first Hong Kong star to appear on the Spring Festival Gala, picture source network
Later, Luo Wen, Wang Mingquan, Ye Liyi, Zhang Delan, Yip Chun Tang, Tam Wing Lin, etc. also appeared one after another, and launched an imported version of cassette tape and held a personal concert in the mainland.
▲ In 1985, Rowan became the first Hong Kong singer to hold a solo singing in the mainland
Hong Kong's record industry has finally ushered in its most brilliant heyday from self-production to export.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="297" > the turning 90s: karaoke and "open-minded originality"</h1>
In the 1990s, the hot singing of karaoke DVDs from Japanese culture ushered in a new profit point for the Hong Kong record industry, and this kind of civilian entertainment effectively played an emotional connection for Hong Kong people seeking social consensus, and also increased the popularity of Cantonese pop songs in all walks of life, so that in the next 30 years, singing K is one of the most important ways for the Chinese community to promote Cantonese songs. However, karaoke requires the characteristics of simple and easy to sing songs, which to a certain extent also limits the diversified development of popular music.
With the retirement of many superstars, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Li Ming, Aaron Kwok's "Four Heavenly Kings" dominate the world, in addition to singing Cantonese songs, they also launched Chinese records to break into the Taiwan and mainland markets, but the "Four Heavenly Kings" monopoly on the award ceremony and the charts, objectively also suppressed many powerful singers.
▲ The four kings almost "monopolized" the Hong Kong music scene in the 1990s, the source network
Taking the 1993 RTHK "Top Ten Chinese Golden Melodies" awards ceremony as an example, the "Four Heavenly Kings" occupied as many as 8 songs, and the other singers/groups only had BEYOND "The Sea and the Sky" and Wang Jingwen (Faye Wong) "Obsessed with No Regrets" were selected, so it is no wonder that Jiaju once criticized "Hong Kong only entertainment without music". Unexpectedly, Huang Jiaju and Chen Baiqiang died unexpectedly, leaving fans with infinite sighs.
▲ BEYOND's "Joy and Anger" spirit has influenced so far, source network
Prince Charming Chen Baiqiang, the "love of a lifetime" fan
Because of the prevalence of karaoke, the melody and catchy Taiwanese Chinese songs have landed in Xiangjiang again, forming a very interesting phenomenon of "crossing the river dragon", and the "Lingjia Music Pop List" has set up a "cross-river dragon" award.
Zhang Hongliang's 1990 "Do You Know I'm Waiting for You?" Won the first place for four consecutive weeks, beating many local singers to become the "Supreme Song" of the year, and Wu Sikai was also selected as the "Top Ten Chinese Golden Songs" of Radio Television Hong Kong with a song "Special Love to Special You", followed by Yu Chengqing, Zhou Huajian, Wu Qixian, Zhang Yu, Zhang Xinzhe, Xin Xiaoqi, Wan Fang and Xu Meijing.
▲ Zhang Hongliang is an outstanding representative of the "Dragon Crossing the River", the source network
What's more interesting is that local singers have also adapted Taiwanese Chinese songs, such as Ye Qianwen's "Cherished", Faye Wong's "The Edge of Love and Pain", Zeng Hangsheng/He Wanying's "Goodbye is Also a Friend", Zheng Xiuwen/Xu Zhi'an's "In Fact, Do You Have Me in Your Heart" and so on, which are even more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people than the original Chinese version.
▲ Lü Fang's "Crooked Moon" adaptation is quite successful, image source network
In addition to adapting Taiwanese works, works such as "My Shirley", "Crooked Moon" and "Late Autumn" have also been greatly successful in adapting popular songs in the Guangdong music scene, allowing lead singers Li Keqin, Lü Fang and Huang Kaiqin to climb to a new level.
▲ Lei Songde can be called the "open-minded and original" standard-bearer, the source network
In 1995, commercial radio hong kong launched an "open-minded and original" revolution, no longer playing adaptations, encouraging independent musical power.
Sound Factory, "Indie Era" and other independent companies that emphasize the spirit of D.I.Y were founded, and indie bands such as AMK, Black &blue, and Black Box are not inferior to pop idols.
The returnee Lei Songde, C.Y KONG and other new producers and creative groups such as "Renshan Renhai", etc., have also used the comeback superstar Zhang Guorong and mainstream singers such as Dawn, Chen Huilin, Peng Ling, Yang Qianwei and other mainstream singers as experimental products, injecting a large number of European electronic and British rock elements, changing the same dull style of mainstream songs, and bringing up a boom of "well water flooding the river".
However, there is also a great controversy over the "open-minded" approach, with many insiders believing that the radical broadcast of original works by commercial stations has affected the overall quality of Hong Kong's music scene under the premise that it is difficult for local creators to keep up with the output, which has led to the decline of the Hong Kong record industry since then.
Although the 1990s were far less colorful in terms of formal innovation and talent inheritance of music, the more mature commercial mechanism still gave the record industry a "golden period" of sales:
In 1992, the concert boom that lasted throughout the 1980s peaked in Xu Xiaofeng's record 43 concerts.
▲ Xu Xiaofeng's 43 concerts broke Hong Kong's historical record, picture source network
In 1993, Jacky Cheung's "Kiss Goodbye" sold four million copies worldwide, and in 1995, the total record output value in Hong Kong reached 1.8 billion, which was also unprecedented.
▲ Jacky Cheung's "Kiss Goodbye" created the highest selling myth of Chinese records, picture source network
However, due to the change of record carriers from traditional vinyl media to CDs, the reproducibility of digital music has led to a large number of reproductions, coupled with the lack of creative strength, the young age of music fans, the deterioration of the business environment and other comprehensive factors, by 1998, the entire Hong Kong record industry rapidly declined, and the output value fell to 900 million.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="298" > the turbulent millennium: perseverance and breakout</h1>
Entering the 21st century of the millennium. Under the advent of the Internet and the integration of the Greater China market, the Hong Kong record industry has suffered various shocks brought about by industrial transformation, the rise of the music scene in Taiwan and the mainland has made the influence of Hong Kong music shrink, and the record store that has been operating for decades has gradually been replaced by gold shops and pharmacies, and even HMV, as the flagship symbol, has finally closed.
In 2003, SARS spread to Hong Kong, a black sadness shrouded the music scene, Rowan, Zhang Guorong, Mui Yanfang, Huang Xia, Lin Zhenqiang and many other beloved superstar singers and musicians also passed away, which is also the last farewell of the Hong Kong record industry to that glorious era.
▲ Huang Xia's death is a major loss to the Hong Kong music scene, source network
▲ April 1 every year is the day when fans pay tribute to "brother", the source of the Chinese Golden Melody Award
With the help of the spring breeze of opening up the mainland's "free travel", Hong Kong's concert market has boomed again, and from 2004 to 2006, the deep heritage of Cantonese pop songs has accumulated in a wave of nostalgia in the "80s", and classic superstars such as Hui Guanjie, Tam Wing Lin, Xu Xiaofeng, Tai Chi, BEYOND, grasshoppers and other classic superstars have returned to open concerts, making the Red Pavilion once again become an ocean of joy.
In recent years, the concerts of jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Eason Chan, Zheng Xiuwen and other superstars are even more difficult to find. Among them, the "A CLASSIC TOUR Alumni Classic World Tour" that began in 2016 reached a staggering 233 concerts, becoming the highest record in the Chinese music scene.
▲Jacky Cheung set a record for the highest chinese music scene in 223 concerts, picture source network
In 2007, cash's total royalty revenue from the Hong Kong Composers and Composers Association reached 160 million, while physical record sales at that time had fallen to less than 200 million.
Hong Kong IFPI's previous statistical standard was 25,000 gold records and 50,000 platinum records, but because the Hong Kong market was deteriorating, the Hong Kong market fell to less than 10 singers who could sell "gold records" in a single record in 2007. To this end, IFPI President Feng Tianzhi announced that in 2008, the gold record standard will be lowered to 15,000 copies, and platinum records will be 30,000 copies as the standard for the future.
▲ Universal's "Black King" has reborn the classic, the source of Universal Records
Although the records sold out for a year, the record companies continued to make strange moves to survive in the cracks. As an international company, Universal, Warner, Sony, as well as local companies, The Emperor, Gold Medal, and East Asia are all outstanding.
On the one hand, Universal continues the classic feelings: planning the "Left Lin Right Lee" concert, launching the "Fu Black King" CD, restarting the Poly Gold label; on the other hand, relying on the quality of the record to continue to create its own superstar array: Tan Yonglin, Eason Chan, Li Keqin, Chen Huixian, Xie Anqi, Wu Yufei...
The Emperor, Gold Medal and East Asia use a large number of fashion promotion packaging methods to attract teenagers, pushing Joey Yung, Nicholas Tse, Gu Juji, TWINS, Miriam Yeung, and Side Tian to the extreme of popularity.
TWINS is the most successful idol group in Hong Kong this century (Photo: Ji Dong)
With the help of the popularity of mass-selling KTV, frequent fan signing parties and award ceremonies, the Hong Kong trend Cantonese golden song with Eason Chan as the leader can still sing loudly in Hong Kong and other Cantonese-speaking areas in the first decade of the 21st century, and Eason Chan has even become the king of the Chinese music scene alongside Jay Chou.
▲Eason Chan won the award and got the soft hand (2010 Chinese Golden Melody Awards, photo: Mars)
This decade was also the most diverse era in the history of the Hong Kong record industry in terms of musical genres: Lin Yifeng, Wei Lan, Wang Yunzhi, Yong'er, Farmer, SOLER, MR., Fang Datong, Deng Ziqi and other singers and bands full of personalities opened up new possibilities for Hong Kong music.
In terms of composer/arranger/producer, there are Chen Huiyang, Wu Lecheng, Eric Kwok, Feng Hanming, Shu Wen, Zhang Jiacheng, in terms of lyric creation, the lyrics of the holy hand "two forests and one yellow" abandon the cliché of love and love, and use lyrics to enlighten life: "Under Mt. Fuji", "Tourbillon", "Salon", "Guan Shiyin" and a series of non-love songs or outstanding works that use love metaphors to make Cantonese pop songs have more explorations that reveal the depth of society and human nature.
However, most of the lyrics were arranged by them and a few people such as Chow Yiu-fai and Chan Wing-chien, and there was a lack of successors in the lyric world, which also led to a sharp decline in the literary and artistic standards of Hong Kong music in the second decade of the millennium.
▲ "Music Perpetual 2020" plans to rescue the market in the downturn, source network
The social shocks of 2019 and the new crown epidemic in 2020 have once again hit the lowest point of the Hong Kong record industry, and Andy Lau's 2020 album "Acting and Singing" is simply released in pure digital form for the first time, and no longer publishes physical records.
However, self-reliant Hong Kong music practitioners can always find new outlets, and Hui Guanjie, Aaron Kwok and Eason Chan have successively cheered people up in Hung Hom With live online concerts that keep pace with the times. The IFPI International Phonographic Association (IFPI) also proposed the "Music Sustainability 2020" scheme to save the market, funding 8 million yuan to local record companies to reinterpret and produce 108 Hong Kong Cantonese golden songs, so that classic Hong Kong music can be soul-revived.
▲ The 2020 "Billboard Music Pop Chart" takes "Everything Starts Again from Music" as the inspirational theme, image source network
Although the production and originality of the album's records are not satisfactory, according to the trend of the commercial radio station "Lingda Pop Chart", the number of newcomers who will release singles in 2020 is the highest in this century.
Under the trend of Eason Chan and other millennium superstars gradually fading out of the award ceremony, the backbone of the new generation of Hong Kong music represented by Chan Pak-woo, Lam Yi-kuang, Chow Pak-ho, Hui Ting-hing, Lim Ka-kwan, Lee Hin-ni, AGA, HANA Ju Zi Qiao, Chen Lei, Huang Yan, C AllStar, Supper Moment, Dear Jane, etc. may be the backbone of hong Kong's future music.
In view of the fierce development of mainland music variety shows, Hong Kong stars such as Deng Ziqi, Gu Juji, Li Keqin and so on have all tasted the sweetness here, and the Hong Kong music scene with the longest history of singing competitions (TVB-sponsored Huaxing Rookie Singing Competition, founded in 1982, the first Gold Award Mui Yanfang, now renamed the Global Chinese Rookie Singing Competition) finally returned to their own draft: the new TV new style of Viu TV "All People Make Stars" won the new generation of traffic idol group Mirror, Member Jiang Tao appeared in public to burst the scene comparable to the dawn of the year, and TVB, which was under pressure in the competition, re-ran "Legend of Sound Dreams", the program was well received for its professionalism based on music, and the outstanding performance of many selected post-00 players was remarkable.
▲ 55 years of history of the popular record continues the legend, the source of the popular record
In addition to the continuous emergence of original innovators in the field of pop, echoing the trend of HIFI records in Guangdong, local companies such as International Company Universal and Fengxing also insist on launching high-quality HIFI records, and the fever albums of Li Keqin, Lin Zixiang, Lin Yilian, Ye Zhentang, Lu Yunna, Ou Xinxi, etc. are all guaranteed sales.
In August 2021, the Hong Kong Audiovisual Exhibition, which is mainly based on physical records and audio, was restarted after being postponed many times due to the epidemic, and the Red Pavilion concerts of Superstars such as Dawn were also reopened, and all walks of life in the Hong Kong music scene seemed to regain confidence. In line with the current situation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Emperor Entertainment has set up its headquarters in Guangzhou.
▲Emperor Entertainment responds to the Greater Bay Area strategy, source network
It is foreseeable that the Hong Kong record industry has accumulated a century of effective traditional experience, talents, works, feelings and planning and marketing models, combined with the mainland's vast consumer market and digital operation advantages, and the integration of the Guangdong and Hong Kong markets under the Greater Bay Area strategy, will surely create a new industrial model. As a friend who cares about the Hong Kong record industry, Cantonese pop songs and "Hong Kong music", I will definitely look forward to the future full of infinite possibilities after the epidemic.
(Some of the historical references in this article are from: Liu Jingzhi's "On the History of Hong Kong Music" / Huang Zhihua's "Forty Years of Cantonese Pop Songs" and related networks)
This article is written by You Wei
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