TheChangingofChineserecordingcompanyinrecent30years

【Abstract】This study investigates the history of Chinese recording company in recent 30 years. Specifically， I will analyze the development of The Pacific Record Company from the past thirty years， to find out the specific problems of the Chinese music industry.

【Key words】Chinese recording company； Pop music markets； Pacific Record Company； Western culture； Copyrights

In the past thirty years， the Chinese music industry had experienced a recession. At first， the recording industry was “an import” and was not fully formed in China； the record was made in China and completed abroad. Until the 1930s， records were widespread in China， and it gradually formed new companies， such as “EMI”， “Victor，” which became BMG， and “Great China，” which is a joint venture known as Sino-Japanese. In the recent ten years， the music industry had especially changed because of the influence of the Internet Age. The Pacific Audio Company is a good example of this.

In January of 1979， the Guangzhou TV Bureau invested $50，000 to establish the Pacific Audio Company. This was the first company with a complete set of internationally advanced recording equipment producing modern music in China， and it also marked the Chinese recording industry into the era of audio and video. The Pacific Audio Company started the audio and video business， while they also promoted the development of whole music industry. They published the first stereo cassette tape， the first CD， and the first videotape. In retrospect， The Pacific Audio Company cultivated lots of famous singers that had far-reaching effects on the modern music field， such as Li Guyi， Jiang Dawei， Fei Xiang， and Tang Can. They all had made great contributions to the Chinese pop music field.

Ten years ago， The Pacific Audio Company was successful and popular， but when the company experienced a recession， it was almost closed. In January of 2014， the Pacific Audio Company had their 35th anniversary. Mrs. Lai， the vice president of The Pacific Audio Company prepared a speech for that day. In her speech， she deliberately avoided saying that the anniversary was a “celebration.” Instead， she referred to it as a “memory.” Although this music company was the only one to survive， it was something to be proud of， but the vice president did not feel that it was fitting to call the anniversary a celebration.

In the Internet Age， the physical music records were pushed into the corner of history. This caused an issue for the Pacific Audio Company； for instance， the music sales in China decreased by 96% from 2005 to now. Even though the Pacific Audio Company was the only company that lasted， they did not have continued success. This was partly because of the effect of the Internet Age. In many people's opinions， it is a miracle that The Pacific Audio Company is still alive and operating now. These people include Song Ke， who was the previous CEO of Taihe Rye Music， which is a popular music company in China. Two years ago， Song Ke said “recording was dead”. The Pacific Audio Company， the CRC （China Records Co. Guangzhou）， the New Times， and the White Swan are struggling or have closed.

After Chinas reformation， it was the first time people were able to hear pop songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Although the Chinese were open to this change， they still found difficulty in understanding these other genres of music， such as “pop music，” which they were not familiar with. Despite the difficulty that they sometimes had， it did not stop them from embracing this change. Throughout China people were shocked with the different genres of music that existed because they didnt think that “music could be performed like that.” Originally， the Chinese performed “cover songs” with popular Chinese music， such as “The Grass.” Then later Chinese singers began to do cover songs of Hong Kong and Taiwans singers； as a result， this became the earliest way for China to make a profit off of its record companies.

In retrospect， within the past 30 years， the development of Chinese recording companies was caused by the rapid development of the early Chinese labels. During the 1970s and 1980s， the Chinese people were absorbed into the Western Culture， and they chose to ignore the copyrights and royalty fees. For these reasons， the Chinese records companies rapidly declined.

References：

[1]Xu，Songlan，and Hu，Huishi.Guangdong Pacific Audio Company：create a pop music industry precedent.Shenzhen Business，2009.08.

[2]Ye，Ting.The development and value of Chinese pop music，Journal of Shenzhen University（Humanities&Social; Sciences），2005.07，22.

[3]Cao，Kezhen.China's music industry for 30 years.Global Business，2013.

[4]Li，John Fangjun.The development of Chinas music industry during the first half of the 20th century.Macquarie University Faculty of Arts，2011.

作者簡介：趙苜希（1988-），漢族，遼寧鐵嶺人，碩士，美國威廉帕特森大學音樂管理專業。