During the past year, Beijing missed out on a few of the big names due to venue renovation for the Olympic Games. However, the capital has also hosted its share of foreign acts. January, alone, has seen shows from metal bands Dark Tranquility, Dream Theater, Nightwish and Skylark. In March, US rockers Incubus will play at Beijing's Starlive.
To capitalize on this emerging market, international touring companies have set up braches in China. William Morris opened a Shanghai office in 2004. Last year, Ticketmaster bought a majority stake in Emma Entertainment, a Chinese promoter and ticketing service responsible for luring acts like Linkin Park, Celine Dion and Bjork. Meanwhile, many domestic record labels are eager to introduce foreign music to China.
"China is on the tip of everyone's tongue and there is huge number of fans there and they are hungry for foreign voices," says Jiang Wei, from Guitar China, the company which brought over Dark Tranquility.
Strolling through the festival grounds, clubs and venues like Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium, feverous fans, dressed in Burberry shirts and white sneakers, are everywhere. The Internet has flooded China with Western music, building an appetite for rappers like Talib Kweli and mainstream bands including Linkin Park.
Jiang says that since Guitar China started introducing Western singers and bands into China in 2001, it has been losing money. But he insists that they will continue to bring more acts here. When asked why, Jiang looks at the crowd of young Chinese lining up outside Yugong Yishan where Dark Tranquility's concert was held and says: "It's the future".
