ChinaDaily, 2005-09-05
Centre stage

There are 1.3 billion people in China - that means a lot of mouths to feed, bodies to shelter, and minds to entertain.

The performing arts market has excellent potential, but surface appearances are deceptive. Some foreign investors extol the virtues of what they see as China's world-class domestic scene, but local insiders paint a different picture of an unregulated industry fraught with irregularities.

One Chinese person in three went to see at least one show last year. That's over 433 million tickets sold. This makes China a tremendous potential market for the performing arts, a fact that has not escaped the notice of keen entrepreneurs.

China's arts industry has been developing at breakneck speed over the past decade. The market appears ready for overseas investment.

The Really Useful Group (RUG), a production company founded by renowned composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, is one foreign enterprise that has triumphed in the Chinese market. The company brought its world-famous musical "Cats" to Shanghai and Beijing for the 2002-2003 season, and met with extraordinary success. Tim McFarlane, general manager of RUG Asia-Pacific, says ticket sales hit 92 per cent in Shanghai.

The company brought "Phantom of the Opera" to Shanghai a year later for the 2004-2005 season, and it fared even better. McFarlane attributes this to a growing awareness of foreign performers in the Chinese market.

In some respects, the Chinese performing arts industry is already on an equal footing with the rest of the world. McFarlane was impressed by the quality of Shanghai's Grand Theatre and its staff, who he says are professional.

Some domestic industry insiders, in contrast, say the industry is under-developed.

Cautionary tales exist alongside the success stories. One large American production company, which hopes to remain anonymous, recently lost an investment of US$6 million because it failed to obtain performance permits from the Chinese Government.

Many procedures in the industry are governed by opaque government regulations and conventions; winning a production permit is just one of them. It frequently relies on a good relationship with relevant bodies and high-level individuals, which are routinely bought through gifts of tickets and other methods.

"Getting approval for foreign shows from the Ministry of Culture is quite complicated," says Chen Jing of Beijing production company Cang Ming Culture.

Chen says that content is carefully reviewed. Rejection of permit applications on moral grounds has excluded many artists from the Chinese market, including Madonna and Michael Jackson.

"In the eyes of foreign arts agents, China is still quite closed," says Chen.

Ticket sales are another thorn in the side of China's performing arts industry. It is difficult to come by tickets to many shows. High prices and double bookings arising from unconnected ticket vendors also add to the problem.

Sales and marketing practices also have yet to be standardized. Performing arts companies often confuse advertising in the media with media publicity or review. Instead of spending chunks of money placing advertising in the media, most opt to pay journalists or media critics in the form of travel expenses, remunerations or free VIP tickets in exchange for media publicity. The practice is usually cheaper than placing ads in newspapers and on TV. They kill two birds with one stone: They save money and ensure positive reviews.

These combined factors discourage competition and drive standards down and prices up.

Few hold high hopes that the Revised Regulations on Administration of Commercial Performing Arts can control these problems, and there is a feeling among producers that the market is going through a process of development. Many say it will naturally improve over time.

"Foreign companies such as TicketMaster are considering getting into the Chinese market. That says the industry is already straightening itself out - it's just a matter of time," Chen says.

The evidence suggests that eager entrepreneurs from abroad have not been put off by irregularities in the Chinese market. Foreign artists are involved in around half of Forbidden City Culture's programmes each year. The RUG is also very positive about its experiences in China to date, and is already working on a new project with Chinese partners.

California-based production company Western Media is holding ongoing discussions with the China Performing Arts Agency over a possible joint venture. Cang Ming Culture is also negotiating with a potential South Korean partner, and the managers of both companies say that others in the field are thinking along similar lines.
China Business Weekly news
(China Daily 09/05/2005 page7)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/05/content_475012.htm

 

 

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