Ministry to pop lovers: Don’t be dirty

• Source: Global Times
• [23:56 September 14 2009]
• Comments

"In Eminem’s world, all women are whores and he is eager to rape and murder them,” according to Bob Herbert of The New York Times.

Foreign music: Some facts you might not know

More than 7,200 websites in China provide online music services, less than 20 offering genuine legal digital music download services. A large amount of online copyright music  100,000 or more songs according to Beijing Business Today  is flooding the Internet free listening and download market.

Paid music websites seem unlikely to profit from charging fees for music downloads. About 90 percent of imported music reaches the audience through illegal links, according to the China Internet Information Center. The Beijing Business Today article quoted Chinese musician Jia Zhongs calculation that the Chinese music industry suffers tens of millions of yuan in losses through the illegal online music market.

The British rock band the Rolling Stones was ordered by the Ministry of Culture not to play five of their raunchier tracks at their first Chinese concert in Shanghai. In October 2006, the Ministry of Culture cancelled the live debut of New York rapper Jay-Z in Shanghai, citing his vulgar lyrics.

The British band Oasis in March 2009 claimed that the government canceled their two live concerts in Shanghai and Beijing, although the Chinese promoter claimed the concerts were withdrawn due to money issues.

There are countless international stars whose music is not much heard within the Chinese mainland perhaps due to problems with their lyrics. They appear to include David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Queen, Sonic Youth, Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne.

Online music in the 2009 announcement is defined not only as digital songs but also videos, music videos, flash or any other products synchronized with online music. That includes music products transmitted via the Internet, mobile radio network or fixed radio network.

The Ministry of Culture first issued guidelines on the development and management of Internet music on December 12, 2006. Under these 2006 guidelines, any person or organization which distributes imported music without approval would be punished by cultural authorities, and their websites investigated by communication departments. Domestic music products aimed at distribution must register with the Ministry of Culture.

The guidelines state that Internet music based on music products copied or composed by web users for non-profit purposes must be monitored more closely. The guidelines banned foreign investors from establishing network entertainment companies. Other businesses engaged in network music must get approval from the ministry.

The guidelines stated that network music must be imported by legal work units approved by the ministry. The term network music in the 2006 guidelines refers to music products distributed by wired or wireless means. That meant mainly online music, played or downloaded from the Internet, and mobile music provided by mobile phone servers.

Network music businesses already engaged in distributing music had to register with the ministry by March 1, 2007.