Hong Kong record companies have been urged to better promote Canto-pop across the border, in the face of the increasing presence on their home turf of mainland and Taiwanese stars.
Desmond Lee Man-wai, managing director of EMI Music Hong Kong, said that in two to three years' time, mainland artists would take over the Chinese music industry.
'The local market is so small, record companies should expand the Cantonese market, moving it up to the southern China Cantonese-speaking region. They can also do more promotion and marketing events in the north,' he said.
Collaboration with mainland singers could work well.
Hong Kong's lack of new talent was one of the main reasons for the widely perceived declining influence of Canto-pop, Mr Lee said.
Taiwanese stars such as Jay Chou, David Tao and Stephanie Sun, and groups such as F.I.R. have substantial fan bases in Hong Kong.
Universal Music brought mainland best-seller Dao Lang to Hong Kong, while EMI secured the Hong Kong release of an album by the mainland's biggest internet singer, Wang Qi-wen.
