Hong Kong music industry veterans teach newcomers how to run a record label
We have seen too many independent musicians have to make a living by teaching piano, says Wallace Kwok, one of those teaching Hong Kong bands on three-month business skills programme
You are a singer-songwriter and have been uploading your music online to broaden your audience. However, you have no idea how to make money out of your hard work or to protect your music from being stolen by other people.
That’s the starting point for a programme launched this month to help young musicians navigate the labyrinth that is the local music business today.
The Ear Up Record Label Creation & Incubation initiative, organised by the Renaissance Foundation and funded by Hong Kong government-backed CreateHK, has picked a dozen individual musicians and bands to take part in a pilot scheme that sets out to help them build a career.
Over the next three months, these musicians will learn how to create and run their own record label by taking part in workshops and symposiums, which cover all aspects of the commercial music industry, from publishing, distribution and copyright to management.
They will be mentored by a group of industry veterans, including singer and producer Alex Fung Hon-ming, artist and songwriter Vicky Fung Wing-ki and composer and violinist Kung Chi-shing.