With China’s streaming services, musicians don’t need a record label to make it big in the country
- Acts such as DJ Diablo and Far East Movement have decided direct deals with Chinese streaming services NetEase and Tencent are the best way to go
- Meanwhile, many of China’s established pop stars already run their own businesses
In the old days, a musician would welcome the support of a record label, but the gold rush in China’s music industry scene isn’t following the usual rules.
For example, Dutch DJ Don Diablo doesn’t want record labels messing up his business in China. He considers the Chinese market one of his three biggest, alongside the US and Europe, and tours there six or seven times a year. He is relying instead on NetEase, one of the country’s two largest audio streaming companies.
In recent negotiations with record labels, he has asked them to carve China out of deals for his songs, which include hits such as You’re Not Alone and Heaven to Me.
Diablo is one of a growing number of artists striking direct deals with Chinese streaming services, upending decades of record-industry orthodoxy.
Musicians are supposed to sign with a record label because the company has offices and connections all over the world. But acts such as Diablo and Far East Movement, a Los Angeles hip-hop group best known for the song Like a G6, have decided they are better off on their own in China.