Live Music Beijing: Our inside story

Hazemaze, an indie band including both Chinese and Western musicians performing in legendary DDC club in Beijing

Our team visited several music clubs in Beijing and met dozens of musicians and music professionals. There was a lot of interest in western music and performers. Our employee Jukka plays handful of gigs in Beijing every week and knows everything about the local live music scene. He was our guide on our journey to Beijing's most legendary clubs.

China's streaming and live music market is really booming. Increasing number of people are paying for their streaming and live gigs can be a really good income for musicians performing there. According to Time out Beijing, the growth of the Chinese music scene has been going on for the past 30 years, communicating ideas about rebellion and art, with Beijing being the core of the movement [1]. Beijing is a huge city with over 21 million residents and naturally the opportunities for artists to perform there are nearly endless.

Musicinfo CEO Kari Halttunen and DDC CEO Jincan Zhang hanging around. Jincan encourages foreign musicians to download their music to Chinese streaming services and to play in Beijing.

We visited Gulou hutong venue, DDC, an abbreviation of Dusk Dawn Club, on Thursday night. DDC is known for having a good mix of local Chinese acts, Beijing expat bands and international bands from abroad, which is impressive considering its size. This bar also has a space for art exhibitions, hosting local and often young artists, and is located in a picturesque courtyard for an authentic Beijing feel. The acts playing att DDC where Unit, Hazemaze and Oldy Baby and the tickets cost 50 CNY ($7.5).  Jincan Zhang, the CEO of DDC club, told the ticket prices normally range between 50 to 100 CNY. The prices of the tickets in China are not cheap but the people are willing to pay for live music. This means it’s not just a great experience for Western artists to play in China, it can be a lucrative venture too. You can take a peak to Beijing live music scene also at http://www.livebeijingmusic.com/

Check out Hazemaze perfomance here!

[1] http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/feature/30232/The-ultimate-guide-to-Beijings-music-scene.html

[2] http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/features/Blogs-Music_Blogs/159061/The-best-livehouses-in-Beijing.html

[3] https://www.chinahighlights.com/beijing/article-live-music-venues.htm