1. In China, where does the average person in society go to listen to music?
The older generations in China prefer traditional music, so they often visit the opera. The most famous opera is of course Beijing Opera, and the newly opened National Theatre is a great place to catch a live performance. For the younger people there are many live music venues to see local bands play and maybe also have a drink or two. Well-known ‘live house’ venues are Mao Live, Yu Gong Yi Shan, and D22. There are sometimes music festivals held it parks where thousands of people can come and see some famous bands and artists perform.
2. What's your opinion on the question of the piracy of music?
Obviously, music piracy as a whole is generally a bad thing. It takes money away from bands and stops them being successful, which can bleed them dry in some cases. People who support music piracy say that it makes music more freely available and levels the playing field so people without much money can still enjoy it. Music piracy may allow more people to access music, but if this stop bands being financially successful the there won’t be any music! I think it’s probably okay to buy one or two pirated music CDs but you should always support the bands you like by buying the official version.
3. Do you think people should pay when they download music from the internet?
It’s difficult to say. On the one hand, it’s not good for the music industry if people download music for free and don’t pay. If nobody paid for music then there would be no music at all because the artists wouldn’t get any money. On the other hand, it’s not fair for people to pay through the nose for music either. Music companies are now offering cheaper music downloads and offering extra material like bonus tracks if people download from their official websites. I think this will encourage people to download their music legitimately.
4. In what ways do you think modern science and technology, especially the internet, will affect the music industry?
New technology will make it a lot easier for people to access music. Using the internet, people can search for a specific piece of music, artist or album and download it in only a few minutes. In the past the only way to buy music was in a shop, and there was no way of knowing if they had the music you want. New technology actually helped create a whole new genre of music called electronic music. Many people can now create music without using any instruments at all using a computer, which has helped make music more accessible to the people without the money or education to play an instrument.
