Here Are a Few Tips if You Want to Make it in China.
Opportunities for artists within the Chinese market are plentiful. But how do you access it, and who are the gatekeepers?
As of September 2020, the population of China is 1.44 billion. A huge portion of these people are looking for new music, product recommendations and entertainment. That’s a lot of content and a lot of opportunity for artists to tap into. Good things don’t come easy though, and there are a few hurdles you’ll need to jump to access the bounty a market of this size offers.
One is the language barrier. Speak and read fluent Mandarin? Perfect. You'll be fine. If not, then you'll need a local dialect speaking agency to help you out here. Once you’ve mastered that, do you even know which are the top social platforms to invest your time into growing? There are thousands to pick from. We suggest you find an expert to guide you and help you grow your following, otherwise it could end up costing you days of your life, with little gain. What about authentic communication, do you understand the personality of the Eastern audience?
There are a million nuances to check up on, but we've helped hundreds of artists get clear on how to access China and have helped some of them grow an audience of over 30 million. To help you get started, we've included our tips on how to make it work, including the most common faux pas that will obscure your path to success. Enjoy!
Firstly, on your Western socials, make sure you throw a nod to your Eastern counterparts from time to time. This could be wishing well for a Chinese public holiday in your Instagram story, or showing a screenshot of your Chinese socials.
Sometimes artists and team forget that they need to act professionally — we get it, China is a new variable to the equation. But hiring an agency and then failing to keep them updated leaves people that work for you very confused. And in general, your agency works hard for you, so it's just disrespectful.
Artists should have a good grasp of English if they want to make it globally and reach a wider audience. English is recognised as an official language in 67 different countries around the world. Think of all the people you can connect with! We frequently see artists from non-English speaking countries live-streaming in their native language which their Chinese audience won’t understand. Most Chinese folk will have English as a second language — that’s common. But they won’t likely speak fluent French, German, Spanish or Portuguese. So posting videos in English is great for everyone to have a common ground.
Sometimes artists copy and paste the captions from one social profile to another, country to country and app to app. This makes the content seem monotonous and it isn't truly tailored to each channel's audience. Obviously the fans can see right through it and they don't engage, which loses the artist a sizeable portion of their potential fanbase.
Another huge mistake is that artists only post when they have a release coming and they forget to post anything the rest of the time. Guys, if you only post once every 3 months, this won't do anything at all to grow your following. *rolls eyes*
If you want to make it in China, you really must listen to advice from the locals and the agency workers. If you're hiring an agency, it's because they know better than you do. You are new coming into the market, and should be learning all the ins and outs of how it works. Sadly, sometimes, a lot of artists bring in their ego and ignore this rule, which never ends well.
Not being aware of your position overseas on the Chinese social platforms can be a bit of a bummer. You can be a superstar in the rest of the world and a nobody with 500 subscribers on the Chinese music platforms. But they enter the market with a bit of an ego and demand large pay for brand deals. This obviously won't happen if the Chinese industry doesn't even know who they are. This cuts off opportunities for exposure and growth. So keep in mind, just because you are big in the West, doesn't mean you're a big deal in the East.
