On April 30, the "Time Classic Concert" with Li Jian, Angela Chang, and Cyndi Wang as the main singers was held at the Kunshan Sports Center Stadium. During the
concert, a large number of spectators shouted for refunds. Many spectators expressed on social media that the content of the concert was seriously inconsistent with the previous publicity, and posted that the organizer was suspected of "fraud."
Music concerts are supposed to be a "sharp tool" to stimulate the tourism economy and a "leverage" to bring "vast wealth". How come they are suspected of "fraud"?
Fans expressed their dissatisfaction with the "Time Classic Concert" held in Kunshan Picture/Social media screenshots
Live audience: Thanks to Li Jian for saving the show
"I never want to come to the 'Platter Concert' again!" A live audience posted on social media The media complained.
The so-called "platter concert" is different from an individual concert, which takes the form of multiple singers or bands taking turns performing on the same stage. Generally speaking, the singers perform individually, but sometimes they may perform together.
Regarding the "Time Classic Concert" held in Kunshan on April 30, the main problem reported by the audience was that the early promotion was seriously "out of stock" and the on-site sound quality was not good.
Wang Yun, a Li Jian fan who came to listen to the concert, told China News Weekly that in the early stage, the organizer had been using the three most famous singers, Li Jian, Angela Chang, and Cyndi Wang, for promotion and marketing. He bought it for 1,080 yuan. The tickets have converged to those of large individual concerts.
Wang Yun introduced the whole process of the evening of April 30 to China News Weekly: "The concert was supposed to start at 19:30 in the evening, but it was delayed for 15 minutes. Then three unknown female singers came to sing, and they sang for about It took 20 minutes for Cyndi Wang to take the stage. "
Wang Yun said that the organizer had released an "unclear" program list (claimed to be about 135 minutes) on the official Weibo. Judging from the actual results, the tracks sung by these three unknown female singers should correspond to the "Time Overture" in the program list, but the officially released program list does not have an introduction to these three female singers.
"Next, Cyndi began to have frequent problems after she appeared on the stage. As soon as she moved around, there was a problem with her ear return, which also prevented her from interacting with the audience at close range. In addition, the sound effects of her singing were also very poor, and there was no live concert at all. "Wang Yun said, "That night, Cyndi Wang sang a total of 4 songs and left the stage in less than 20 minutes. Then an unknown band came and sang 5 songs in a row, which lasted longer than Cyndi Wang."
, some viewers had lost their patience and made an "X" shape with glow sticks and shouted for refunds. At this moment, Angela Chang came on stage.
"As soon as Angela Chang came on the stage, she told the audience that she had acute gastroenteritis and was not in good condition. She only sang 4 songs and then left. Then there was a transition time of more than 10 minutes. It may be that the band was debugging, and there was no one on the stage at all. Performance. At this time, many viewers were completely angry."
Angela Chang said that she was in poor condition due to illness. Picture/Video screenshot
Wang Yun recalled that Li Jian came on stage to save the show and sang 7 songs in a row, before singing "Marine". When the performance was interrupted again due to equipment failure, Li Jian took the initiative to ask to return to the previous chapter and sing it again, which slightly calmed the emotions of the audience.
China News Weekly learned that after the concert, many viewers organized a refund group and spontaneously complained to the local 12345.
Then on May 2, the Kunshan Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism stated that the organizer's declaration of singers for the performance was in accordance with regulations, and there was no concealment. In addition, there were law enforcement officers on site to extract vocal lines, and there was no lip-synching. As for whether false propaganda is involved and whether tickets can be refunded, it remains to be determined.
Organizing company: It is not convenient to respond.
The official poster of "Time Classic Concert" shows that the organizers are Suzhou Yuan Zhiyi Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Shangyuan Cultural Development Co., Ltd.
Qichacha information shows that Suzhou Yuan Zhiyi Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. was established in February this year, and its controlling shareholder is Shanghai Shangyuan Cultural Development Co., Ltd., which was established in 2014.
Relevant information shows that Shanghai Shangyuan Culture Development Co., Ltd.’s early business was not music after its establishment, and its legal representative has changed several times. In 2018, it violated Article 6 of the "Regulations on the Administration of Commercial Performances" and engaged in commercial performances without authorization. business activities, and was administratively punished by the Shanghai Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Corps. The operation of the "Time Classic" concert brand project will only be launched in 2023.
Someone in the music industry pointed out to China News Weekly that Shanghai Shangyuan Culture had previously run "Time Classic" concerts in other cities, which had frequently happened.
For example, at the "Time Classic" Ningbo Station held in June 2023, during Li Jian's singing part, it can be heard that the mixer overexploded the frequency band of the accompaniment band drums, and there was obvious noise in the auditory sense. During this period, Li Jian also had some ear return. Actions. At the Nanjing Station in October of the same year, during Yang Zongwei's singing session, the vocals and accompaniment were performed separately. At that time, some netizens and fans also expressed dissatisfaction on social media.
After the "Time Classic Concert" caused dissatisfaction among the audience in Kunshan, the organizer Suzhou Yuan Zhiyi Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. appeared to have issued a letter of apology in the early morning of May 1 in response. He said that the poor acoustic experience at the concert was due to weather factors such as rain. In addition, because Angela Chang was ill, the band singers were only used to avoid a cold start. However, before publication, the apology letter could no longer be found on the official Weibo of "Shijiang Classic".
html On May 2, this series of concerts was held as scheduled in Zaozhuang, Shandong. The main singers were Cyndi Wang, Angela Chang, and Li Jian.I wonder if it has learned the lesson from Kunshan Station. The performance at Zaozhuang Station avoided the problems that occurred at Kunshan Station in terms of the arrangement of the appearance sequence, rhythm control, lighting and sound, etc. The program list includes detailed descriptions of the opening light show, warm-up music, band adjustments, and the singing duration of the three lead singers. In addition, it is emphasized that ticket prices will not be reduced.
Some viewers compared the two concerts. Among them, Li Jian's performances at the two stations were almost the same, both at about 50 minutes. However, at the Zaozhuang station, Angela Chang and Cyndi Wang's performances were 30 minutes and 25 minutes respectively, which were somewhat longer than those at the Kunshan station. The opening ceremony The performance duration of singers and warm-up singers has been shortened.
Therefore, the audience satisfaction at the concert held in Zaozhuang was relatively high, and there were no other negative emotions on social media.
html On May 6, China News Weekly called Shanghai Shangyuan Culture Development Co., Ltd. A person in charge of the company said that it was temporarily inconvenient to respond to the situation of the Kunshan concert.
"Time Classic Concert" program list comparison between Kunshan and Zaozhuang stations Picture/Time Classic official Weibo
The doorway to the platter concert
Is the controversy caused by the platter concert held in Kunshan an isolated case? Will it have an impact on the business ecology of Platter Concert?
On major social media, it is common to complain about platter concerts in various places and denounce the host company.
Liu Jian, a planner who has managed platter concerts, told China News Weekly that the "poor sound" and "many unknown singers, and ticket prices are the same as special concerts" at the Kunshan concert are actually commonplace problems. Some platter concerts Problems such as "chaotic security", "too many advertisements", "dirty seats and poor look and feel" are even more serious.
“But those who complain about these issues are generally fans who have high loyalty to singers, have watched some high-involvement and high-level solo concerts, and have certain requirements for performance quality and experience. However, due to the limited overall level of investment in platter concerts, Its strategy is mainly to attract the majority of "passerby fans" who are not sensitive to sound effects. Therefore, from a purely listening perspective, the platter concert sells a cost-effective experience. "
According to statistics from the China Performance Industry Association, in the first half of 2023, A total of 506 large-scale concerts and music festivals were held across the country, directly generating a box office of 2.497 billion yuan, of which the box office of "platter concerts" accounted for about 1/5, as high as 541 million yuan.
According to data from Damai.com in the fourth quarter of 2023, there are 67 available concerts and music festivals, and 39 of them are held in second-tier cities or even lower-tier counties.
"Platform concerts and music festivals may even be one of the few performance models that can ensure the maximization of interests for all parties." Zhang Bo, the person in charge of the music festival project of a large Internet company, told China News Weekly.
For many small and medium-sized cities and even counties that lack visibility and have difficulty hosting large-scale cultural and tourism activities, a concert can become a "traffic carrier" for urban communication, and can also drive passenger flow and leverage local tourism. Economic "sharp weapon".
For most singers, since they do not have the top appeal of Jay Chou and Mayday, they can organize solo concerts alone in big cities. The upfront cost of tens of millions is difficult to recoup with absolute certainty through box office and investment promotion. Therefore, in different Traveling around the region to participate in a platter concert has become an easy and affordable choice.
In Zhang Bo's view, the host city has gained passenger flow and off-site comprehensive tourism consumption, the singer has received considerable appearance fees, and the hosting performance company has been under certain profit pressure. Most of the problems that arise at current platter concerts are caused by profit pressure.
"Although venue rentals in small and medium-sized cities and counties are relatively cheap, and the overall cost is significantly lower than that in first-tier cities, it is precisely because platter concerts are generally not in first-tier cities, and there is a certain amount of "passerby fans" among the audience, so the ticket price It is difficult for the price to form a high premium in the secondary market. Whether and to what extent the hosting performance company can make a profit is related to factors such as the lineup of invited singers, the number of main singers, appearance fees, appeal, and the geographical location of the host city. , but also depends on the enthusiasm of the local and surrounding markets for investment,” Zhang Bo said.
Liu Jian revealed to China News Weekly that for some projects that have not attracted investors and have poor box office pre-sales, when it comes to performances, publicity and marketing, some hosting performance companies may use some "cost reduction and efficiency improvement" and "edge-cutting" strategy to keep the box office.
"For example, blur the propaganda words, reduce prices to promote ticket sales, find multiple unknown singers with low appearance fees to intersperse and sing to 'sustain the duration', and let individual popular singers sing a few popular classics to retain the audience. , the main character appears in the second half, and the stage sound effects, costumes, props and other hardware are streamlined as much as possible, all in order to reduce costs and maximize benefits," Liu Jian said.
Both Liu Jian and Zhang Bo believe that the most important thing about music performances is "consumer experience." Since the platter concert sells "cost-effectiveness", it must strive to make the audience feel that the "cost-effectiveness" is higher. In addition, the "eating appearance" should not be too ugly and make too many amateur mistakes. Once negative emotions surge, it will cause damage to the concert's own brand, the singer's reputation, and the host city.
(Wang Yun, Liu Jian and Zhang Bo are all pseudonyms in the article)
Author: Ye Zhufeng
