Outdustry | 格外音乐 » News Links

Google China MP3 Search…..Finally

Outdustry — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:54:28 +0000

So, it seems that Google China has finally decided to make some noise (translated story) about their free MP3 search service. When this went into beta almost a year ago we were predicting that it would be game-changing news, but somehow it has remained under the radar. At their press conference today, however, Google China announced that all four major labels are on board, as well as all the major publishers and some 140+ indie labels, through their partner in the project, Top100. This amounts to some 1.1 million songs being given away for free. Surely this equals headlines?

So far there is not much in the way of English language coverage of this story, but here is a translated version of Google’s blog post on the matter. This service is intended to boost Google’s fortunes in China, a market in which it is being comprehensively outgunned by resident search behemoth Baidu. Baidu themselves have responded to these announcements, translated here.

A quick search suggests that they do indeed have a deep catalogue. Try it for yourself here.

Bizarrely, however, at least one song we found had the following in the tagging: “RiP BY MUJi”, suggesting that their MP3s are not from the most wholesome of origins.

CNN Cover Beijing’s Rock Scene

Outdustry — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:59:07 +0000

Modern Sky Announce Strawberry Festival

Outdustry — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:10:25 +0000

Beijing indie label Modern Sky have announced a new folksy-style event called the “Strawberry Festival” in the Chinese media (Chinese links here, here and on the Modern Sky website). Details are still a little vague but available information so far suggests three stages and 60 bands to be spread over the 1st-3rd of May at the Tongzhou Canal Park in Beijing. Everything else TBC.

Modern Sky boss Shen Lihui says that “compared with the enthusiasm of the Modern Sky Festival, the Strawberry Festival will have a warmer tone….the park will be your pleasure ground”.

Organisers also suggest it will be the “biggest music festival in Beijing during the May holidays” and that the Modern Sky main festival will go ahead in October as well.