100116-上海-060-1024x768

Concert - Behind the Scenes Series (1-2) The Director
Author/Tai Yu Shang, Ting Ting Yang
Chang has lost count of the number of concerts she has worked on over the past few decades. She felt that Super Band(縱貫線) and Rock 30(滾石30) were the most interesting in recent years. "I’ve worked on more than 50 Super Band concerts. I was always present and followed them on tours everywhere. It's tiring but rewarding, you rarely have the opportunity to be a part of concerts held by four big names in our industry." Rock 30 goes to many places and the biggest one, our first in mainland China, was held at Beijing’s Bird's Nest (Beijing National Stadium). We sold all 80,000 tickets before the performance (the Taipei Arena has a capacity of roughly 15,000). "As for Rock Records, it’s well-known in mainland China. It's the brand most people were first exposed to and the brand helped feed China’s demand for pop music."
The bigger the concert, the more problems we have to deal with. Harsh conditions had to be overcome for Rock 30's first concert and Chang remembered well the nerve-racking situations she faced at the Bird's Nest.
"We were building a four-sided stage at the Bird's Nest for the first time. No one had done a concert there previously and there were no references to study. For the sound stage component of the outer stage, we had to engage Japanese technicians to carry out accurate measurement evaluation and stage set-up work. There was a big hole on the ground of the stadium and we had to fill it since our stage was huge. There were many problems we had to solve." Problems with the sound stage for the inner stage also hindered preparations. Hundreds of wireless channels were causing interference and to prevent this from affecting the musicians, Chang had to acquire microphones with varying frequencies at the last minute.
"Problems still occur frequently during performances no matter how well-prepared you are. You may have lighting that is too dim or malfunctioning, but this is what makes live shows challenging and interesting."
◎How do you calculate a concert's cost?
Chang revealed that a single concert tends to incur losses given that the production costs for software and hardware are high. On the other hand, doing a tour reduces average costs and makes it possible to generate profits. Citing Michael Wong's(光良) Crazy Memories tour(回憶裡的瘋狂巡演) as an example, she pointed out that the concert-goer population for Beijing and Shanghai is roughly 5,000 each and about 3,000 for Taipei. For these cities, production scale and design are similar, and slight changes are only made based on the venue in question. For Michael Wong's concert in Taipei, venue rental alone constituted a huge expense component (after deducting existing software, hardware and manpower expenses). Stage set-up charges are time-based, and venue, manpower and utilities charges are calculated differently at each venue. In this case, the concert was held at the TPEC Gymnasium, stage set-up was carried out from Tuesday to Thursday while the rehearsal, concert and stage dismantling will happen on Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively. The rent for each period is calculated differently and an additional 10 percent of ticket sales will be charged. Based on this calculation method, we would need to pay TPEC Gymnasium NT$1.8 million just for this concert. If it was held at the Taipei Arena, 10 percent becomes 15 percent and the rent is higher. After deducting expenses for items like rent, software and hardware, a concert with 3,000 concert-goers is not a profit-making venture. Instead, it serves as a reward to Wong's fans for their support. As to the order of cities to visit during a tour, this is sometimes determined by an agency's strategy.
"China's concert market is currently dominated by Taiwanese musicians, but this trend is changing slowly. Chinese talent shows have produced many musicians, while the pool of emerging Taiwanese musicians who can replace established ones is shrinking", said Chang. Only a handful of upcoming Taiwanese musicians are able to do well at a 3,000 capacity venue. Chang pointed out that new musicians need more exposure, more opportunities to perform, and more stage time to succeed. All these require money and everything is linked. "Taiwanese musicians are doing increasingly better in the concert industry, but new musicians will have to buck up." At the end of the day, this is a talent gap.
Lastly, Chang spoke about the live-streaming of concerts. When Chinese live music platforms like Tencent(騰訊) and LeTV(樂視) require content, they would first invest in a musician's concert. Pricing also differs depending on the musician. For instance, Tencent paid RMB1 million (about NT$5 million) for A-Mei's(張惠妹) recent concert which featured new songs. But to the best of her knowledge, the only live-streaming deals struck so far, apart from those for Wang Feng's(汪鋒)concerts, are for press conferences for new song releases (e.g. A-Mei) or small-scale performances in Taiwan's case. In terms of content, such events differ from large-scale concerts.
◎Why are people reluctant to spend on CDs, yet willing to splurge on concerts?
“The most attractive thing about a live performance is its unpredictable nature. Every concert is a unique experience," said Chang with a smile, her eyes fixated on the stage where Michael Wong was rehearsing. The floor trembled and the LED lights sparkled, as if in agreement with her words.
BY Taiwan Beats / Aug-25-2015
THE LATEST
BROWSE by GENRES
Related Articles

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 6 : B E N N / Turoboan
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-14-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 5 : Vice City / Tidaan
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-13-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 4 : Tek / Fata'an
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-12-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 3 : Sonia Calico / Sazasa
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-11-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 2 : A.P.R.A / Dapu
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-10-2022

ANKR Live Sessions Episode 1 : Lemonfacer / Gongliao
ANKR / Electronic / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-09-2022

YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA - 八三夭 831
Pop / Rock / Video / YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA
BY taiwanbeats / Mar-28-2022

YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA - Julia 吳卓源
RnB / Video / YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA
BY taiwanbeats / Mar-27-2022

YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA - 盧廣仲 Crowd Lu
Pop / Video / YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA
BY taiwanbeats / Mar-26-2022

YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA - Flesh Juicer
Metal / Video / YouTube Music Sessions x TAICCA
BY taiwanbeats / Mar-25-2022

Sorry Youth: Bad Times, Good Times Album Review
Indie / Music Review
BY James Gui / Nov-20-2021

Flesh Juicer Emerge as Biggest Winners at 12th Golden Indie Music Awards
Dance/Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indie / Jazz / Metal / Music Awards / R&B/Soul / Rock
BY Yoke Ming Chong / Nov-19-2021

Flesh Juicer and LINION Score The Most Nominations At The 12th GIMA Awards
Dance/Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indie / Jazz / Music Awards / Pop / R&B/Soul / Rock
BY Yoke Ming Chong / Oct-22-2021

5 Taiwanese Indigenous Artists that You Should Know
Folk / Indigenous / List
BY Amy Chao / Oct-18-2021

Nini Music: Taiwan’s Fretboard Warrior Takes on World
Interview / Pop
BY Jules Quartly / Oct-02-2021

At Long Last, The Rappers Take Center Stage on MTV
Hip-Hop / TV Shows
BY Meredith Schweig / Aug-07-2021

2020 Golden Melody Awards Nominees Announced
Dance/Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indie / Jazz / Music Awards / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Jul-16-2020

AMWT Announce Top Ten Albums and Singles of 2019
Dance/Electronic / Hip-Hop / Indie / Indigenous / Music Awards / Pop / R&B
BY Brien John / Jul-14-2020

Shallow Levée: The Village Album Review
Alternative / Music Review
BY Cai Ing / Jul-14-2020

Coronavirus Vs. the Taiwanese Music Industry
COVID-19 / Industry
BY Joe Henley / May-23-2020

Album Review: Longone—Alex Zhang Hungtai, Tseng Kuo Hung
Indie / Music Review
BY Joe Henley / Apr-08-2020

ZANI ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM "PORTAL"
Alternative / New Releases / R&B
BY ANGEL ARLIN / Mar-31-2020

Japan's Music Magazine Features 30 Years of Taiwanese Music in Latest Issue
Alternative / Dance / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Magazine / Metal / R&B / Rock
BY Toshiyuki Seki / Mar-13-2020

CINEMA SESSIONS: Cicada
CINEMA SESSIONS / Instrumental / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Feb-13-2020

Ramblin' with a Muddy Basin Rambler
Alternative / Interview / Jazz
BY Joe Henley / Jan-25-2020

Deciphering the Soul Behind ABAO's Latest Album KINAKAIYAN
Electronic / Indigenous / Music Review / R&B
BY Evan Vitkovski / Jan-13-2020

CINEMA SESSIONS: Tokyo Chuo-Line
CINEMA SESSIONS / Jazz / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Jan-08-2020

2019 Simple Urban+: Nine Days of Non-Stop Music Right Next to Taipei 101
Electronic / festival / Folk / Hip-Hop / Music Festivals / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-26-2019

Dance Your Heart Out to NekoJam's Debut Album NKJ_1
Electronic / Interview
BY Evan Vitkovski / Nov-26-2019

First Time in GIMA History: Best Album Awarded to Jazz Masterpiece City Animal
Alternative / Awards / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Jazz / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-17-2019

TAIPEI DANCE: DISCO/POP/EARLY MILLENIUM
Electronic / Mix / Pop
BY ANGEL ARLIN / Nov-01-2019

CINEMA SESSIONS: Undecimber Fin.
CINEMA SESSIONS / Rock / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Oct-25-2019

2019 GIMA Nomination List
Alternative / Awards / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Pop / R&B
BY Taiwan Beats / Oct-04-2019

HEARTING Online: First-Ever Social Platform Founded by an Indie Band
Folk / News
BY Taiwan Beats / Sep-24-2019

RayRay Takes Over EDM with an 'Alien Invasion'
Electronic / Music Review
BY Evan Vitkovski / Sep-19-2019

9m88, Xiao Bing Chih, 831 Attracted World Attention at 20th Summer Sonic
Live Recap / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Sep-16-2019

LIVE RECAP: Shout Out Festival
Alternative / Folk / Hip-Hop / Music Festivals / Rock
BY wèi wáng / Sep-12-2019

Taiwan Indie Artists Leave a Lasting Impression in Toronto
Electronic / Live Recap / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Jul-09-2019

CINEMA SESSIONS: XICO x Dizparity
CINEMA SESSIONS / Electronic / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Jul-04-2019

Jolin Tsai Dominates: 2019 Golden Melody Awards Winner List
Awards / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Pop / R&B / Rock / Traditional
BY Brien John / Jun-30-2019

CINEMA SESSIONS: Elephant Gym
CINEMA SESSIONS / Rock / Video
BY CINEMA SESSIONS / Jun-18-2019

L8ching: The Urban Millennial and His Taiwanese Chill R&B
Interview / R&B
BY Jessie Chiu / May-27-2019

2019 Golden Melody Awards Nominations: Jolin Tsai and Sandy Lam Leads
Awards / Electronic / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Pop / R&B / Rock / Soundtrack / Traditional
BY Brien John / May-20-2019

Urban Nomad: A Film and Music Festival with an Indie Attitude
Electronic / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Jazz / Music Festivals / Pop / R&B / Rock
BY Joe Henley / Apr-08-2019

Unconventional Convention: Future Proof’s 冢虎 Zhonghu
Electronic / Music Review
BY Father Moo / Mar-22-2019

SPOTLIGHT ON: My Skin Against Your Skin 激膚
Rock / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Brien John / Mar-12-2019

Six Taiwanese Artists to Check Out at SXSW 2019
Electronic / Music Festivals / Rock
BY Andrew Hsieh / Mar-05-2019

Warm Up Fest 2019, Turning it Up in Taipei
Electronic / Hip-Hop / Music Festivals / Rock
BY Taiwan Beats / Jan-25-2019

21-Year-Old R&B Newcomer LINION Debuts with Single "Room 335"
New Releases / R&B
BY Brien John / Dec-07-2018

Dig Deep into Taiwan's Unique Hip Hop Scene
Hip-Hop / MUSICANIMATION / Video
BY Brien John / Nov-28-2018

The Music Wonders of the Indigenous People in Taiwan
Indigenous / MUSICANIMATION / Video
BY Brien John / Nov-28-2018

DJ Ground Wonders Why "Miss DJ" Shows More Tits Than Talents
Hip-Hop / It's Taiwan Pop! / Video
BY Brien John / Sep-28-2018

RayRay Drops Debut EP 'Purple Alien' on Barong Family
Dance / Electronic / New Releases
BY Brien John / Sep-18-2018

Psych-Folk Group Prairie WWWW Drops New Album Pán
Experimental / Folk / New Releases
BY Brien John / Sep-11-2018

Young Rapper K-HOW Honors Hometown "VASA"
Hip-Hop / It's Taiwan Pop! / Video
BY Brien John / Aug-31-2018

A 60-Second Animation Montage of Music in Taiwan, Where the Finest Happens
Dance / Folk / Hip-Hop / Indigenous / Metal / MUSICANIMATION / Pop / Rock / Video
BY Brien John / Aug-07-2018
-300x150.png)
SPOTLIGHT ON | CosmosPeople 宇宙人
midem / Pop / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Brien John / Jun-04-2018

SPOTLIGHT ON | ABAO 阿爆
Canadian Music Week / Indigenous / R&B/Soul / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / May-09-2018

SPOTLIGHT ON | Dizparity
Canadian Music Week / Electronic / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / May-09-2018

SPOTLIGHT ON | JADE EYES 孔雀眼
Canadian Music Week / Electronic / SPOTLIGHT ON / Video
BY Taiwan Beats / May-09-2018

2017 Golden Melody Awards: Full Winner List
Golden Melody Awards
BY Taiwan Beats / Jun-24-2017

Midem 2017 Taiwan Artists: The Chairman
midem / The Chairman
BY Taiwan Beats / Jun-01-2017

Midem 2017 Taiwan Artists: DJ QuestionMark
DJ QuestionMark / midem / PROJECT APJ / SEMIFUSA / Spinbox
BY Taiwan Beats / Jun-01-2017

TheCube Launched New Website About Taiwanese Modern Sound Cultures
Culture / database / TheCube
BY Taiwan Beats / May-26-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: DJ QuestionMark
DJ QuestionMark / PROJECT APJ / SEMIFUSA / Spinbox / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-11-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: Miss Ko
Hip-Hop / Miss Ko / Rap / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: Matzka
Matzka / Reggae / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: Hello Nico
Black Market Music / Hello Nico / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: Zooey Wonder (黃玠瑋)
SXSW / Zooey Wonder
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

SXSW 2017 Taiwan Artists: JADE EYES (孔雀眼)
Electronic / JADE EYES / SXSW
BY Taiwan Beats / Mar-10-2017

Interview with Bingham Yeh/Other than melisma
Bingham Yeh / Days like these / The Voice of China
BY daig1202 / May-16-2016

Interviewing G.U.T.S: Our Mainstream Is Self-Created
Chang Zhen Yue / MC Hotdog / MJ116
BY Taiwan Beats / May-06-2016

Yen-J & The Tic Tac Are Making Their Show on CMW
CMW / The Tic Tac / Yen-j
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-25-2016

Indie Rock Band 1976 Kicks off 20th anniversary Tour
1976 / IndieRock / Tour
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-25-2016

Claire Kuo Launches New Album “La Vita è Bella” on Singles’ Day
Claire Kuo / La Vita è Bella / 郭靜
BY Sophia / Nov-12-2015

Popu Lady's Elimination Contest, Surviving in the Showbiz Jungle
AKB48 / Gossip Girls / Popu Lady / 特色文章
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-10-2015

Bobby Chen’s Latest Duet Music Video is One to Remember
Bobby Chen / PiA / 陳昇
BY Sophia / Nov-10-2015

Interview with Hao-en/A Man Made Complete by Music(2)
Daniel Ho / Hao-en / Legends of Passage
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-09-2015

Interview with Hao-en/A Man Made Complete by Music(1)
Daniel Ho / Hao-en / Legends of Passage
BY Taiwan Beats / Nov-09-2015

Fans are Looking Forward to Tanya Chua's New Album “Aphasia(失語者)”.
Aphasia / Tanya Chua / 特色文章
BY Sophia / Nov-05-2015

Taiwan Beats(臺灣之夜)was featured at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon on Oct 13th. Soft ...
Boxing / CMJ / io / SOB’s / Soft Lipa / Taiwan Beats / Treya
BY Taiwan Beats / Oct-26-2015

Reliving Your 'Boyhood’ and Remembering Your Dreams with Victor Wong (品冠)
Adulthood / Boyhood / Victor Wong / 品冠
BY Sophia / Oct-14-2015

Landy Wen 'Love Myself' Metamorphosing into a Sexier, Stronger, New Woman
I'm Alright / Landy Wen / Love Myself / PDA / 溫嵐
BY Sophia / Oct-13-2015

Who did it better/Hebe Tien(田馥甄)- 'A Little Happiness'(小幸運)
A Little Happiness / cover / Hebe / Our Times / 小幸運
BY Asian Pop Weekly / Oct-07-2015

Sodagreen came back from Berlin with new album "Winter Endless"
Berlin / everything / Sodagreen / Winter Endless
BY Sophia / Oct-03-2015

Rene Liu(劉若英)/Wish You Well
Rene Liu / Understood / Wish You Well / 劉若英
BY Sophia / Sep-23-2015

Review Joanna Wang's "Bob Music"
Bob Music / Joanna Wang / 王若琳
BY Asian Pop Weekly / Sep-18-2015

Nicholas Teo(張棟樑)/There’s No If
Idol Singer / long vacation / Nicholas Teo / There’s No If / 張棟樑
BY Sophia / Sep-16-2015

Unstoppable 3-Epochal Times
Andrew Tan / Bii / Dino Lee / Epochal Times / Ian
BY Sophia / Sep-08-2015

Fang Wu(吳汶芳)/《Chaos, but Beautiful》
Chaos but Beautiful / Fang Wu / 吳汶芳 / 汶亂卻美好著
BY Sophia / Sep-03-2015

Mayday "Her Story" Album Review
Her Story / Mayday / 女也
BY Asian Pop Weekly / Sep-02-2015

Concert - Behind the Scenes Series (1-1) The Director
concert / director
BY Taiwan Beats / Aug-24-2015

Leo Ku(古巨基)/We(我們)
Finding You was My Greatest Success / Leo Ku / We / 古巨基
BY Sophia / Aug-20-2015

Who Did It Better? Jolin Tsai-‘Play我呸’
cover / Jolin / Play / 蔡依林
BY Asian Pop Weekly / Aug-18-2015

Interview with Jia(家家)/I’m the kind of person who needs time to adapt.
Jia / 家家
BY Taiwan Beats / Aug-12-2015

Interview with Magic Power:A Band Blended with Positive Power and Passion
Magic Power / midem / Super Hero / 魔幻力量
BY Sophia / Aug-11-2015

It’s all here. The new singles composed by the three Adonis of Eagle Music
Bii / Dino / Eagle Music / Ian
BY Sophia / Aug-09-2015

Interview/Q & A with Men Envy Children小男孩樂團
everything / Men Envy Children
BY Taiwan Beats / Jul-21-2015

'Taiwan Beats'- Taiwanese Music hits the world
DJ code / My Skin Against Your Skin / Waa Wei
BY Duke / Jun-05-2015

Tree Jr.: Asking Right Questions for a Better Music Industry
indie / Streetvoice / Taiwan / Taiwan music / Tree Jr.
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-27-2015

It is hardcore this time – How I see Amit
A-mei / Amit / concert
BY Taiwan Beats / Apr-20-2015
