Split Works in the News |
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In the lead-up to his talk at SXSW , Archie Hamilton of Split Works speaks to Undercover about the rapid changes in China's music market.
Full article here. |
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16 Dec 2009 / AdAge China |
Converse Love Noise (a W+K/Mindshare/Split Works joint) snags the #1 spot on AdAge's list of "The 10 Best Campaigns in China in 2009." The campaign, centred on a road trip with Beijing bands P.K.14 and Queen Sea Big Shark, and a resulting documentary directed by Liu Feng. Love Noise was actually rolled out in 2008, but we'll take plaudits where we can get 'em.
Full article here (password required) |
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4 Aug 2009 / The Guardian |
The Guardian's Alex Hoban takes a look at China's "indie rock revolution" -- with a focus on Shanghai's These Are Powers/PK 14/Carsick Cars show, brought to you by Split Works.
Full article here |
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10 Sept 2009 / PoliTalk |
Split Works' Archie Hamilton chats with other knowlegable music biz folks about The Real Deal with Emerging Markets.
Transcript here |
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3 Sept 2009 / Creative Hunt |
Creative Hunt chats with Archie Hamilton about this Split Works thing.
Full article here. |
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15 May 2009 / Reuters |
Reuters examines the Chinese government's role in the country's live music industry. Split Works' Operations Director Nathaniel Davis is interviewed as the organizer of "the biggest shows confirmed for [Beijing and Shanghai] this summer...two mid-June dates by Ghostface Killah."
Full article here. |
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2 May 2009 / GoChengdoo.com |
Split Works' MD Archie Hamilton sounds off on China's outdoor music festivals.
Read Archie's interview on GoChengdoo |
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6 Mar 2009 / SmartShanghai.com |
On the eve of Young Knives' Shanghai gig, Split Works' majordomo Archie Hamilton talks to SmartShanghai about his weekend plans:
Archie Hamilton's Weekender |
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24 Feb 2009 / Sohu.com |
Split Works' MD Archie Hamilton and Operations Director Nathaniel Davis talk to Sohu.com about China's music industry and the business of promotion.
Read Archie's interview
Read Nathaniel's interview |
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29th Sep 2008 / The Guardian |
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Then there are the government restrictions. When Icelandic singer Bjork added a pro-Tibet outburst to her Song Declare Independence, during her
live Volta tour concert in Shanghai in March this year, it angered China's culture ministry, which subsequently tightened controls over foreign
singers."[Bjork] said something without thinking, and left us [in the Chinese live music industry] to clear up her mess,' says Archie Hamilton, general manager of Shanghai-based music promoter Split Works.
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Issue 19 2008 / IQ |
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The Olympics has proved a testing period, with many
protesters using it to highlight their cause, but the live music scene was dealt a serious blow in April after Bjork whispered "Tibet, Tibet, Tibet."
during a show in Shanghai. "It was a fucking disaster," says Archie Hamilton at promotion company Split Works.
"It's probably put the industry back two or three years here."The fallout from the protest has been severe: Hamilton claims that licence fees for
foreign artists have shot up from around GBP200 (EUR254) to GBP7,000 (EUR8851)
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28th Aug 2008 - 9th Sep 2008 / City Weekend |
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According to Archie Hamilton, the mastermind behind the Yue Festival and Split Works shows, "Every time we look to bring a decent band in,
we think 'Where [are we going] to put them in Shanghai?'" he says. "The answer's that no single venue has a combination of capacity, sound,
lights and tech personnel." What's needed is a viable mid-sized club to fill the void between tiny bars and the behemoth arenas.
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Aug 2008 / SILKROAD |
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In the short time Scotsman Archie Hamilton has been operating his Split Works promotions company in China he's lured bands including Sonic
Youth, Faithless, Maximo Park, The Go! Team and more. "All of them are totally excited about coming here," he says.
Hamilton says the artists are curious about playing to audiences in China but also recognise an opportunity to develop a market there. But there are
financial constraints. The lack of disposable income among Chinese youth means ticket prices are out of the reach of many, although linking corporate
sponsorship with some of Split Works' tours has reduced prices for local fans.
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7th Aug 2008 / Rollingstone.com |
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Another hurdle is the country's entertainment infrastructure, which remains below international standards. Many bands opt to fly in their own gear, and soundchecks can stretch on for hours. "You have to do production for every show in advance, and you have to build stages everywhere," says Archie Hamilton, a promoter who has brought Sonic Youth and Talib Kweli to China. "It's an expensive thing."
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12th Mar 2008 / Reuters |
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Last year, a Beijing concert for U.S. rock act Sonic Youth was nearly scuppered at the last minute after local authorities were tipped off that it had played at "free Tibet" concerts.
"The Ministry of Culture sent one person from each of their 17 departments to make sure nothing went wrong," said Archie Hamilton, general manager of Split Works, the concert's promoter.
Hamilton, whose company warns artists to not play politics in China, said he didn't expect major changes after Bjork's performance, but that officials would inevitably react and "take a closer look" at foreign acts' backgrounds.
"The Chinese government situation is that they have to keep a fairly strong handle on this to stop it getting out of control."
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11th Mar 2008 / Shanghaiist |
Our friends over at Split Works tipped us off to their Yue Festival website, on which you can vote for the artists you'd most like to see at the second annual event this fall. Lots of big names on the list — how many of them are realistic, and how big of a role voter opinion will play in the signing process, remain to be seen. But we have been told that all but perhaps one band mentioned on the list are possibilities, although some are much more expensive than others (yes, we're looking at you Mr. West).
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24th Jan 2008 - 13th Feb 2008 / City Weekend |
For Split Works, the Shanghai based promotion company that organized the Yue Festival last October, adapting marketing techniques have also played a key role in getting potential Chinese music fans to the shows. "You need to find keen people, usually on the Internet, and get them excited about the bands. We want to develop the indie music scene here, so we work hard to find a credible audience that's interested in new bands," says Split Works Marketing Director Tori Widdowson. "Because the scene here is less mature, there is a smaller audience of people who know about indie music."
Choosing bands requires careful market research to determine what kind of music local fans are interested in. "We learn a lot about our audience from web marketing, so we can bring in new bands that we think people will like," says Widdowson. Much of Split Works' success in bringing bands to China has come from their sponsorship-driven business model. This enables Split Works to keep ticket prices lower without limiting the quality of the performances. "We use sponsors to keep our ticket prices low, but we aren’t dictated by sponsor requests. We look for genuinely good music and we work with the sponsors to maximize the opportunity for us both," says Widdowson.
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2nd Jan 2008 / Smart Shanghai |
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Bar shows are the real barometer for the overall health of any "scene," but 2007 will also be remembered for the large-scale festivals that brought bands from all around the world to the eyes and ears of Shanghai residents. While the cancellation of October's 1234 Rock Festival (for reasons that we are not officially allowed to discuss, but we all know) and the outrageously high prices of July's Rock It! Festival both displayed blatant disregard and lack of understanding for the fans, October's Yue Festival was a user-friendly success that did an excellent job of combining Chinese and International talent, broadening the aural palate of Shanghai's rock scene.
"The turnout at the [Yue] Festival was a little disappointing," claimed Archie Hamilton, Split Works Managing Director and the man behind Yue. "But the vibe and feeling was really beautiful ... still we need to get Chinese people involved."
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Jan 2008 / Buzz |
2007年有个非常有趣的现象就是，摇滚风潮大热，无论是户外音乐节，诸如Rockit热带风暴摇滚音乐节、SMC夏日新音乐联盟、中山公园的十跃音乐节都把我们带到了户外的摇滚狂欢
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31st Dec 2007 / Shanghaiist |
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What to watch for in 2008:
Split Works - 2007 was a great year for Split who put on a string of successful shows by some great international bands. In 2008 look for even bigger things from this promoter.
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27th Dec 2007 - 9th Jan 2008 / City Weekend |
Yue Festival
The Yue Festival rolled into town, bringing tons of bands and throngs of fans just in time for the October holiday
Go! Team
“They took the Bacardi Sino Sessions to a new level … mixing cossack and breakdance, then falling down to a stage-floor melee.”
Tori Widdowson
Marketing Director
Split Works
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The initial award is the “Finally We Can Start Bragging about Our Town” Honor, which goes out to the guys from Split Works. This crew brought acts like Sonic Youth, Ozomatli, Faithless, Killa Kella, Talib Kweli and more to Shanghai and helped us forget about the Go! Team gig. “From 20,000[fans] rocking out in a stadium to a rave in a water park, we’ve still got our jazz here,” says Split Works General Manager Archie Hamilton. Sure, big acts really don’t help our tiny little local scene, but it gives new musicians a chance to dream and gives us an opportunity not to go to sleep.
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7th Dec 2007 / Shanghai Talk |
Archie Hamilton is the managing director of Split Works, a media and events agency specializing in music. In the past, Split Works has brought bands like Sonic Youth, Maximo Park and Talib Kweli to China - their most recent big outing was October’s Yue Festival in Zhongshan Park where thousands enjoyed a packed day of both local and international talent including Faithless, Ozomatli and SuperVC. For more info on Split Works, visit www.Spli-t.com, www.myspace.com/splitchina or www.yuefestival.com.
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