Music that connects

The name Dongdong, in fact, means "the East is moving".

Despite the huge market China offers for both local and international musicians, they think that there are currently too many gigs on offer.

"Lately there were some really good acts that didn't attract the amount of people expected. In these moments, I say to myself that finally Chinese youth prefer to put their money on iPad and designer clothes rather than on music. But this just might be a phase I hope," De Boisgisson says.

"We both thought that China was lacking an event, which is not only a festival but also a place for the music professionals to meet up and exchange," says De Boisgisson. "For those artists who want to have a life in China, in particular, we want to show them how the music market is working here."

Five conferences are scheduled in the day time, including "Facts and Fiction of the Chinese Music Market" by Ed Peto, who represents a range of Western music industry businesses in the China market.

Also on the panel is Shen Lihui, founder of China indie record label Modern Sky Records, veteran music producer Song Ke, former head of Warner Music China and now the head of Evergrande Music, which is running 30 outdoor music festivals across the country, and Robb Spitzer, the China manager of Live Nation, who brought the Eagles and Avril Lavigne to China.

At night, acts from Beijing and abroad, including Beijing-based rock band Nova Heart, pianist Francesco Tristano from Luxembourg, and soulful band St. Lo from New York, will share stages at live house venues, like Yugong Yishan.

"They will be playing in front of the people that rule the music game in China, festivals, distributors and labels representatives," De Boisgisson says.

"We hope Dongdong will become an annual meeting for musicians and music professionals," she says. "We want to generate real encounters and stress the quality of the content rather than the quantity."

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