Duck ‘n’ Roll

Not so long ago, word went round about Chinese music executive Song Ke’s dark views of the state of the biz (Chinese article here). In short: It’s not going well. It’s not all bad news – “Records are dead,” he told the China Daily soon thereafter. “Music isn’t.” – but it’s not all that great either. After all, the article was written on the occasion of Song’s departure from the music biz. Song, one of the most important, famous and old-school record executives in the country, had most recently been at the helm of Taihe Rye Music and lorded over more than his share of pop stars.

A recent article in the Very Official Chinese English paper, China Daily, complete with requisite entertainingly uncomfortable headline (“Music is Not a Dead Duck”), filled us in on where he’s wound up.

In short: Roasting ducks.

A sign of the times if there ever was one, Song traded in his years of music industry training to run a couple of Peking Duck joints.

“When I make good roast duck, people pay and thank me. When I make good music, nobody pays me and some even ridicule me.”

An interesting observation, really, from a guy who’s presented people with a lot of music over the years, and something worth thinking on. Over dinner, perhaps…