Is this really a movie story? Well, sort of, given just how many Chinese actors are also pop stars and all around entertainers, but mostly it's just so incredibly odd that I couldn't resist posting it up.
The Chinese government has just placed a ban on performers lip synching or using pre-recorded music at supposedly live performances throughout China. Concert promoters are being required to provide supervision to ensure that all live performances are actually live and those who are found to be in violation are threatened with public shaming and may have their license to perform revoked, meaning an effective end to their career.
My first reaction to this is that it's utter lunacy that anyone would consider lip synching to be a serious enough offense to merit government action while on the other hand there's a certain inspired lunacy in the powers that be threatening to go tabloid on offenders and smear their names in public. Only in China, people, only in China ...
I say this is just an over the top reaction to their blooper during the 2008 Olympic opening ceremonies when it was revealed the little girl singing was not singing, but lip syncing.
Whenever China's government's bizarre actions don't make me cry, they crack me up.
I'd love to see this elsewhere too. Not in the form of bans of course. Just that artists that use prerecording music have to say so when selling tickets. You don't sing live, don't say you do.
The basic idea sounds like true bred capitalism to me. We don't have it in the west because the music industry who traditionally represents the live singing artists also introduced and markets the not-live singing artists. Else wise the live singing lobby would have gotten "live music performance" or something protected by now.
On a sane level it is ridiculous but so much is ridiculous where money and art intersects. Add politics and it becomes truly amusing - as long as you stand outside.
Serves them right.
Frank Zappa stated that audiences want to hear the exact version of the song in a "live" performance that they listen to everywhere else and really don't care if it's authentic as long as it reinforces their lifestyle.
This is the reason that SNL didn't come out and promise that all music on their show would always be played in real time and not just synced after the Ashlee Simpson incident...that, and they want Budweiser to keep advertising.
The fact that this legislation is apparently sponsored by those not connected to the music industry makes this interesting. The whole topic is documentary worthy.
Wow, Britney, Simpson girls, hannah montana, modonna and fill in the blank _______ would all be shit out of luck. I think it's a great law and it ensures concert goers get their moneys worth. A luncy act is when the government spends the peoples tax money to investigate whether or not steroids is being used in baseball. Only in the US of America..
Sooo does this mean that the girl who sang the anthem at the Olympics - or whatever special song she did - is in trouble too? What about the kid whose voice they used - does she get a reward?
Quick! Send Ashlee Simpson in a tour to China! I'm sure she will enjoy it :D