Grammy stars come to shine
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E-mail China Daily, June 7, 2013
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| Clockwise from top left: Pianist Lang Lang, singers Song Zuying, Yolanda Adams and Michael Bolton. |
The prestigious US music awards have recognized many international musicians throughout the world. Now the people behind the glitzy prize have their sights set on China.
In August 2008, at the invitation of Chinese pianist Lang Lang, Neil Portnow, president and chief executive of The Recording Academy, came to Beijing to watch the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.
It was an experience which further strengthened his resolve to bring the Grammys, the prestigious United States based music awards, to China.
On Saturday, Portnow will again be in China to attend a concert of Grammy award-winning musicians in Chengdu, Sichuan province. The concert features nine Grammy winners, including Michael Bolton, Leo Sayer, Jody Watley and Richard Marx. Along with Chinese musicians, such as singer Song Zuying and pianist Lang Lang, the artists will perform their biggest hits.
"When I watched the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, I was so inspired by the country's culture. I thought we must find a way to work together," Portnow says.
"The Grammys are open to music of different kinds. This year we have 82 categories, including classical, jazz, pop and country music," he says. "We know that China has thousands of years of musical history, which is very diverse. We are very interested in Chinese music and Chinese musicians."
Chinese musicians are no strangers to the Grammy awards, Portnow says. Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang and Song Zuying have all won prizes or been nominated at the awards.
"Yo-Yo Ma has 17 Grammys. That is a tremendous amount," he says. "With the development in technology, especially the Internet, the gap between Chinese musicians and the Grammys has already disappeared."
Portnow became president of The Recording Academy in December 2002, the dawn of the digital music age.
He has not only been responsible for overseeing the academy's many functions and programs, but he's also become a leading figure in guiding the music industry through this revolutionary period.
Despite the difficulties the music business is currently experiencing, Portnow believes that more people want to listen to music and are willing to play music than ever before.
"What we need to do is to figure out how the business model can be profitable for artists and musicians, and for entrepreneurs and the corporate side," he says.
"The old way of running the music business has been operating for nearly 70 years. Like everything changing in the world, the music business needs to change as well. But music is still vibrant."
One important part of the transition is piracy and illegal use of content, and the protection of intellectual property.
The first thing Portnow believes is needed is education of young people, who are the music consumers.
"There are many young people growing up without knowing what is right and wrong about music. If you take a bottle of water without paying, it's called stealing. When you download free music, it is theft, too," he says.
On a government level, more attention needs to be spent correcting this issue.
Another element is establishing more common ground between those who make the music and distribute the music.
Portnow says the concert is just a start in the process of bringing the Grammys to China. Over the next one to two years, he would like to found a company in China to hold official Grammy events.
He is also planning to hold an exhibition of Chinese music at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles this year.
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