For concert promoters and booking agencies, spring is usually a relaxed season here in Beijing. But not this year. Music industry insiders are a bit surprised to see a rise in the live music market over the past three months.

The music lovers in Beijing were pleased to see that they had plenty of options with a diverse line-up, ranging from American rock n' rollers "The Eagles" to neo-classical superstar Andrea Bocelli, as well as local folk rocker Dao Lang, South Korean pop singer Rain, and Taiwan diva Jolin Tsai.

The highlight of the season, without a doubt, belongs to the Rock Records' 30th anniversary concert, which took place on May 1st. Dozens of artists took turns performing in the 90-thousand seat Bird's Nest. They wowed the audience for five hours, making it the longest and most crowded stadium concert in China.

But that wasn't all. While the live music market is having a ball making profits and setting ticket sales records, the live industry was also awash with fierce competition. For example, Jeff Chang, one of the key figures under Rock Records held a solo concert simultaneously with his parent label's birthday party.

Lu Jianpeng, director of China Ticket Online, said, "According to our ticket sales records in previous years, there were two headlining concerts per month at this time of year on average. But in the past three months we had almost four concerts per month, which means one big-production concert every weekend."

Zhang Yiming, director of CPAA Cultural Entertainment, said, "If one artist is going on tour in the Chinese mainland, he must not ignore Beijing; besides, the concert promoters are likely to avoid competitions in winter, which is usually considered the peak season for the live industry. "

The unexpected busy spring season also reflects the growth of the local live music market, and music lovers now are willing to pay more for the musical events. As the traditional peak season is drawing near, both concert goers and promoters are eager to see what the market will be in the coming months.

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