Shanghai Not So Great Actually

In an opinion piece that appeared in the English-language China Daily, writer Mu Qian speculated that Shanghai’s international pop music scene is not quite as stable as some commentators are saying, and pointed to the recent cancellation of an Aerosmith concert in the city as an example.

Photo: AP Photo / Wang Maye-E

Social Star Awards, Marina Bay Sands Theatre, Singapore

Mu quotes music critic Sun Mengjin as saying that a week before the scheduled concert on Aug. 21 at the 24,000-seat Hongkou Soccer Stadium, only 5,000 tickets had been sold. That’s probably why the gig was canceled, despite the official “failure to meet contractual obligations” cited by the band.

Local analysts think that with the two Metallica concerts and the two-day Sonic Shanghai Festival featuring Limp Bizkit and Korn happening in the same month, there wasn’t enough disposable income in the city to support the Aerosmith concert.

However, Mu also points out that concert promoters in Shanghai typically have to provide government departments with large numbers of tickets, forcing them to charge more for the tickets that actually go on sale.

This is something of an open secret, and fans understand that they may be paying more than they should.

Though the Metallica concerts reportedly sold out, Mu reports tickets were being scalped for as little as 50 yuan (regular ticket prices were 480-1,680 yuan, or $77-271), which means many of the tickets given to government officials had entered the black market, and apparently there wasn’t as much demand as previously thought.

Also, the stadium for Sonic Shanghai was “mostly empty,” according to Mu.

“It is probably a good thing for Shanghai that the Aerosmith concert got canceled, so that Shanghai won’t become a Waterloo for international stars,” Mu quoted a blogger friend saying.

The writer says that China’s “arts policy and management” will need to be improved before more international artists “flock to Shanghai.”