Chai Kefu is a music artist and musician local in Macao. Started playing music since high school, Chai Kefu decided to study music education at Macao Polytechnic Institute. During that period he invested great energy in not only creating music but also applying his professional skills in the educational industry. He had worked as a teacher before and brought his music and performance to the classrooms. Chai Kefu is also the manager of Warm Wall, an independent record label in Macao. In the past two years, he has been utilising digital platforms to promote his works. His first EP Jennifer was released digitally.
Working with platforms with different advantages
Chai Kefu works with different platforms: He works with Bandcamp to sell his music and puts up his music on streaming platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, etc. “As an artist, I would consider which platform is better for promoting my music. So the user base scale is an indicator for me to consider,” he explained. “Besides that, if a platform really appreciates an artist, it will support him or her. This also sparks cooperation.”
Chai Kefu also believes that in a digital age it’s very easy to miss out some good information and songs because we are overwhelmed by the things we see and hear. That’s why it is important for music artists to have an insight and thorough analysis of the market when choosing a platform for publishing. “Today you can have access to music very easily. If an artist just puts up his or her song on the Internet and just leaves it there, it is not going to work. It is very easy for your music to be missed out by users in the Internet age.”
Equal say for record companies and music artists
Before digital publishing became popular, music artists would need to be signed by a record label to publish their albums. The Internet revolutionised the entire industry. Every user nowadays can have access to music through multiple channels. They no longer rely on physical products like CD to listen to music. Such shift also changed the relationship between the artists and the record companies. “Both the artists and record companies need to think about how to promote their music online and appeal to the audience,” Chai Kefu said. Whether it is the mainstream record companies, small and mid-sized labels, publishers or the artists, they all want their music to receive the exposure that they have expected to have.
From Chai Kefu’s perspective, the relationship between the artists and record companies has grown into a partnership in which both sides need something from each other. In other words, there is no hierarchy. The artists in the music industry nowadays can bypass record companies and directly release their music through a digital platform. All they need to do is to create an account and upload the music. For record companies, they need more music talents that can create quality music. “The artists and record companies enjoy the equal say here. But just looking at the cooperation, both sides need something they don’t have from each other. In this case, both sides are doing their own jobs and together they can make concerts happen and promote music.”
Originality crucial to music
There is no doubt that digital platforms have made music more accessible, making it more convenient for users to share music and interact with other users and artists. However, there are two sides to this. “When artists in this industry are creating music, they will face two scenarios. They either choose to stay original and authentic, or they cater to the audience’s preference and make music that can get attention,” Chai Kefu explained. “There are a lot of hit songs that we still remember today. For example, we have Gangnam Style from PSY, Trance Baby Meow, Kiss Kiss Kiss, etc. These songs did stir up discussion among the users and got attention. But whether these songs are of good quality remains debatable.”
To gain the attention of users, a music industry artist that is dedicated and passionate about creating original music also needs to understand the market, public relation, team management and project planning well besides knowing how to create good music.
Working with different artists in the digital age
When asked about the digital publishing trend’s impact on music artists, Chai Kefu expressed his reflection on the current ecosystem of Macao’s music industry. “Strictly speaking, Macao lacks a music market that is entirely local,” Chai Kefu said, speaking from the perspective of an industry worker that is dedicated to promoting local music. “It is very important to think about how to motivate the local audience to actively learn about the city’s own music culture and foster a fond for the cultural heritage.”
Chai Kefu is currently doing his master of performing arts in Taiwan. His future plan is to release a Cantonese children’s choir song album. “These children are my students. The songs will integrate pop music, classical music and experimental elements,” he said, hoping to break the public’s stereotypes against children’s choir. To do that, he also invites different music artists to work on the songs together and find creative ways to present the music to the public.
