How social media shape Hong Kong indie music scene ?

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA SHAPE THE INDIE MUSIC SCENE IN HONG KONG?

Don Chan Capstone 2018

Chan Ka Yin 14020755G Dr. Vincie Lee 14 Aug 2018 Date of Entry into the Master of Design: September 01, 2014 Subjects Studied SD5001 SD5018 SD5400 SD5002 SD5113 SD5163 MM5761 SD5104 SD5012 SD5202 SD5302

INNOVATION TOOLS FOR STRATEGIC DESIGN RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS FOR DESIGN VISION AND CHANGE DESIGN AND CULTURE: CULTURAL IDENTITY AND AUTHORSHIP STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT-SERVICE SYSTEMS MANAGING VALUE CREATION MARKETING MANAGEMENT BRANDING: FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL STRATEGIES FUTURE CONTEXTS FOR DESIGN INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DEVELOPMENT A PROPOSITION FOR DESIGN VISION AND OPPORTUNITY

Date

2014/15 Semester: 1 2014/15 Semester: 1 2014/15 Semester: 1 2014/15 Semester: 2 2014/15 Semester: 2 2015/16 Semester: 1 2015/16 Semester: 3 2016/17 Semester: 1 2016/17 Semester: 2 2017/18 Semester: 2 2017/18 Semester: 3

table of content

HK CONTEXT

6

SOCIAL MEDIA

28

HONG KONG SUBCULTURE 8 MUSIC LANDSCAPE 10 INTRODUCING SEASONS FOR CHANGE 18 OFFLINE BEFORE ONLINE 20 SCHEDULE STRUGGLE 21 GATHERING 22

MEDIA REVOLUTION 30 LEADERSHIP AND NEOTRIBES 32 CROWDFUNDING 34 MUSIC BEE 36 SCATTERED COMMUNITY 40

FANZ 42 BIBLIOGRAPHY 48 ICONOGRAPHY 52

HK CONTEXT • • • •

History of a few decades Dispertion over time Increasing number of people involved Relations beyond the borders : Taiwan and China

Over the past decades, Hong Kong indie music have been growing faster than before. As learning becomes more accessible thanks to internet, people teach themselves at home and gather in small groups through busking or music societies in schools and universities. This young generation of musicians join the already existing bands where some having been playing around Hong Kong for more than 15 years now.

“More and more young people would like to learn how to play an instrument, and when they get good enough, they naturally would like to form a band. But everything seems to stay on the indie level”, says drummer Lung Shing, better known as LS.1 The existence of bands is not new for the city, and although canto-pop is the dominant genre, there was bands since the seventies. Going in and out of trends depending on the decades, like Beyond was in the eighties becoming as a mainstream band. Nowadays bands like Supper Moment belongs to the mainstream music, with a style that kind of bridge indie and pop music.

The number of places to perform, even if always changing, has been slowly growing too. From one warehouse holding weekly shows there is now around ten live houses of various size in Hong Kong. They are hold by passionate people who invest most of their personal income to run the place. Most of them are not profitable and struggle to stay open2.

Beyond the money issues, a gap exists in the policy surrounding music places as well as for the use of industrial buildings where some of the larger one usually settles like Hidden Agenda3. Despite the struggles, the indie scene is thriving in music genre and number of bands. The quality of Hong Kong underground scene starts to be known across the border of the city and now reach China and Taiwan, with more and more exchange for festivals.

1 https://coconuts.co/hongkong/lifestyle/self-sustaining-organism-hong-kongs-hidden-indie-music-scene-0/ 2 https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1854980/hong-kongs-indie-music-scene-fights-survive-two-venues 3 https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2019083/show-must-go-new-home-likely-hong-kong-indie

“For Hong Kong the competition is quite big, there is a lot of bands and there is a lack of venue.

For Taiwan scene people are not very passionate in their music community because compared to Hong Kong where you have one venue for one hundred bands, in Taiwan you have a lot of venue and not much Taiwanese band. It’s supply and demand, so, about Taiwan on the music scene, people are not as passionate as Hong Kong. […] Hong Kong scene whatever the music industry is or the scene, the quality is more mature than Taiwan.” 魏小 - OBSESS (Taiwan) This complex situation creates a unique style for Hong Kong indie music. The tough competition between bands and the low budget generate a DIY kind of music that is appreciate also outside the borders of Hong Kong. Some bands spending time touring in Mainland China or in Taiwan or experiencing shows in Korea, Japan or South East Asia.

Photo of 魏小 taken during the festival Emo Punch in Taichung (Taiwan) where Hong Kong bands Seasons for Change and The Priceless Boat joined some Taiwanese bands.

HONG KONG SUBCULTURE • Often bad connotation • Hong Kong different : passivity and living in the moment • Low political implication • Help to feel validated outside school/ work and family scheme • Help to bridge Chinese and Western culture

Subcultures exists in every society and are not always about youth. Youth subcultures are often associated with bad connotations like punk or skinheads, displaying violence and disorder or drug use. In the case of Hong Kong, the situation is different as most young “deviant” would mostly adopt a passive attitude, not caring about the future4.

Stuck between the Chinese and the Western culture, the Hong Kong population feel sometimes lost when it comes to identity. Indie music (or independent music) is a response to this situation, providing a community and a path that join the two side of what makes Hong Kong unique.

“Culture… taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”5 There is two kind of way a subculture can emerge, either in opposition to the parent culture or in continuity of it.

People would recognize each other through their appearance or shared rituals. If the opposition way is the one that often leads to conflict it is not always the case. For the Hong Kong indie music, we can say it is a little of both.

Practicing music is a way to gain recognition outside the usual path of school/work and family success as well as creating a new identity as Hongkonger. This new identity is not a rupture with what already exists and what previous generation have been creating, but it is a summary of the diverse influence the city has gone through over the last decades.

The other interesting point about Hong Kong indie music is that it can reach other people around the world and allow members to connect with a wider group. This subculture has two parent cultures, one being the Hong Kong culture and the other being the indie scene from around the world.

4 Wong, Y. H. [黃映貞]. (1989). Youth subculture in Hong Kong : case studies of young deviants. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. 5 Tylor, E. (1871). Primitive culture: Researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, art, and custom. J. Murray. P.1

subculture

tribe

KNOWLEDGE . BELIEF . ART . MORAL . LAW CUSTOM

SHARED SYMBOLIC EXPERIENCE CULTURE

culture Organization of culture, subculture and tribes in the context of Hong Kong

perceived as alienation

perceived as threat

SUBCULTURE WITHIN

+

DIFFERENT

IN OPPOSITION

-

CONTRADICTORY

DIFFERENT SOCIAL VALUES SYSTEM RESPONSE OF CERTAIN COLLECTIVE EMOTIONS

CULTURAL PLURALITY

The addition of culture and subcultres makes the cultural plurality of a place, creating complexity and offering opportunities for each individual to find a place and define their identity.

MUSIC LANDSCAPE • Lots of bands • Quality music, profesionnal level • Part of a bigger scene

atmospheric black metal pagan black metal black metal symphonic black metal viking metal avantgarde metal folk metal post metal melodic death metal funeral doom grind core shoegaze gothic metal sludge metal death metal doom metal metalcore deathgrind doom metal brutal death metal symphonic metal dream pop gothic symphonic metal metal goregrind crust punk stoner metal death core stoner rock techincal death metal J worship noise rock power metal neo classical metal oi space rock gothic rock screamo power violence neo-progressive melodic metalcore progressive metal christian alternative rock nu metal mathcore hardcore ccm noise pop British pop nwobhm christian rock christian music speed metal madchester lo-fi punk blues Suomi rock emo horror punkvisual kei progressive rock dark waves thrash metal jangle pop christian hardcore symphonic rock industrial stea folk punk christian metal j rock twee pop chillwave groove metal Icel garage rock Sweedish indie rock Canteb grunge djent psychobilly Sweedish indie pop indie rock punk cowpunk post-hardcore jpop cham porwer pop hard rock protopunk experimental rock opm exp straight edge math rock grave wave glam rock Chinese indie rock melodic hardcore alternative rock skate punk neue Deutsche harte p indie pop industrial rock mers surf music glam metal album rock crossover thrash art rock christian punk freakbeat bubblegum pop pop punk christian punk dance-punk pop rock British invasio funk rock ska new wave psychedelic rock indietronica funk metal gabba post punk kiwi rock gospel new rave post-grunge rock classic rock Dutch rock Slovenian teen pop pinoy alternative alternative metal speedcore country alternative co electro-industrial no wave country rock UK post-punk rap metal ebm futurepop power noise power noise rap rock new beat roots rock f German pop synthopop industrial metal rockab trance British blues southern rock dance rock ska punk glitch Texas country rock en espanol uplifting trance turbo folk thai pop hardcore techno turbo f progressive trance eurobeat blues-rock ro electroclash soft rock Portuguese outlaw cou break beat mellow gold eurodance europop motown Shibuya kei k pop soul so house new romantic rumba hard trance Braz freestyle contemporary country neo soul latin disco alternative dance quiet storm drum and bass tejano electric blue blue-eyed soul bubblegum dance hardstyle indian p modern blues bubblegum dance latin pop Mem dance pop bubblegum dance cumbia latin alternative r&b smooth j progressive house kam band electronic hip house psychedelic trance grime ninja illbient hard house pop trapstep dub techno zouk chill-out sm moombahton post-disco intelligent dance mus bubblegum dance vocal house bounce trip hop merengue Chicago house sexy new jack swing tribal house hi nrg electro urban contemporary breakcore christian hip hop

big beat

dubstep Italian disco bass

classic funk rock downtempo

music

funk

kompa

warm drone

dark ambient

soundtrack

power electronics

drone

martial industrial neoclassical japanoise neofolk Japanede psychdelic medieval post rock

opera classical

game video game music vaporwave kraut rock

ampunk

land pop

ambient

burry scene celtic rock

freak folk slow core

perimental

stomp and holler

sey beat

musique cocrete minmal

modern classical avant-garde

new weird America celtic

southern gospel

mber pop

piano rock

new age

anti-folk

indie folk

Irish gospel native American judaica a cappella

Indian classical show tunes free improvisation

doo-wop

Chinese traditional

British folk brill building pop p qawwali easy listening folk on country gospel avant- garde jazz c-pop rock’n roll exotica chanson cabaret free jazz folk-pop bluegrass filmi klezmer traditional folk e progressive bluegrass jazz fusion ountry lounge fado vocal jazz singer-songwriter polka mpb traditional country folk rock tango skiffle Nashville sound billy marachi jazz bolero samba laiko cool jazz northern soul ranchera brass band bebop choro big band bossa nova Chicago soul hard bop folk western swing soul blues ock soul jazz untry jazz funk swing jump blues zydeco world harmonica blues stride Louisiana blues outhern soul jazz blues jug band New Orleans blues zilian pop music boogie-woogie acoustic blues New Orleans jazz children’s music delta blues ragtime country blues flamenco Piedmont blues mbalax blues es Memphis blues mambo Chicago blues pop piano blues latin jazz mphis soul traditional blues Texas blues gypsy jazz banda jazz swamp blues soukous mooth jazz boogaloo sic highlife salsa calyoso oratory

In red are highlighted the genre of music we are considering in this research. More genre exist and thrive in Hong Kong, but their habbits, the place they practice and perform can be different.

The idea here is to give an overview of relation between artists, and labels are just a way to classify, while the reality is more a spectrum of styles and influences.

Classifying music genres is a tough task and a never endless one. With the rise of AI and computer programs, new ways of organising music have appeared, mostly proving how subjective it can be. The experiment Every Noise At Once is one of them, trying to map around 1900 genre on a digital map, reading information from the Spotify website. Not only genres are not clearly defined but they are also always evolving.

“When we say “rock music,” of course, we aren’t talking about term frequency in a corpus of descriptive text, we’re talking about a kind of music. It’s an amorphous, evolving, imprecisely-delineated genre of music, to be sure, but still, if we were talking in person about this idea of rock music, we could straightforwardly clarify: “You know, rock music, man! Guitars, drums. The Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, that kind of thing.”

Or maybe we’d say Nirvana and U2, or maybe we’d say The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Maybe we really mean classic rock, or album rock, or alternative rock. […]

As data science, this is pretty unruly. Thereʼs no imposed taxonomy of genres, and we have no objection to genres that overlap in small or even large part if they represent a subtle distinction that somebody, somewhere might care about (e.g. “gothic metal” vs. “symphonic metal” vs. “gothic symphonic metal”). “6 Bands of Hong Kong can follow somehow the rules of international music, but they also have a style and specificities that can only be created in Hong Kong context. This map is somehow a visual representation of Hong Kong subculture through music as the connections are obvious.

6

http://everynoise.com/EverynoiseIntro.pdf

Seasons for Change on stage

WHERE TO PRACTICE • Few place truly dedicated • Lots of DIY or gaps filling • Far behind other big cities

The community has been settled for a while now in Kwun Tong, using the industrial building left partially empty when the manufacture moved to China. At this period landlord were willing to lower the rent and attract new activities. Nevertheless, government never changed regulation around this kind of space usage, putting live house and the music community in general in a delicate situation.

Beyond live house, we can also find band practice room, instrument shops, recording studio… and a lot of business revolving around the indie subculture7.

As Hong Kong is an always evolving city, the community has invested new area like Fo Tan or Tsuen Wan. The renewal of Kwun Tong made by the creation of a CBD also create pressure on the community there. The most visible result so far has been the relocation of Hidden Agenda to This Town Needs in You Tong.

Even so we can count a certain number of places where bands can perform, most of them are not dedicated to music shows (universities, shops), nor are open to all public (youth-oriented places). We didn’t count here the live bar in Central or Tsim Sha Tsui where artists can perform, as it targets a different group of musicians, same thing for busking as it is a slightly different population. Obviously, each artist can belong to different group at the same time, but the music performed is also different.

If we look in detail on what kind of venue Hong Kong has to offer, most of places are some kind of DIY accommodations. This Town Needs and MOM livehouse insert themselves in available free space, trying to make the Hong Kong policy progress. Playing in universities is most often in a gymnasium, an activity room or even outdoor.

Spaces are transformed just for a show but doesn’t allow optimal acoustic or comfort for the public.

7 https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1854980/hong-kongs-indie-music-scene-fights-survive-two-venues

Fo Tan

TAIPEI 20 livehouses TAICHUNG 3 livehouses

Tsuen Wan

CHIAYI 1 livehouse

Kwun Tong Mong Kok Yau Ma Tei Yau Tong

Causeway Bay Chai Wan

TAINAN 5 livehouses KAOHSIUNG 5 livehouses

In comparison, Taiwan provides lots of alternative for bands to play and livehouses are thriving in Taipei.

Practice rooms and/or livehouse in industrial buildings Hour rented practice rooms New livehouse implantation in industrial building

WHERE TO PERFORM FOR THE COMMUNITY This Town Needs... (ex Hidden Agenda)

First opened in 2009 300 standing people

MOM Livehouse

Opened in 2016 200 standing people or 70 seated

Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre E-MAX Music Zone

Opened in 2012 400+ standing people

Macpherson Stadium

500+ people

YOUNG ORIENTED PLACES The Warehouse Teenage Club

Building opened in 1995 (association in 1992) Practice room Frank White Studio : 150 standing people

Youth Outreach The Hangout

Opened in 2002 Band practice room Recording studio Concert played in a gymnasium 300+ standing people

UNIVERSITIES

PROFESSIONAL PLACES

MUSIC SHOP Tom Lee Music - TST Wave Music - Kwun Tong

The University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology City University of Hong Kong The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong Baptist University Lingnan University The Education University of Hong Kong The Hong Kong Design Institute GOVERNMENT RELATED Fringe club

Open in 1983 Promote all arts Room up to 120 standing people

Tai Kwun

HKCC steps

Open in 2018 One auditorium Outdoor spaces

Outdoor stage

Even so we can count a certain number of places where bands can perform, most of them are not dedicated to music shows (universities, shops), nor are open to all public (youth oriented places). We didn’t count here the live bar in Central or Tsim Sha Tsui where artists can perform as it targets a different group of musicians, as well as busking is a slightly different population. Obviously artists can belong to different group at the same time, but music performed is also different.

INTRODUCING SEASONS FOR CHANGE • • • •

Young band Experienced members Managing diverse social media Struggle to find time and money

Indie music started around 15 years ago [for alternative rock and genre around] when Nu Metal became mainstream around the world [with bands like Korn or Linkin Park and their album Hybrid Theory]. The community was at the beginning composed of mostly gweilos musicians. Progressively Hong Kong people started attending live shows and started their own bands. First Hong Kong bands would sing in English, it’s only later that song in Cantonese appeared.

Only one or two venues in Hong Kong, with weekly shows. People would come to listen to music as there was not internet sharing solutions. (impossibility to record live, music only shared on burned CD…) Information would be only word of mouth and the community a bit secretive. A band would have a loyal public that would come see them and support them.

Interview of Kulo Ming, who has been part of the indie scene for 15 years and been part of a few bands.

With the apparition of social medias , bands could share music to a wider crowd but also suffers the fast pace internet is setting for fashion, art, and music. What is trendy this week is forgotten the week after and public goes from one artist to another quickly and are less willing to commit to a favourite band.

Creation of Seasons for Change

2015 Jan

Don join

2015 Feb

Rain - single release

2015 Dec

Anima - single release

2016 Nov

EP release

2019

New album planned

TIME LINE

2014 Jun

OFFLINE BEFORE ONLINE Staff during shows

LIVEHOUSE $$ Fans

Seasons for Change

The Priceless Boat Close friends of bands

Fight Club Rain In Time Say Cheers Shadow Escape Sid

$$ If Time Reverse

Ma

in b

ep

roj e

cts

an

ds

use/access to the room (non paid) use of the rom (directly - by contract/ $$)

The community surrounding the bands is largely impacted by place frequentation. First the practice room is the core of their univers.

Meeting new people usually happens at shows and then people will start follow them on social media. It means social media still rrive second when it comes to grow the audience.

PRACTICE ROOM

SCHEDULE STRUGGLE

Other band(s)

Guitar

Seasons for Change

Guitar

Main activity

Accenture Interactive

Other

PolyU student

Vocal Guitar Vocal Guitar

Bass guitar Vocal

Bass guitar

Solo artist

Drum*3 Guitar

Vocal

Bass guitar

Drum

PolyU student

English teacher

Airport staff

Tom Lee Music

Vans Designer

Rugby coach & play

Freelance designer

SPEND AROUND 5H PER WEEK TOGETHER

WOULD LIKE 3H PER DAY

Drum teacher

Each member have a leaded schedule with our job, our side activities and the fact that we often play in different bands. Individually we would practice on our own, think about it while we commute but can only dedicate 3 to 5 hours per weeks to play together. Sometimes we will have a few months break and other time, if a special event is coming, we would manage to find 10h.

Even so, it remains far from our ideal time to practice which would be more around 20h per week.

GATHERING

How long have you been into Hong Kong indie music ?

7 years

How did you heard about this event ? just know the music

How do you follow their updates ?

Through FB/ IG/ friends share

Which social media you use to follow them ?

I don’t

How did you heard about this event ?

From friend

Why did you came to this event ?

To support friends playing

NO PHOTO

How long have you been into Hong Kong indie music ?

2 years How do you follow their updates ?

I don’t follow How did you heard about this event ?

My son is playing tonight

Mike

Addy Tsoi

How long have you been into Hong Kong indie music ?

He as been playing in bands for almost 10 years What do you think about the impact of social media ?

He thinks social media makes it easier for people to access music

Owner of Wave Music Play in 享樂團3Think Got into bands around 10 years ago. There was a lot of awesome bands, even if his first inspiration was into foreigns band. His band got into a mainstream label, but his band was pressured to look more pop so they quit 3 years ago. Now they enjoy doing their own music.

So many informations on social media is difficult, it brings more competition but that is a good thing. Before YouTube and MP3 the music was more treasured.

A show of Seasons for Change at Wave music (Kwun Tong) was the occasion to ask questions to people there. At break between bands playing, just the time for two three questions and at the end a conversation with the owner of the place. Once again word of mouth prevail over social media and people here seems to know about the event through friends rather than the facebook event.

GLOBAL • 14 websites • Some dedicated to music, some general • Different platforms, different content

Facebook 8558 followers

Instagram 865 followers

Spotify : 393 followers

Bandcamp

Youtube : 1143 followers

Youtube Vevo : 735 followers

With no surprise, Facebook is the platform with the most followers, and the population is mostly people between 18-24years old (38%) then followed by 25-34 years old (25%).

A bit more than 3000 fans are based in Hong Kong and almost 2500 are from Taiwan. This is where social media become an important part of the band support. Seasons for Change doesn’t have the opportunity to play often in Taiwan but they can keep contact through internet.

HONG KONG

indiecast.fm : 42 followers

TAIWAN

Streetvoice : 57 followers

CHINA

5sing : 963 followers

網易云 : 168 followers

Weibo : 123 followers

蝦米 Xiami : 93 followers

bilibili

Of course China is an important market for bands in Hong Kong, but the fact that the country uses a completely different set of website complicate the work of musicians. Even if the songs are released everywhere, keeping content coming and regular acitivity is tricky. Each website will have its own rules and algorythms. Strategy to perform on one can be different for the other, and community manager is a full-tim job requiring knowledge that band member don’t always have. And this without counting the time needed to get it done.

SOCIAL MEDIA • • • •

Sharing content within a network Huge number of platforms From generalist to very specific content Mutiplicity of the internets across the world

Social Media are born almost two decades ago were at the beginning part of teenagers’ life. Nowadays they are part of everyone life, blooming on a diversity of interface like smartphone, PC or tablets. SNS (social network site) blurs what is public and what is private as well as bringing together work life and leisure.

Born to allow people to create and share content, they have been seen as a way to bypass traditional process. This empowerment of the masses, as opposition of a controlled creation, as been the revolution that we called the web 2.0 and if it did bring a new way to use the internet it has also generated a lot of new challenges for big companies as well as for independent creators. “[SNS are a] web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system8. “ In other words, social media are any platform that create a network of people around a topic. It can be specific like for work like LinkedIn, or general and transformative like Facebook. They often share a few basic features like a profile, network, message or comments.

There are tons of social media websites across the internet. Even the one we call global don’t include everyone, as country like China have developed their own. Once again Hong Kong sits in the middle of two world, using in everyday life both global platforms like Facebook or Instagram as well as Chinese ones like WeChat. This situation creates complicated schedule of work for anyone, companies or creators, to promote themselves on the internets.

Of course, the music industry has been largely impacted by the rise of social media, but also by the creation of new way of distributing songs. The era of dematerialization started by sharing file on peer2peer platforms, system first launched by Napster9. But gradually it was not even files shared but simply music streamed websites like Youtube or Spotify. The trends just keep growing and give a new way to musicians to share their music directly to their fans without the needs of major labels.

8 9

(boyd and Ellison 2007)[S]ocial networking sites don’t publicise community, they privatise it. (Andrejevic 2011: 97) Hinton, S. & Hjorth, L. (2013). Social network sites. In Understanding social media (pp. 32-54). London: SAGE

Not only the way we produce and consume music has change, but also the way we discover it. The old broadcasting system was basically radio diffusion. The more a song was pushed on a radio, the more it was sold. The other way was by your friends and an organic propagation. For more underground music people would go see live shows and

by CD there. In that context, the more money you had to be broadcasted, the more sell you could make.

Once again, social media came to change that. If big company can still have an advantage on platforms like YouTube, they also became challenged by indie diffusion and the gathering of new communities online that couldn’t find each other across the globe before.

The situation of Hong Kong, interface between the firewalled internet of China and the global websites from Western world.

MEDIA REVOLUTION • Huge impact on the music industry • Revolution on producing, sharing, consuming music • The birth of new strategies

Beyond the way of sharing, what social media have transformed is the way we consume art and the attention span of people. When an album was lasting a few months now a song can disappear in a week.

Music has become skippable, dismissible, and disposable. The investment of time, energy, and attention that it took to record a mixtape from a shelf of vinyl is a thing of the past. Perhaps that’s a good thing. It certainly takes a lot less effort to make a road trip playlist these days. But what if your behavior as the end user is forcing artist to change the way they think and create?10 The full-length album is still questioned as a way to communicate music. Some artists have already made the change to release weekly or monthly music on platform like YouTube, and sometimes will release albums but only in digital forms. We can take the example of Andrew Huang, a Canadian youtuber who produce weekly videos about music but also a few EP and albums each years. Weekly videos are supported by the community through a Patreon page while the albums and EP are available on mainstream site like iTunes.

Patreon is a website allowing crowds to pay a subscription to an artist to support his work. For each of his release, the patron will pledge a certain amount of money monthly billed. In exchange the patron get rewards according to how much he spend.

We can also see a completely different example of leadership in music through Jay Park. Jay Park is a US/KR hip-hop artist who started as band member in a mainstream Korean label. After leaving the band he started a solo career, quit the mainstream label to start his own indie label called AOMG. While still being part of it, he created a second one called H1GHR which is a global one. He is now also one of the artists of Roc Nation, label of Jay-Z. “AOMG, we started off with Loco, Gray, and Simon Dominic. Now we have Woo Won-jae, Hoody, Elo, Ugly Duck, and Code Kunst. Cha Cha, everybody. It has really established its name and its flavor. Right now, it is very mainstream.

Everybody knows who AOMG is. It’s a household name.

H1GHR MUSIC, the difference is, we have Korean artists, but we also have U.S. artists. Ted Park, Avatar Darko from Seattle. I feel like H1GHR MUSIC is a little more edgy. If you look at the music that they do and the moves we are doing on H1GHR MUSIC, it is very innovative. It has never been done before. You don’t ever see a whole label where 10

https://thebestschools.org/magazine/disposable-media-and-modern-music-consumption/

it is Korean artists and U.S. artists going on a tour together. You don’t really see shit like that.”11 – Jay Park interview Now for his use of social media, he has an active personal account on Instagram and a personal YouTube channel linked to the one of his different labels. In 2017 he had an average of three songs per months released (as main singer of featuring and 41 videos on YouTube (music, audio, choreo videos and cameos). Yet his last studio album was released in 2016, gathering song individually released on the internet.

No mater under what label he records a song, fan will follow. And the choice he makes to continuously release content on the internet is following the trend of social media. If the lifespan of a song or an album is now shorter, he makes sure to be always having something new to stay visible.

11

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8466296/jay-park-ask-bout-me-capsule-yacht-video-interview

From Jay Park Instagram, the summary of his work for 2017

LEADERSHIP AND NEOTRIBES • From broadcasting to gathering • Faster and more flixible than subculture: the neotribes • Questionning status-quo through leardership • Hong Kong, a complexe situation

The to promote innovation has gone through multiple stages. In the modern era, Henry Ford started the factory idea: enough machines and cheap workforce would allow anyone to spread their product across the country or even beyond. Second age was broadcasting method. Time on radio or on TV would reach masses. Average ideas for the masses and it is more about spamming it.

Since the rise of internet and especially social media, a new age has started about communities. For big companies it has taken the name of branding, simply gathering their customers around an idea, a profile and an experience.

We can think of brands like Apple or Nike where buying their products make you join the family and somehow agree with their vision. Through social media, it has created other phenomenon like the apparition of neo-tribes12 and the age of leadership13.

If subcultures have the time development and the stability of a culture, neotribes are a more flexible singularity.

Members are more likely to evolve, join and quit according to their own needs while they would be bounded to subculture.

“Subcultures were initially conceptualized as homogeneous, somewhat static, bounded cultural spaces where participants shared norms, values, style, and argot. The study of music subcultures originates from two traditions: first, in the work of the Chicago school of sociology with its ethnographic focus on the diversity of the American city, and second, with the Frankfurt school and theories critical of mass society.”

According to Andy Bennett, subcultures could be more accurately understood as “neotribes” where actors are loosely bounded temporally and spatially.14 Evolving fast, neo-tribes would be closer to the impact social media had on the way we consume art, with the spread of the culture of buzz. Content stays for a week and is replaced by a new trend quickly, giving neo-tribes the need to redefine their codes more often. Also, each member would see himself evolve on his own and would be more likely to change tribes faster than changing all subculture.

12 Music Communities. (2015). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Economics and Society.

13 https://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead 14 Robards, B., & Bennett, A. (2011). MyTribe: Post-subcultural Manifestations of Belonging on Social Network Sites. Sociology, 45(2), 303-317.

Some may even find that the word subculture is simply out of fashion and simply replaced by new theories like the neotribes one while other simply keep both terms in parallels. As the debate is ongoing, we will settle here for keeping both terms and wonder how Hong Kong indie scene fits in those definitions.

Of course, Hong Kong is a fast-paced city, and the Hong Kong indie music has close bonds with community from other countries and has also a strong influence from the western world like UK and USA. The music style will follow modern taste and creation and bands are trying to adapt to the use of social media to promote themselves. The diversity of music genres found in the city and the fact that members change from one band to another during time, and sometimes for different genre bands, can let us think of the behaviour described for neo-tribes.

But another element defines tribe for Seth Godin which he explains in his TED talk “The tribes we lead (2009)”.

Thanks to the internet people “gather in silos of interest” and become a force on their own. The way a tribe can lever a change is through a leader. The leader is a person that will not agree with a status quo and will try to change it.

“The Beatles did not invent teenagers. They merely decided to lead them. That most movements, most leadership that we’re doing is about finding a group that’s disconnected but already has a yearning -- not persuading people to want something they don’t have yet.”15 We can’t say that Hong Kong has any clear leadership, even if it is what Hidden Agenda was trying to start. The fact that the livehouse has been move four times since 2009 doesn’t help it settles its leading position. The other impeachment of leadership is the time dedicated by people to already run the place. Has their entire time is already taken, there is no spare time to gather the tribe around. The result is a scattered population following the same set of codes and reference, bounded also by stories and places. Some people part of the community has been there for more than a decade and are still active, proving somehow the stability of the indie scene. Scene this way, it could be closer to the definition of subculture.

15

https://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead/transcript

CROWDFUNDING Monthly - each release you pay • Group of people supporting an artist • Different approach: subscription or ponctual

A

Plan A - $ Reward - X

Plan B - $$ B Reward - X + Y C

Rewards according to how much you pledge

Plan C - $$$ Reward - X + Y + Z

Sin

Single Project - Unlimited time Limited money

A

Plan A - $ Reward - X

B

Plan B - $$ Reward - X + Y

C

Plan C - $$$ Reward - X + Y + Z

If t no

Can be very slow Doesn’t need a large fanbase

A OPTIONAL

OPTIONAL

Stop when money reached

B

C

Re the

Need a loyal fanbase Tighten community Need regular content

Single Project - Limited time Limited money If target is not reached, no money

OPTIONAL

nbase

A

Plan A - $ Reward - X

B

Plan B - $$ Reward - X + Y

C

Plan C - $$$ Reward - X + Y + Z

Reaching or not, still gets the money

Requires good use of social media Pressure on pledgers (impulsive decision)

Mostly charity

MUSIC BEE • WHAT crowdfunded platform • WHERE specific to Hong Kong • WHO created by a local artist for the comunity • WHEN 2015 • WHY fill gaps / allow more artists to produce music and shows / educate public • LIMITS limitated bonding within public

Music Bee is a Hong Kong platform allowing artists -especially musicians- to get projects crowdfunded. The project was initiated by Chet Lam, a Hong Kong artist himself, to offer an alternative from mainstream labels. What is interesting is that the project is resulting from an analysis of Hong Kong analysis and the specific situation of the city.

As even Cantopop is failing to be stable over the last decade16, it is time to consider an alternative model.

On the global internet, Kickstarter, the major crowdfunding website, is having good results with a total of 148 730 successful projects which represent 3 837 886 270 US$17. More and more projects are supported in a all lot of different topics. On YouTube once again, lots of creator are using platforms like Patreon and are funded by a local crowd of fans. For 2017, Patreon send more than 150M US$ to his 50 000 active creators, all pledged by 1M patrons18. Those websites are increasing their traffic every year and after the doubt of the beginning about scams, they are now well loved by the population.

As Kickstarter was not accessible to creator in Hong Kong, Chet Lam decided to create one local. It allows singer to escape pressure of mainstream label that could ask them to change their lyrics from English to Cantonese19 or to change the appearance of the band to fit better market standards.

The website aims for a few other targets beyond the freedom of action. First on goal is to bring the public closer to the artists and give strength to the community.

“It’s like you can just buy a belt from a shop, or some shops will host workshops where you can learn how to make a belt. I think that’s the difference. If you can take part in the project, then you’ll get more satisfaction out of it than just buying something. If you apply this to music, the buyers will be really invested in your work.” - Sunny Chan Chi-sun (Supper Moment singer)

16 Chow, Stephen Yiu-wai. Before and after the Fall: Mapping Hong Kong Cantopop in the Global Era. Hong Kong: David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies, 2007. LEWI Working Paper Series no 63.

17 https://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats 18 https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/18/patreon-pushes-as-youtube-stutters/ 19 https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1748652/hong-kong-crowdfunding-site-music-bee-hopes-generate-buzz

Of course crowdfunding give public the impression of direct contribution to the artist work, as there is not intermediate but a very clear budget. The next goal is directly linked to the clarity of money transfer. Music Bee wants to educate people on how much music needs to be produced, as the website carries all kind of project music related. Some are funding a show, some are recording a new album including mastering and making the hard copies… Video seen on other website seems so effortlessly made, while it’s not the case. Just a music video requires a full team, but also time and space which are both luxury in Hong Kong. But instead of leaving the artists creating their campaign alone, Music Bee also offers to help them communicate on social media to reach a larger audience and increase chance of success of the project.

Since the start of the website in February 2015, it has attracted projects and raised up to 2M HKD within a year from both particular and brand sponsor20. The website opted for a “all or nothing” kind of funding, meaning if the target is not reached the artist doesn’t get the money, everything goes back to supporters. That ways allows are more trustbased relationship. A few years later, the website is still doing good with 42 launched projects for a total of more than 5M HKD.21

20 21

http://www.pixelbread.hk/news/2016-02-16-1932 https://musicbee.cc/projects/all

Music Bee front page

Projects to help Hong Kong indie music face often the same issues when launched in the city. When money is involved there is first a problem of trust from the population. Among the people we interview, at the question “why don’t you use Music Bee?” (either as artist or pledger), one of the most common answer is “How can I be sure it’s not a scam and the people won’t steal the money?” But those same people would more likely use Kickstarter or more famous platforms.

Second issue is one very common, it is the exposure. Success of a project on this kind of platform depends on the communication made of it. A good idea, a good project cannot be supported if no one hears about it. Either the band has already a strong fanbase that support them and help carry the project, either they are skilful at communicating on social media. Even with the help of Music Bee, it is not an easy task. For the same question as earlier, the other common answer for people not using Music Bee is because they have never heard of it.

Here we touch at one of the most important problem the community is facing: the lack of visibility. And not only visibility to attracted new public, but visibility within the community. Every project has the best intentions, but the public is scattered geographically across Hong Kong but also online as there is not a common platform for them to meet and exchange.

Music Bee surely started also with this intention, basing its prime attraction on the reputation of its founder as leader. If the website sure improves relationships between artists and fans, it doesn’t allow fans to connect with each other. Connecting population is also one of the goals that This Town Needs… has but the lack of identification of the population once outside the room makes people isolated after the show.

Bringing the fan together to conserve excitation about project seems to be what Hong Kong indie scene struggles to do. These days the music industry that have the best tribe gathering attraction is K-pop. And if the style of music seems very far from Hong Kong rock music, there is things that can be learnt.

First thing, bands give clear identification to their fandom and treat them as family: there is a name, there is an artefact fans bring to concert (often some sort of light stick) and they offer online place for fan to meet each other.

They organise it in two different sections: fancafe are free to access and fan can “levelup” to win some rewards from

the band, and then the fanclub where fan pays to join.22 Contest of fan doing covers of the band, or prize for most streamed videos are common and engage their community into the band’s life.

Because fans are so close to each other, any teaser about a new song release or new album will trigger the fandom and people will share their excitation and communicate it to a larger crowd.

Artists/ musicians

Fans

Strong relationship/connection Weak relationship/connection Target for improvement

22

https://www.soompi.com/article/807807wpp/k-pop-101-how-to-navigate-fanclubs-vs-fancafes

Relation between bands are fan are the most obvious one to develop, but fan towards fan shouldn’t be forgotten.

SCATTERED COMMUNITY • Lots of different good initiaves • Disconnected from each other • Problems within the community that generate problem towards the outside

In Hong Kong we can find a lot of good initiative, and a lot of passionate people doing their best for the community they love. This Town Needs... provide a physical place for people to gather around the music and its associated subculture(s), Music Bee offers and alternative from mainstream labels and organisations like The Underground try to promotes bands by organising shows and maintaining a website. According to most of the people me and what we found in article, the population keeps welcoming new members.

Despite all those efforts, there is virtual limits that bands struggle to get through. Growth get either limitated by personal issues (work-family balance), money issues as band are an expensive activity but also the competitivity to play as there is not enough stages to perform on Hong Kong. And for the few bands that succesully reach a mainstream label, they not always keep that position as it can lead them too far from their original style.

What we can get from the Hong Kong situation is that a lot already exist and as potential to develop but everyone is scatterd and pain to find each other. Bands feel like they have a hard time reaching new crowds, livehouse try to attract more public, public doesn’t know where and when there is show or which band is playing. Every actor of the community feel isolated in a way. Due to the packed schedule of everyone, social media can barely helps as they require consistent effort to post content (quantity over quality algrorythms). Word of mouth are still the main way to propagate information but as the community is not strongly connected, the information doesn’t travel as far as it should.

Same constrains create a very difficult evironment for a leader apparition. The misconception between the settled culture who sees subcultures as potential threat keep this leadership as tricky to access. It is not impossible, but conditions are not favorable.

As it is not possible to create a leader, we can imagine a way to improve the situation create better condition for the community to bond together. The idea is no the deny the already existing initiave of Hong Kong but to allow them to grow and thrive together instead of isolated. In inclusive place online where public can meet other public and get excited together about a future album release, where fans can support their favourite band and discover new one, where livehouse can both get to know their tribe and get known by them. A common effort to grow and give Hong Kong a true alternative culture.

Not enough time Young people drifting Dangerous position

Struggle to grow

No one wants to take the leadership

More �me/events Young people joining Legi�mize music

Sca�ered community

Tighten bonds within the tribe

Opportunity/vision: - Provide the way to connect people - Create a be�er condi�on for people to organize the own community - Crea�on of a be�er environment

Poten�ality of leardership

Grow and new opportuni�es

FANZ

Creating a leverage to break the actual circle that keep the community scatterered is the project of the FANZ platform which would give visibility to everything already growing in Hong Kong and perhaps be a steps towards a new evolution.

FANZ We have seen before that social media can be as broad or as precise as one can want. So why not creating a platform made for the uniqueness of Hong Kong but embracing the complexe task of bringing a community together ?

We have seen that the community is scattered throughout Hong Kong but that is not the only problem to tackle, or it is the result of a few other parameters. Lack of identification of the community is one example. If it is obvious during a show who is part of this subculture, in everyday life it may not be the case. No sign can let you guess who you could connect with in your surroundings.

An other challenged revealed during this research is that people outside the community who enjoy bands like Linkin Park and who could be potential part of Hong Kong indie have sometimes a bad perception of it. Usually thinking that local bands are very amateurs and far from their usual standards. It is a common misconception as bands have not a lot of opportunity to play in front of a mixed crowd. It would be good if the platform could reach beyond the community and open to a larger public.

Then there is one point directly linked to the nature of social media : the volume of content needed. This part is a real challenge when it comes to Hong Kong life style. Making content requires time, making good quality content requires also money, and most of the time bands are short on both.

If those points could be overcome in a way, it would improve the pontential of already existing structures and probably be favorable for the emergence of new projects too.

The projects VANZ wants to facilitate a new way to make and share music, a comunity way. If content production is a problem, then fans can help sharing what each other have shot during a show. For the release of an album, a crowdfunding would help the project come out. An improved communication would beneficiate both musicians and fans, understanding what each other wants.

VALUE OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT - The new product service system should target both music lover and indie music lover, as a fan gathering place to create strong two-way connection between both fans to fans, and musicians to fans.

- Unlike other social media platforms which mainly provide top down connection from musicians to fans, this service should also provide a bottom up approach. Encourage fans to contribute and keep engage with the musicians.

POSITIONING MAP 1. Word Of Mouth: Fans are scattered 2. Traditional Fans: Club: Indie musicians are lack of resources to do this 3. Music platform: One-way communication - Musicians top down to fans 4. New 2-way social music platform: Allow indie musicians to manage and connect with fans easily

POSITIONING MAP

OBJECTIVES: • Create a strong indie music community to connect music lovers, fans and musicians • Strengthen the communication and connection for musicians to fans and fans to fans • Provide a service platform for musicians to manage and engage with their fans KEY PRODUCT SERVICE SPECIFICATIONS • Connecting people: Connect users with same interest, so they can form a stronger bonding with each other.

• Helpful for musicians: Provide tools and service that is useful for the musicians. Help them engage with fans and make money from it.

• Fans driven: Bottom up approach that allow fans to raise out their requests for the musicians.

• Rewarding: Provide rewards for users to motivate them to engage with and contribute to the musicians.

HIGH

TRADITIONAL FANS CLUB

NEW 2 WAY SOCIAL MUSIC PLATFORM

WOM

MUSIC PLATFORM

LOW

HIGH

STYLE

LOW

TECHNOLOGY

The position map show the existing model and the cross that VANZ wants to intend. As music industry is going through such a big revolution with social media, the best is still to embrace it and trust the tribe energy.

FEATURES

Live streaming music player

Music Community (follow and friends)

Crowd funding campaign for show

Proximity fans recogni�on

Musicians can upload and mone�se their music to the pla�orm

Fans can follow their musicians and get the latest update

Musicians can raise campaign for album, for show...

Allows fans to find fans with same interest

Fans can raise campaign for meeting show...

Live chat room

Fan with fan share same interest

Live stream video

Merchandise selling

Virtual items for fans

Broadcast live performance interact with their fans

Directly to fans limited edition items only available to loyal fans

Fans can buy virtual items to support their musicians

Fan with musicians keep the momentum

Managing tools

Features could perfectly work with parternships with what is already existing in Hong Kong. For example, crowdfunding could be joined with Music Bee and benefits different actors.

Musicians can set up task for fans to get reward points Get insights of their own tribe

Reward points, membership level

Encourage fans to make contribu�ons referring friends to follow the musicians, uploading photos and videos taken during a show, send a message in the group chat every day...

12.

1.

Fans and musicians can create crowd funded campaign for the next show, the group, etc…

Next

2.

TA IN

Chat room

ind er

R

Enjoying the show

Musicians can broadcast their live video through FANZ for fans not at the venue. Fans can buy virtual items to support their musicians through live video.

6.

ing e rivvenu r A e th

Fans take photos and videos during the show to get reward points.

3.

Fans feel interest to the show, and buy �ckets of the show.

4.

Rem

OW SH AF TE

OW G SH RIN DU

7.

Purchasing

Fans can pre-order merchandise through FANZ. Fans can use reward points to redeem special items.

on ra�

s Fanet up me

so Buyi uv ng en irs

8.

de

W SHO

USER JOURNEY

9.

Fans with higher membership level have priority to meet and interact with the musicians.

Fans check out the show’s info, musicians music through FANZ.

nsi

Fans share their feeling at the chat room, and chat with the musicians.

ss

Co

10.

rene

RE FO BE

Fans get reward points by referral to get members, listen to the music, watch live video, or even chat in the group, etc…

Awa

Re wa rd sp oin SU t S

11.

show

Fans get no�fica�on from FANZ that her favourite indie musician has a new show.

Fans receive no�fica�on from FANZ reminding them to go to the show.

5.

Fans open FANZ, find out and meet up friends with common interest, and enjoy the show together.

The comunity around pregressive rock in Hong Kong is still quite young with a bit more than 15 years of existence, yet locals bands are appreciated for their passion and the quality of their sound. The indie scene is quite unique by its heritage but also by the path bands are deciding to take. While the entire music industry had been impacted by the rise of social media, shaking mainstream labels, musicians here see the opportunity to find a new relationship with their public. And some bands how did access the mainstream labels even decided to come back to indie for more freedom. Yet the situation is not easy, and even if a few project propose new alternative, all struggle to gather new publics.

To improve the situation and allow the community to grow, there is some problems that can be addressed in a short time. Subculture was talking about shared rituals and shared codes among the group. If some already exist within the city, they are not visible enough and people still feel isolated, spending a lot of energy with not enough results.

FANZ wants to be a platform that allows people to identify each other, connect beyond the usual music sharing by engaging conversation. Fan with fan, fan with artists, just people sharing a same passion and who are supporting each other. To enrich the dialogue, the website would give tools to both musicians and fans to improve the community by engaging all. The flexibility of services would also allow other project to join and gravitate around.

Yet FANZ is just one possible solution, an opportunity out of the current situation of Hong Kong. But if it is a platform for dialogue, it can also be made out of it and evolve with the tribe it wants to gather around. Social media have to potential to give Hong Kong indie music a new way to express itself.

As for Seasons for Change alone, exploring social media and the potential of crowdfunding in Hong Kong opens also new perspectives for the future of the band. Between improving what already exists and trying new things, a lot of experiments can be made.

BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS Abbas, A. (1997). Hong Kong: Culture and the politics of disappearance. Hong Kong University Press.

Beekhuyzen, J., Von Hellens, L., & Nielsen, S. (2011). Underground online music communities: Exploring rules for membership.

Online Information Review, 35(5), 699-715.

Bennett, A. (1999). SUBCULTURES OR NEOTRIBES RETHINKING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUTH, STYLE AND MUSICAL TASTE. Sociology, 33(3), 599-617.

Bryant, W., Rice, T., & University of California, Los Angeles. (1995). Virtual music communities The Folk-Music Internet discussion group as a cultural system.

Buzz Marketing. (2011). Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture.

Chow, Stephen Yiu-wai. Before and after the Fall: Mapping Hong Kong Cantopop in the Global Era. Hong Kong: David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies, 2007. LEWI Working Paper Series no 63.

Dewan, S., & Ramaprasad, Jui. (2014). Social media, traditional media, and music sales. Management Information Systems : Mis Quarterly, 38(1), 101-121.

Gattegno, M. What is home for Hong Kong Millennials ?, 2017, Polytechnic University Gattegno, M. Live from home, 2017, Polytechnic University Giles, C. (2013). lndie Music. 23-24 Glass, R. L. (1964). London: aspects of change (Vol. 3). MacGibbon & Kee. Hinton, S. & Hjorth, L. (2013). Social network sites. In Understanding social media (pp. 32-54). London: SAGE Ives, M. (2017, July 10). An Indie Music Scene Where Bands Aren’t Allowed to Play. The New York Times, p. A6.

Kenny, A. (2011). Mapping the context: Insights and issues from local government development of music communities. British Journal of Music Education, 28(2), 213-226.

Music Communities. (2015). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Economics and Society O’Connor, A. (2005). Kruse, Holly. Site and Sound: Understanding lndependent Music Scenes. New York: Peter Lang, 2003.

Journal of Popular Music Studies, 17(3), 371-373 Peitz, M., and Waelbroeck, P. 2006. “Why the Music Industry May Gain from Free Downloading—The Role of Robards, B., & Bennett, A. (2011). MyTribe: Post-subcultural Manifestations of Belonging on Social Network Sites. Sociology, 45(2), 303-317.

Salo, J., Lankinen, M., & Mäntymäki, M. (2013). The Use of Social Media for Artist Marketing: Music Industry Perspectives and Consumer Motivations. International Journal on Media Management, 15(1), 23-41.

Sampling,” International Journal of Industrial Organization (24:5), pp. 907-913

Tylor, E. (1871). Primitive culture: Researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, art, and custom. J. Murray. P.1 Tsai, E., & Shin, H. (2013). Strumming a place of one’s own: Gender, independence and the East Asian pop-rock screen. 32(1), 7-22.

Wong, J. J. [黄湛森]. (2003). The rise and decline of cantopop : a study of Hong Kong popular music (1949-1997) University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR Wong, Y. H. [黃映貞]. (1989). Youth subculture in Hong Kong : case studies of young deviants. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR.

ONLINE ARTICLE https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8466296/jay-park-ask-bout-me-capsule-yacht-video-interview https://coconuts.co/hongkong/lifestyle/self-sustaining-organism-hong-kongs-hidden-indie-music-scene-0/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MusicBee_(crowdfunding) http://everynoise.com/EverynoiseIntro.pdf https://www.hongkongfp.com/2016/10/08/anatomy-subculture-part-i-birth-hong-kongs-indie-music-scene/ https://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1748652/hong-kong-crowdfunding-site-music-bee-hopes-generate-buzz http://everynoise.com/engenremap.html https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2097061/five-places-hong-kong-where-you-can-still-see-live-music-if-hidden https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1854980/hong-kongs-indie-music-scene-fights-survive-two-venues https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2013055/cant-stop-music-why-hong-kong-indie-musicvenue https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2019083/show-must-go-new-home-likely-hong-kongindie https://www.soompi.com/article/807807wpp/k-pop-101-how-to-navigate-fanclubs-vs-fancafes

http://www.pixelbread.hk/news/2016-02-16-1932

https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/18/patreon-pushes-as-youtube-stutters/ https://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead http://the-sun.on.cc/cnt/lifestyle/20160321/00485_001.html https://thebestschools.org/magazine/disposable-media-and-modern-music-consumption/

HONG KONG WEBSITES Music Player JOOX http://www.joox.com/hk/en/ Indiecast.fm https://indiecast.fm/ Spotify https://open.spotify.com/ MOOV https://moov.hk/ KKBox https://www.kkbox.com/hk/en/index.html Crowdfunding Platform MusicBee https://musicbee.cc/ Media Platform New Ears Music https://www.facebook.com/newearsmusichk/ https://www.hk01.com/channel/183/%E6%89%AD%E8%80%B3%E4%BB%94 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKGF4OtAgTdHSOUXMorblnQ Music Community wow & flutter https://www.facebook.com/wowandflutterhk/ Streetvoice https://hk.streetvoice.com/

https://www.facebook.com/streetvoicehongkong/ Blosso Metal https://www.facebook.com/blossometal/?ref=br_rs The Underground HK https://www.facebook.com/theundergroundhk https://www.facebook.com/groups/theundergroundhk/ Unite Asia https://uniteasia.org/ LokWoodTao https://www.facebook.com/LokWoodTao/ Dreambound https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo9OXAWEwN6nnX5c3hL0OaA https://www.facebook.com/dreamboundmusic/

ICONOGRAPHY All diagrams from Don Chan except : page 15 : Taiwan Map, Gattegno, M. Live from home, 2017, Polytechnic University Page 24-27 : screenshots from Seasons for Change Social Media https://www.weibo.com/seasonsforchange/ http://5sing.kugou.com/seasonsforchange/default.html http://space.bilibili.com/10903443/#/ https://i.xiami.com/seasons4change https://www.kanjian.com/seasons4change/ https://music.163.com/#/artist?id=12195794 https://streetvoice.com/seasonsforchange/albums/ https://indiecast.fm/ https://www.facebook.com/SeasonsforChange/ https://www.instagram.com/seasonsforchange/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Fq4PqVhwwwwCVCt0NQoXT https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtCLbFE-wW7KYA1tMtcDV_g https://www.youtube.com/user/SeasonsforChangeVEVO Page 31 : screenshots from Jay Park Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jparkitrighthere/?hl=en All the photos (bands and portraits) - Mathilde Gattegno

Pictograms under creative commons: Music by Abhishek Rana from the Noun Project Follow by Landan Lloyd from the Noun Project Crowdfunding by Gregor Cresnar from the Noun Project proximity sensor by Noel Braganza from the Noun Project live chat by Symbolon from the Noun Project stream video by emma mitchell from the Noun Project Augmented Reality by Path Lord from the Noun Project merchandise by Rediffusion from the Noun Project Premium membership by Symbolon from the Noun Project setting by AFY Studio from the Noun Project world by Dalpat Prajapati from the Noun Project WeChat logo by Camila Rubio Varón from the Noun Project Camera by Aybige from the Noun Project Twitter by aguycalledgary from the Noun Project tumblr by Luboš Volkov from the Noun Project youtube by Roman Shvets from the Noun Project

I would like to thank my band and the fans that keep me feel alive Also a big thank you to everyone ho has been interviewed and shared great insight to finish this capstone.

And lastly, thanks to all of the teachers in PolyU during these 4 years.