Louisa Schein
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622090873
- eISBN:
- 9789882206670
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622090873.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This chapter discusses three ethnic minority female popular singers. The first singer, Luo Xiuying, was prominent as early as the 1950s, trained and promoted by the Maoist state as part of both ...
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This chapter discusses three ethnic minority female popular singers. The first singer, Luo Xiuying, was prominent as early as the 1950s, trained and promoted by the Maoist state as part of both minority and cultural policy implementation. The second, Ying Yang, is a product of diaspora sponsorship and, while based in China, developed a fan base overseas. The third, A You Duo, emerged on her own as a “self-made” star in the market of the 1990s and ended up with a transnational audience through unexpected channels. The three cases chart a course of transition in the conditions of production, both material and cultural, of minority-themed popular music since the 1949 revolution. By comparing these highly divergent personalities, the chapter explores the different kinds of fan bases constituted by discrepant moments in economic and opening policy during the last fifty years in China.Less
This chapter discusses three ethnic minority female popular singers. The first singer, Luo Xiuying, was prominent as early as the 1950s, trained and promoted by the Maoist state as part of both minority and cultural policy implementation. The second, Ying Yang, is a product of diaspora sponsorship and, while based in China, developed a fan base overseas. The third, A You Duo, emerged on her own as a “self-made” star in the market of the 1990s and ended up with a transnational audience through unexpected channels. The three cases chart a course of transition in the conditions of production, both material and cultural, of minority-themed popular music since the 1949 revolution. By comparing these highly divergent personalities, the chapter explores the different kinds of fan bases constituted by discrepant moments in economic and opening policy during the last fifty years in China.
David B. Pruett
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604734386
- eISBN:
- 9781621035596
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604734386.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
In October 2001, an unlikely gathering of musicians calling itself the MuzikMafia took place at the Pub of Love in Nashville, Tennessee. “We had all been beat up pretty good by the ‘industry’ and we ...
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In October 2001, an unlikely gathering of musicians calling itself the MuzikMafia took place at the Pub of Love in Nashville, Tennessee. “We had all been beat up pretty good by the ‘industry’ and we told ourselves, if nothing else, we might as well be playing muzik,” explains Big Kenny of Big & Rich. For the next year and a half, the MuzikMafia performed each week and garnered an ever-growing, dedicated fan base. Five years, several national tours, six Grammy nominations, and eleven million sold albums later, it now comprises a family of artists including founding members Big & Rich, Jon Nicholson, and Cory Gierman along with Gretchen Wilson, Cowboy Troy, James Otto, Shannon Lawson, Damien Horne (Mista D), Two-Foot Fred, Rachel Kice, and several more in development. This book explores how a set of shared beliefs created a bond that transformed the MuzikMafia into a popular music phenomenon. The author examines the artists’ coalition from the inside perspective he gained in five years of working with them. Looking at all aspects of the collective, the book documents the problems encountered along the ascent, including business difficulties, tensions among members, disagreements with record labels, and miscalculations artists inevitably made, before the MuzikMafia unofficially dissolved in 2008. A final section examines hope for the future: the birth of Mafia Nation in 2009.Less
In October 2001, an unlikely gathering of musicians calling itself the MuzikMafia took place at the Pub of Love in Nashville, Tennessee. “We had all been beat up pretty good by the ‘industry’ and we told ourselves, if nothing else, we might as well be playing muzik,” explains Big Kenny of Big & Rich. For the next year and a half, the MuzikMafia performed each week and garnered an ever-growing, dedicated fan base. Five years, several national tours, six Grammy nominations, and eleven million sold albums later, it now comprises a family of artists including founding members Big & Rich, Jon Nicholson, and Cory Gierman along with Gretchen Wilson, Cowboy Troy, James Otto, Shannon Lawson, Damien Horne (Mista D), Two-Foot Fred, Rachel Kice, and several more in development. This book explores how a set of shared beliefs created a bond that transformed the MuzikMafia into a popular music phenomenon. The author examines the artists’ coalition from the inside perspective he gained in five years of working with them. Looking at all aspects of the collective, the book documents the problems encountered along the ascent, including business difficulties, tensions among members, disagreements with record labels, and miscalculations artists inevitably made, before the MuzikMafia unofficially dissolved in 2008. A final section examines hope for the future: the birth of Mafia Nation in 2009.
