SSP45 - William Griffith

William Griffith, the mind behind renowned music website here in China, Live China Music, joins me today to talk about his efforts over the years to build up a website that people can go to find out about indie music here in China. Starting with his initial video recordings of live shows in Beijing, he began editing videos for local bands and posting them on YouTube. After accumulating a vast selection of videos on an array of bands, he decided to start a website that people could go to to check out what was happening, thus https://www.livechinamusic.com was born. Although we were introduced by Brad M. Seippel (Episode 42), I highly recommend listeners head over to Zhu Chang Si Le's podcast on which host, Forrest, interviewed William Griffith and talked a lot about Will's background and development of his music website over the last fifteen years. Part 1: https://zhuchangsile.xyz/episodes/033 Show notes up on stevensirski.com Time stamps: 00:00 - Introduction to Episode 45 01:00 - Meet William Griffith 01:42 - Life in Beijing and Shanghai 03:11 - The Music Scene in China 07:17 - Visa Challenges and Expat Life 18:42 - Considering the Future 38:29 - Comparing Beijing and Shanghai 44:02 - Building Live China Music 54:01 - Banned Songs and Censorship 54:32 - Key Bands in the Chinese Music Scene 56:23 - Foreign Bands and Expat Musicians 57:44 - Challenges for Foreign Musicians in China 01:03:31 - Longevity and Success in the Chinese Music Scene 01:05:28 - DIY Labels and Independent Music 01:15:21 - Youth and New Generation of Musicians 01:16:46 - Creating Mixtapes and Curating Music 01:23:34 - Physical Media and the Resurgence of Tapes 01:36:03 - Final Thoughts and Advice for Musicians