Long before the economic crisis, the music industry began its fall into disrepair, forcing experts and insiders to re-draft their business models and develop more creative approaches to distributing content. Given that album sales are virtually non-existent in the Chinese market, commercial use is one of the few remaining revenue streams, but with clients, agencies and labels all existing independently, the exchange of property rights becomes messy with every entity looking to line its own pockets. The Factory, a recording studio, art gallery, multi-media lab, conference hall and bar / restaurant, however, is looking to build a transparent organism completely encapsulating the creative process.

“The main idea is basically this whole factory is being underwritten by [local advertising agency] Profero. It’s all about content, content, content,” explains Sean Dinsmore, The Factory’s Creative Director. “Looking at it from this angle it makes it a lot more manageable. Looking at it [ just] from a music label point, it’s fiscal suicide.

After nearly two years of planning and plotting, Dinsmore, with the support of Profero, conceptualized the idea of a multifunctional space where visitors could witness the entire creative process from start to completion, all within the context of a lounge.

“It’s not any kind of hard and fast rule, it’s just the official story line,” adds Dinsmore, who maintains a very open mind about the possibilities of the space. “Our concept is pretty wide ranging.” By using vertical integration to subsidize its creative musical efforts (the art shows, corporate events, restaurant and bar bring in the cash), The Factory has given its subsidiary record label Yi Gong Chang the opportunity to develop local artists.

“It’s totally transparent for musicians,” says local singer / guitarist Dave Zhao, whose interest was piqued by The Factory’s unique approach. “They can record the songs here and then bring the songs to the advertising company to see if they’re interested in them.”

While The Factory may not operate under an idealist directive of making music purely as art, the focus on the advertising market, combined with their desire to support local artists who are creating music for their peers, gives the operation a fighting chance in the cut-throat world of the record industry.