Independent Chinese CDs: Why are they so hard to find?

2046 Shop near Fudan University is Shanghai's best CD store for independent Chinese music, with a good selection – over 50 – of rock, electronica, hip hop and experimental. Unfortunately, there's usually only one of each in stock, so if you buy one, it might be months before they stock another of the same. It’s worth the trip, at least, for the rare DVDs and a fine variety of old and new music. It was the only place in town we found stocking the new DJ Shadow CD, for example. They've just moved to a new location around the corner at 298 Guoding Lu. 2046 has a smaller sister shop called 36mm in Xujiahui at 36 Yishan Lu. Their CD player wasn't working during recent visits, so we suggest bringing your own portable player for quick listens of unfamiliar CDs. A lot of the cover designs on independent Chinese music releases are abstract and obscure, giving little hint as to what kind of music to expect when you press play. As there's little media coverage for these musicians (especially not in English), you'll need to do some sample listening before you have a clue what you're looking at.

There are, perhaps, a few other places to find Chinese independent music, but they're usually someone's private apartment or the back of some electronic market. They prefer to remain unpublished, and even if I did leak the secret, the chances that they would be open by the time you found them are slim.

Unfortunately, most of the record labels that publish these independent CDs are not very professional at marketing, paying their artists, or getting releases out timely. We point to a few possible reasons for this seeming incompetence. One, if an artist's release becomes too popular, the pirates will start producing fakes and essentially kill any and all revenue from CD sales. Second, distribution channels for independent releases are unreliable at best, non-existent at worst. Third, there is always the vague and pesky issue of censorship and official approvals. There's also a general lack of knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit – call it hope – for the talents and labels. We know of one prolific Shanghai musician whose last album has been "sitting in the factory" for nearly two years now because the label is under-funded and unsure how to proceed with the release.