China, as you all surely know, is the important music market of the not so distant future - which is why the CMU team really ought to learn how to slag off Coldplay in Chinese. I wonder if there's some kind of government grant for that?
Perhaps we should speak to government quango UK Trade And Investment, who are again supporting an initiative being staged by the Association Of Independent Music giving indie music firms the chance to investigate the potential the Chinese music market offers. The AIM For China 'trade mission' will go to Shanghai and Beijing from 25 Oct to 3 Nov, and will give participants the chance to learn about and present to the Chinese industry, and to network with key execs over there.
The 2005 mission follows on from a similar venture last year, and the opening of an office facility in Beijing to act as a single contact point for UK-based independent music companies.
Commenting on the mission, AIM boss Alison Wenham told CMU: "With the UK music office facility now fully operational in China, we are receiving many enquiries from UK companies keen to raise their profile in China. There are still considerable market barriers to overcome, but we are confident that, over time, effort will be rewarded by a growing business partnership with the Chinese Music Industry. Our latest mission to China builds on this work to date, and will support companies ready and willing to do business the Chinese way."