New program in tune with music fans

The listed music arm of Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings has produced a live billboard program of hit songs to help emerging Chinese musicians shine on the global stage.

Tencent Music Entertainment Group, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange in December, launched the program Yo! Bang in mid-October. It broadcasts live on mobile music apps, including QQ Music and Kugou Music, every Sunday night.

When the first season ended on Dec 30 - which leaves time for the producer to review and adjust the program before relaunching later this year - the 12 episodes had been viewed more than 300 million times, according to company figures.

Zhang Minjie, producer-in-chief for the billboard program, said the result is encouraging. Company figures show 85 singers in groups starred in the first series, performing 55 times as well as 42 special performances including new singers, new songs and mixed performances between different singers and groups.

More than 4.6 million fans have "liked" the program online, according to Zhang.

"We found that most singers, except top-level artists, have no platform to promote their songs and no place to communicate with fans. That's why we created the hit song chart - the first program of its kind in the Chinese market to meet this demand," said Zhang.

"We also regard it as a responsibility of TME to build a platform to inform the public of pop music culture and trends in China, which can promote the development of the industry as a result," he noted.

Since mid-September, the producer set up the billboard based on data from the three music portals of TME - QQ Music, Kugou Music and Kuwo Music - which have more than 100 million users, to select the most listened-to songs.

At least 3,000 songs by more than 600 singers and groups were on the list, of which four songs acquired the weekly champion title and some 400 songs entered the top 100, according to the company.

All the songs selected were played more than 3 billion times accumulatively, shared 23 million times and 'liked' by more than 20 million, the company figures indicate.

"Our program will become an increasingly important channel for fans to understand new songs released by first-time singers, including the style of the music, what the singers express and what they convey in music videos," said Zhang.

He added that the program will provide an audience for lesser-known singers and offer the chance for people with musical talent to find an audience.

The program will improve the shooting, lighting and video techniques to meet the demands of viewers and add detail to singers' performances on live broadcasts.

"We expect the program will be relaunched in the second quarter of this year and be broadcast every week till the end of 2019," said Zhang.

The production team is also looking to export the program abroad.

Currently, it makes a two-minute tape every week for a music billboard program in South Korea, which is called M! Countdown, to introduce the top three songs on Yo! Bang's billboard and some of its singers.

Contact the writer at chenhong@chinadaily.com.cn