Country Profile: China
A vast and exciting market, China’s live industry grew by 46.6% to CNY38.7bn in 2024, according to the government-funded China Music Industry Development Annual Report, and is increasingly opening its doors to international talent.
“Live music in China is very much back in full swing post-pandemic, but the landscape has shifted,” says Archie Hamilton, managing director at Split Works.
“Tours in smaller venues (<500 cap) are difficult now due to the financial barriers to entry (venue hire, permit, and visa application costs), but carefully routed headline tours in the 500–2,000-cap range are doing well in the main.
“And there are some big artists coming through – at arena level this year, so far, Ed Sheeran played six nights in Hangzhou, Imagine Dragons played six stadiums in April, we brought Cigarettes After Sex for three sold-out shows with 25,000 people through the doors – and, of course, the infamous Kanye Shanghai Stadium shows recently. But it’s still sporadic at this…
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