2018 CRA Young Generation Recording Competition Announced Its Awards

On September 24, 2018, the final review and award ceremony of the 2018 CRA Young Generation Recording Competition (The 3rd Student Recording Competition) initiated and held by the China Recording Association (CRA) was successfully concluded in Beijing on the Mid-Autumn Night. This year's Young Generation Recording Competition was a true star-studded gathering that connects young music talents and industry experts from all parts of China and performs as a platform that combines cultural exchange, recording art and music production.

The judging panels of this year's CRA Student Recording Competition are composed of experts in the music production and recording industry and veterans who have been engaged in the education of recording for years. Until the completion of the recording collection, the organizing committee has received nearly 200 recordings from all over the world. Awards were selected based on the pre-technical scoring of each category's judging panel, on-site hearing of the submitted recordings, as well as the finalists' on-site presentation. The panels have successively selected one winner each for the First, Second and Third Prize under the categories of Folk and World Music, Classical Music, Electronic Music and Pop Music.

In addition, at the award ceremony, CRA's Vice President Mr. ZHANG Shurong and Mr. TAN Tianxuan, former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Guangdong Radio & Television and CRA board member, specially presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to the 80-year-old Mr. ZHENG Chunyu, the Honorary President of the China Film Association's Sound Art Working Committee and a senior recording expert, who won Best Recording at the Golden Rooster Award for his recording work in The Knot and Roaring Across the Horizon. Having witnessed the development of China's recording industry and film industry over the past 60 years, he was presented this year's Lifetime Achievement Award for his huge number of recording works in films crafted during the previous five decades.

The judging panel of the Folk and World Music Category is made up of Mr. TAN Tianxuan, CRA Board Member, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Guangdong Radio & Television and founder of the Guangzhou AV Fair, Mr. LI Dakang, Professor of Communication University of China, Mr. LOU Wei, Specially-Appointed Professor of Beijing Film Academy, Mr. HUANG Xiaodong, Deputy Dean of the Recording Department of Zhejiang Conservatory of Music and Mr. CAO Yu, Associate Professor of the Recording Department of China Conservatory of Music. After rounds of competitions, ZHOU Hantao from New York won the first prize with Tomorrow Never Knows recorded onsite in a church. ZHOU Jie and ZHANG Yichi from the Chinese Conservatory of Music were jointly rewarded the second prize for their traditional folk music work Yue Ya Wu Geng. LIU Ren from Beijing Normal University won the third prize with his Pipa Concerto Si Lu Fei Tian.

The judging panel of the Pop Music Category is composed of Mr. ZHANG Shurong, Vice Chairman of CRA, former Director of Beijing Music Radio and founder of the China Song Chart, Mr. LI Xiaopei, Chief Recording Engineer of CCTV, Mr. WANG Lei, Dean of the Recording School of the Beijing Modern Music Academy, Mr. Benjamin Lin, noted Music Producer from Taiwan Province, former General Manager of Avex Hong Kong LTD and Recording Director of PolyGram Records Taiwan, as well as Mr. YANG Jie, Lecturer of Communication University of China. ZHANG Ziyin from Taiwan Province won the laurel as the winner, ZHANG Buruo was announced as the second prize winner for his mixing work Human completed during his study in University of Westminster, London. SHA Tuo from Beijing Film Academy was awarded the third prize.

The judging panel of the Classical Music Category consists of Mr. LIU Da, Secretary-General of CRA and Head of the Audio Arts Department of the Central Conservatory of Music, Mr. HE Zhaohua, Senior Lecturer of the Recording Department of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Bass Baritone Mr. SHEN Yang, Mr. LU Han, Senior Director of the Production Department of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, as well as Mr. CHEN Qinan, Senior Audio Engineer and Visiting Professor of Communication University of China. Muyassar·Jelel from Xinjiang won the top prize with his China Overture recorded for the 35th Shanghai Spring International Music Festival. ZHOU Yuanzhe from Communication University of China and MIAO Yu and CHEN Shutong from the Central Conservatory of Music were awarded the second and third prizes respectively.

Since the Electronic Music Category has become a new highlight of this year's competition, the judges of this category include Mr. LI Haiying, Vice Chairman of CRA and Dean of the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Baby Chung, renowned music producer from Taiwan Province; Mr. LI Xiaobing, Music Director of the Beijing Film Festival and Doctoral Supervisor of the Central Conservatory of Music, Mr. CHEN Qiangbin, Dean of the Recording Department of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, as well as Mr. TAN Yizhe, jury chair of the National Electronic Music Competition and noted electronic music producer. ZHAO Yixuan from the Central Conservatory of Music was awarded the first prize with her work Time. ZHANG Bo and LIN Xinyuan was awarded the second prize and third prize respectively.

Targeted at young talents under the age of 28 and initiated by the CRA, the CRA Student Recording Competition is an annual campaign within the recording art and music industry. The event was attended by 15 representative colleges from both at home and abroad that boast recording and production programs, including Central Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China Academy of Art, the Art Department of the Communication University of China, China Conservatory of Music, Beijing Film Academy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Modern Conservatory of Music, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, STEINHARDT Art Academy of New York University, Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, Zhejiang Normal University, Communication University of Zhejiang, Guangxi Academy of Art, etc. The competition aims to create a platform that encourages young music talents to communicate with each other, show themselves, as well as practice and create their own works. By stimulating their enthusiasm and sense of honor, it also enables the new generation of music production talents to gain wide recognition in the society and their professional field.

The 2018 CRA Recording Industry Summit was held on September 23rd. Topics discussed by experts included the specialized education in music production, promotion of music producers and the protection of music producers' intellectual rights and copyrights. The first discussion panel on " The Establishment and Training Methodology of the Specialized Music Production Program" was participated by LI Xiaobing, Doctoral Supervisor at the Central Conservatory of Music, CHEN Qiangbin, Dean of the Recording Department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, LI Dakang, Senior Program Director of the Art Department of the Communication University of China, LOU Wei, Senior Program Director at the Beijing Film Academy, WANG Lei, Dean of the School of Music and Technology of Beijing Contemporary Music Academy, HE Zhaohua, Senior Professor of Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, LI Haiying, Dean of the Pop Music College of Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music, and HUANG Xiaodong, Deputy Director of the Recording Department of Zhejiang Conservatory of Music. The 8 experts are known as the recording mavens from eight musical higher institutions. They conducted a pragmatic and effective exchange on the students' training directions, occupational orientation and performance assessment methods. They also reached an educational consensus of "learning to use, application comes first, and more listening and practice".

During the second panel discussion on "The Promotion Channel for Recording Producers and Recordings", TAN Tianxuan, former Head of Guangdong Radio & TV and founder of the Chinese Song List, and ZHANG Shurong, former Head of Beijing Music Radio both elaborated on the promotion and strict requirement of recordings by broadcasting media and various song charts. LI Xiaopei, Chief Recording Engineer of CCTV, reviewed his past experience of more than 40 years that witnessed the development of recordings from analog to digital as well as the future development of technology. Ms. OUYANG Yongqing, renowned folk music producer, narrated her own experience from the 1990s till present on the rise and fall of the record industry in memory of the spirit of attachment and persistence. Baby Chung, renowned music producer from Taiwan Province, shared his journey from a band keyboard player to an omnipotent music producer and encouraged young music audiences to try new things and challenge themselves.

The last panel discussion on "The Protection of Music Producers and Sound Recorders' Intellectual and Property Rights", has undoubtedly become the biggest focus and highlight of the day. Mr. GUO Chunfei, senior lawyer of copyright and former Legal Advisor, China of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, explained the development, landscape and current issues of copyright and intellectual property rights, and analyzed the legal issues encountered in early years and the latest developments in recent years. Mr. ZHANG Shurong, former CRA Vice Chairman and former Head of Beijing Music Radio, shared the history of Music Copyright Society of China and the voices of the industry. Mr. LI Haiying, CRA Vice Chairman, gave an example on Song of the Seven Sons to discuss how to protect intellectual and property rights and gave real cases to discuss negotiation methods at work. Mr. Benjamin Lin, legendary Music Producer from Taiwan Province and former Recording Director of PolyGram Records Taiwan, discussed cases on international public broadcasting and income sharing methods. Mr. TAN Yizhe, senior electronic music producer, humorously analyzed the current status of the rights and interests of the US recording industry and the advanced development of the China's music and entertainment industry. The discussion was full of positive energy and the experts were warmly celebrated.