How did the Beijing Pop Festival bag Nine Inch Nails?

Trent Reznor (left) performs with Nine Inch Nails at the 2007 Beijing Pop Festival.

ONCE named one of the 25 most influential Americans by Time magazine, Trent Reznor is back in favor and form. Following an album release earlier this year by his band Nine Inch Nails (NIN), a summer on the European festival circuit is being book-ended with a headline slot at the Beijing Pop Festival on September 8 and 9.

Reznor, whose brand of industrial pop-rock has minted millions in big-label revenue since NIN’s bleak 1989 debut Pretty Hate Machine, is a personal hero for Jason Magnus, president of Rock For China Ltd, organizers of the Beijing Pop Festival. A real estate developer who realized a dream by running the first edition of the festival in 2005, Magnus admires NIN’s anti-establishment views and the anti-Bush sentiments of the band’s latest album, Year Zero.

“NIN always stayed relevant,” says Magnus, who gushes with admiration for the public relations campaign behind the band’s new recording. “They are still filling stadiums and still challenging their listeners. Their live show and production values have always been fresh and different.”

The band has long had Chinese fans: NIN albums like Downward Spiral were a staple of most mid-1990s college dorms, reliably present in small-town CD shops from Shanghai to Urumqi near the Kazak border. And few logos are as ubiquitous as the blocky NIN on the cheap black T-shirts of rock fans on weekend nights in any of Beijing’s rock bars.

The band always wanted to play China, says Magnus. “They’ve been very keen, it was always a logistics question.” The band is tacking China onto an Asian tour leg that also takes in Korea and Hong Kong, before the band flies to Australia. A large crew (30, compared to the 17 comprising the entire entourage of last year’s headline act, Placebo) and freight load will break records in China, says Magnus. “They’re bringing 15 tonnes of equipment - Placebo brought four.”

Aside from landing NIN, Rock for China have been clever with the line up; whatever happens there will be a big turnout for what’s being claimed is the first outdoor show in almost 20 years by socially inspired local bard Cui Jian. The ‘godfather of Chinese rock’ would surely show up himself to see the other big American name at the festival, Public Enemy, who he’s credited with inspiring his forays into socially-conscious rapping later in his career.

Chinese rock fans have a historical bent, says Magnus. Other Americans on the main stage include anti-establishment icons the New York Dolls and Marky Ramone from defunct punk legends the Ramones. “I really wanted legends from different genres. I’m not bringing acts out for expatriates but for Chinese fans, and contemporary artists don’t have followings here,” says Magnus, pointing to the rousing reception given to hard rock journeyman Sebastian Bach at last year’s festival as proof that local fans like ‘old gold’ rather than current hot tickets like the Killers and the Strokes. “I’ve noticed a lot of kids wearing New York Dolls and Ramones T-shirts, so we bought them.”

Paying for big names like NIN is difficult in China, where rock remains a niche taste in a music market already sapped by CD piracy. NIN are charging a fee “more than 100 percent” greater than last year’s headline act, Placebo. The pop festival pays its acts largely from sponsorship.

Unlikely corporate sponsors include credit card company Mastercard and US-based office technology provider R & R Donnelly. Both companies also supported last year’s festival. New sponsors this year include Hennessy VSOP and perfume brand Dior. “We prefer to stick with the tried and tested brands who were involved last year. We are aware of the limited potential of the market here. Festivals don’t have a long history in China.”

Troubled TV maker TCL sponsored the 2005 festival, but this year the only Chinese supporter is the local edition of Sports Illustrated magazine. “Companies have different internal reasons for sponsoring,” says Magnus. He won’t comment on whether sponsorship fees have risen on last year’s figures.

Ticket prices have gone up from RMB 150 per day in 2006 to RMB 200 this year, but Magnus says they remain “ridiculously good value” for the expected 15,000 people per day near-capacity crowd. The local market remains price sensitive. “In general people in China buy one-day tickets.” Ticket sales this year, handled by the state owned Piaowu Tong ticketing company, are split 50/50 between one-day and weekend passes.

As well as the difficulty of covering costs, bureaucracy is a way of life for festival organizers in China, who regularly dispense batches of free tickets to smooth over permit processes. The copious paperwork and permits needed to get the groups in necessitated the abbreviation of Public Enemy’s name to PE.

Magnus has also been wrangling with security about shortening the barrier between crowd and performers. Last year the uniformed security guards required by local law stood to attention facing the audience. “We want them to change their uniforms,” says Magnus. “It would be really important to the vibe of the festival.”

Over 2,000 people brought tents last year. “I really liked that, it adds to the vibe.” Campers are not allowed to stay overnight in the park however, and must be out with the rest of the crowd within an hour of the night’s last song.

From London, the main stage’s sole Brit attraction, Brett Anderson, will be on a second visit to China. A February 2003 showing with his group Suede was poorly attended. “It was holiday time so a lot of people missed it,” says Magnus, who predicts a big turnout this time for the former Suede front man, currently in the midst of a coolly received solo career. “We’ve been getting phone calls all year from fans asking if we could bring Suede. As pioneers of Brit pop they’ve got a big following.”

Lesser known foreign bands include Britain’s the Crimea, who play with locals Joyside and Muma on the Hit Fm stage, sponsored by a local radio station.