Fans welcome Galen Crew, 29, at airports and hotels where he stays, his concerts sell out fast and his followers sing along to the lyrics he writes.
The singer-songwriter-who was born in Ocean City, New Jersey, United States, grew up in Tennessee and now lives in Nashville, the state capital-has accumulated a large fan base in China, as have some of his peers from other countries.
On Dec 5, one fan, named Rongyan, posted on Crew's music page on NetEase Cloud Music, one of the main online music platforms in China: "It was a touching moment to watch his show in China and hear him speak Chinese. He worked hard to learn to speak Chinese for his fans."
From Nov 28 to Dec 7, Crew played a seven-city Chinese tour, including concerts in Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, Sichuan province. In 2017, China was a new entrant to the global top 10 music market, and rose to seventh place last year, according to the report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The country's music market has enormous untapped potential, with an online user base of 650 million people and a growing number of licensed digital services, according to the federation.
Since its launch in 2013, NetEase Cloud Music has collaborated with more than 200 music companies on legal copyright issues. The music platform now has over 30 million authorized songs, which have attracted about 900 million comments.
Mathew Daniel, vice-president, international, of NetEase Cloud Music, said almost 90 percent of its music is Western, as it represents the largest growth category.
Source: China Daily
