SHCR招聘乐评家
SHCR Call Out for Music Reviews

海报 Poster: Dilenna

翻译 Translation: chuan

Scroll down for English

随着 SHCR 新网站的上线，我们将开始一个我们蓄谋已久的计划 —— 开设一个音乐评论专栏。

除了豆瓣、网易和其他平台的评论区之外，很少有专门的中文乐评网站专注于独立电子音乐（除了比如像无解音乐和LiveMusicCN）。我们觉得这是我们的场景所缺少的，也是可能将中国的独立音乐发展的契机。

如今，随着数字发行帮助许多音乐人绕过大公司，自己走红，音乐媒体和博客似乎不再有意义了。

随着流媒体和 TikTok 的兴起，这些平台和算法替代原有的音乐媒体，充当起了风向标的角色。他们以算法推荐，和对音乐人极不友好的低报酬率而闻名，这使得西方音乐场景逐渐内卷化，音乐人的表达也不得不让位于 Spotify 和 TikTok 的算法要求。

在中国，现状亦是如此，QQ、网易云音乐主导了人们的收听习惯，而抖音则占领了年轻一代的市场。然而，在中国，选秀节目（以《中国有嘻哈》、《乐队的夏天》）构成了另一套重要的文化守门人，和其他地区相比，中国的选秀节目对独立音乐人有更大的影响力，同时给独立音乐人的报酬也很低，音乐人们会觉得上节目是一种特权。

那么，现在平台算法和选秀节目取代了音乐媒体，成为了新的风向标，我们失去了什么？

音乐媒体曾经塑造了世界各地的许多音乐场景。它为我们提供了对音乐的更多批判性的看法，为我们提供了一个对一首歌的好坏发表更多主观意见的空间，也为我们提供了一个从非商业角度挖掘艺术的背景和环境的地方。多样化的声音使人们可以从不同的角度来看待一首音乐。

对于平台的算法，评价一首歌纯粹靠看一首歌的声音。这些人工智能算法没办法考虑到一首歌后面的故事、语境、和任何从声音波形里分析不出来的东西。最终，我们得到为歌单制作的音乐和一个鼓励浅薄音乐了解的系统。

综艺节目的话，虽然评判是人，但是他们测量的点是商业可行性。节目的目标是制造戏剧性、娱乐性为了提高观看。最终留给真正先锋的音乐和声音的空间很小。这种系统鼓励独立音乐人为大众审美作歌，而不是介绍新的声音和理念给大众。

话说到这，SHCR的新网址会有乐评专栏和其他文章专栏。我们的老朋友们可能还记得SHCR的周一新发行直播，现在这些发行即将在乐评专栏呈现。

就像以前的周一新发行，乐评专栏会包括均匀混合国内外的新发行。

为了这一新的发展，我们公开呼吁：

· 国内外的音乐制作人、唱片公司和集体向 SHCR 提交他们的专辑/EP/合辑。 我们不分流派，只要是独立音乐。

· 有主见、知识渊博、能用中文写作的音乐作家。 请给我们发一份你的音乐写作样本！

投稿请发邮件到info@shcrad.io!

目前，乐评家是没有报酬的。 在SHCR，我们仍然还是用爱发电。 但是您能获得预发行和免费参加所有 SHCR 活动等特权。

如果您正在运营自己的中文乐评博客，请与我们联系，因为我们希望在我们的新网站上提供指向您的博客/网站的链接！

我们相信，要让一个独立的地下场景真正蓬勃发展，我们需要更多的人从当地的角度谈论音乐和了解音乐。

As SHCR launches our new website, we're looking to begin something we've wanted to do for a while now - launching a column for music reviews.

Aside from comments on Douban, Netease, and other platforms (shout out Wooozy, LiveMusicCN, etc) there are very few dedicated Chinese language music review website for more critical takes on independent electronic music releases. And we feel that's something our scene is missing and something that can potentially take independent music here to the next level.

Today, with digital distribution helping so many artists bypass major labels and going viral on their own, it might seem that music journalism and music blogs are no longer relevant.

With the rise of streaming and Tik Tok, it is actually now the platforms and their algorithms that act as the new tastemakers. Well known for low payout rates and algorithmic recommendations, they have resulted in the involution of the music scene in the West and a "Spotify-ication/Tik Tok-ification" of music production.

In China, it's no different with QQ, Netease dominating listening habits and 抖音, Tik Tok's counterpart, dominating the next generation's music recommendations. However, here in China, reality competition shows (with Hip Hop of China leading the way, and then The Big Band, etc) constitute another important set of cultural gatekeepers, holding more sway over emerging independent artists than reality competitions elsewhere, all while paying a pittance to emerging artists, who are made to feel it is a privilege to be on the show.

So now that platform algorithms and reality competition shows are the new tastemakers, replacing music journalism, what is lost?

Music journalism has helped shape scenes around the world. It provides us with a more critical look at music, a space for more subjective opinions on what makes a song good or bad, and a place to dig into the background and context of art from a non-commercial angle. The multiplicity of voices allow for different angles of looking at a piece of music.

With platform algorithms, what is judged is purely the aesthetics of a song. Without a human behind it, the song is judged for its adherance to rules written in code. The music is stripped of its backstory, of its context, of what makes it unique.

With reality competition shows, while the judges are human, their metrics are commercial viability and their goal is driving viewership with manufactured drama, leaving little room for music that pushes the boundaries and experiments. Independent artists are encouraged to conform to commercial tastes as opposed to making music that challenges the status quo.

With that said, SHCR's new website will have a column for music reviews and other editorials. For those who remember SHCR's New Music Monday livestreams, this will now be where those releases are reviewed.

Like New Music Monday, the music review column will feature an even mix of Chinese releases as well as international releases.

For this new development, we're putting out an open call for:

· Music producers, labels, and collectives, both in China and outside to submit their album/EP/compilation releases to SHCR. We don't discriminate by genre, as long as it is independent music.

· Music writers who are opinionated and knowledgeable and who can write in Chinese. Please send us a sample of your writing on music!

Please send in submissions to info@shcrad.io!

As of now, there is no pay for music writers. SHCR is still currently a labour of love for all of us working at the station. But you will get perks such as early access to new releases and free entry to all SHCR events.

And if you are operating your own blog with Chinese language music reviews on independent music, please reach out to us, as we'd like to feature a link to your blog/website here!

We believe that for an independent underground scene to truly thrive, we need more people talking about music and reading about music from a local point of view.