Educating the masses (about music)

Rolling Stone is set to be published in China, with a mix of local content and translations from the US edition.

Given Rolling Stone's US emphasis, "the trick is to see how you can balance that with popular culture from China or from Asia, as well as popular music," said Yung. He declined to say how much money was being invested in the mainland edition, and he wouldn't disclose terms of the licensing agreement. But Yung said Rolling Stone will receive part of the net revenue. He didn't provide projected circulation figures. Yung expressed confidence that Rolling Stone's high-quality reporting will impress Chinese readers. "It's not a pop culture gossip magazine. It's not a music magazine. One of the things that has always helped it stand head and shoulders above other people is the quality of the editorials, the journalism, as well as the photojournalism, iconic cover photos, and award-winning writing," he said.

The great thing will be if the magazine can introduce to the Chinese population the greats and Gods (see pic) of music of which they currently know so little. The interesting thing will be what kind of censorship editing goes on. The awful thing will be if they decide that Jay Chou (including his "thoughts" on his "music") deserves to be on the same cover of a magazine on which John Lennon has sprawled -- and a naked Lennon at that.

It can only be an excellent thing if the local population can sample such lists as the Top 500 Songs of All Time -- though Chinese readers may be perturbed to know that their beloved "western" karaoke favourite "Hotel California" is only at number 49.

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