Ah, the beleaguered state of show promoters here in Shanghai. According to China Music Radar, Ticketmaster's China operations were "officially shelved" last week. The company had only just bought high-profile upstart Emma Entertainment in 2007. That merger, Emma Ticketmaster, managed to screw up safety at an Avril Lavigne show, failed to bring Oasis, did an okay job getting John Legend here and then spluttered to a halt in May 2008. CMR has a history lesson on the soap opera antics of its foray here in China which is well worth reading... and a lament about the state of ticketing/promoting now that this option, as messed up as it was, is gone. more ›

Emma Ticketmaster - the group that brought us Avril Lavigne, failed to bring us Oasis, and then made up for it with one night with John Legend - is now dead. According to China Music Radar, President & CEO of Emma Entertainment John Krane resigned yesterday with Debbie Shon of Ticketmaster taking his place. From the Ticketmaster press release, it seems like all the big Emma events are still on (Harlem Globetrotters, One Festival), but the demise of yet another promotion company underscores the difficulties of bringing top line acts to China and deserves a moment of silence... Okay. You can go about your day now. more ›