Following the rules

To ensure equality, Xu withdrew from the judging panel for the fourth and fifth editions of the awards, inviting two veterans from the nation's music scene, Zhan Hua and Tan Yizhe, to act as conveners.

Zhan, who directed the first three ceremonies for the awards and was among the first group of people to join the CMA committee, said, "Our job was to keep the voting process going and to stick to the rules.

"Judging by the results from these two editions of the awards, we can see that the music scene－from pop to rock, from indie musicians to record companies－is vibrant, although the industry has been heavily affected by the pandemic. Some of these works have achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim, which is a good sign."

Zhan said the awards also recognize independent artists－with many of them sharing their original material online to appeal to a large number of users.

"One of the nine jurors now gathers leaders from music communities at top Chinese universities to act as voting consultants, injecting new blood into the awards. We are happy to see these changes, which will ensure that the awards are long-lived," Zhan said.

Xu's dream and determination are shared by Song Ke, the former head of Warner Music China and now CEO of Live Nation China.

A key figure in the music industry, Song announced in 2012 that he was quitting the business to run a roast duck restaurant, shocking many people and making headlines.

Due to rampant online piracy in the early 2000s, record companies did not consider it worthwhile to release albums, turning instead to managing artists' performances and also to advertising for their main sources of revenue.