CRI听力:A Concert Tour to Enter the World of Films

'So Young' garnered more than 720 million yuan in box office earnings from mainland cinemas. Together with its sequel "To Youth 2-So You are Still Here" directed by Zhou Tuo'ru周拓如, they are two classical movies based on the themes of youth and nostalgia.

This attracts Ma Le, CEO of Starry Asia Entertainment Beijing Company to explore in making a concert with the same name as the sequel and focus on the same themes.

"The key elements behind Vicki Zhao's directorial debut 'So Young' or 'Zhi Qing Chun' 致青春 in Chinese are reminiscence and nostalgia. This is what we hope to convey through our performances, which include some classic and popular songs that may enable listeners to recall their early years."

In fact, Ma Le began to grab public attention mainly because of a concert he launched last November for the film, Mr. Six.

Ma Le thinks the concert has a big influence in promoting the film as he explains:

"We arranged this concert before the release of Mr. Six and planned to describe and even amplify the meaning behind its name Mr. Six. At that time, audience has little idea about what the film might be about. We've invited director Feng Xiaogang, actor and singer Li Yifeng as well as Kris Wu; meanwhile we also invited heavyweights in the music world, including Cui Jian and Zhao Chuan to perform at the concert. What we wanted to do is to take the most representative parts of the film's identity and boosting it via organizing a concert."

Concert promoters need good business sense as well as the ability to cope with artistic temperaments in order to make impressive profits.

Mr. Six concert is by every means a success. Over eighty percent of 9,000 concert tickets in Workers' Gymnasium have been sold out.

Audience demand always comes in first. Ma Le admits as an organizer he and his team often work hard to explore the interesting highlights that may attract audiences:

"A difficult part for increasing the ticket sale of such a concert lies in how we could explore and then find the right topics that may more likely arouse people's attention and even want to discuss it. There are many cutting-edge approaches to accomplish this goal and guide the audience members to achieve a better understanding about a film, including its theme, the main cast's performing abilities and also what an audience member expects to discover from it."

One thing that Ma Le feels proud of is that the Mr. Six concert also helps increase the sale of film tickets by around 30 percent.

And what further contributes to his sense of achievement is they are offering audiences a refreshing and exciting experience.

"We hope to bring consumers who love live concerts more fresh and interactive experiences by holding a concert around a certain theme, like on the basis of a film. In the previous practices in China, audiences were only allowed to watch a concert. But in reality, in the countries that have mature market in live entertainment shows, audience members are more interested in the interactive experiences at a concert, instead of just listening and watching on their seat."

This young CEO, who is 31-years-old, is now taking his concert projects with an IP from movie blockbuster to the ongoing Beijing International Film Festival for deliberation with other insiders of the film industry.

With a plan to hold the concert "To Youth 2- So You are Still Here" on July 2 in Beijing's Worker's Stadium, Ma Le has revealed that his company has invited a number of heavyweights to the July concert, which he describes as a highest-ranking lineup of all concerts held within a decade at the venue.

In addition, his company plans to hold over 50 film-themed concerts in over twenty cities by 2017.

For Studio Plus, I'm Xu Fei.