Split Works
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Split Works
Status Active
Founded 2006
Founder Archie Hamilton, Nathaniel
Davis
Country of origin China
Headquarters Shanghai, Beijing
location
Publication types Wooozy, China Music Radar
Official website [Link]
Split Works is a China-based music company founded in 2006 by Archie Hamilton and
Nathaniel Davis. It is a subsidiary of Split United, one of China's most influential music
industry organizations, with offices in both Shanghai and Beijing.[1][2] Split Works organizes
the annual JUE | Music + Art Festival in Beijing and Shanghai, the Concrete & Grass Music
Festival in Shanghai,[3] and co-presents the "Contemporale" concert series with the Shanghai
Symphony Orchestra.[4]
Organization
Split United comprises five subsidiaries:
• Split Works (Independent Music & Festival Promoter)
• Splatter (Music and Creative Consultancy)
• Scorched (Booking Agency, Asia)
• Wooozy (China's #1 Music Community)
• China Music Radar (Chinese Music Industry Resource)
And owns 4 festival brands:
• Echo Park (outdoor, mixed genre)
• JUE | Music + Art (multi-venue, avant-garde)
• Wood+Wires (indoor, folk/ world)
• Concrete & Grass (outdoor, mixed genre)
Split Works
Split Works is the brainchild of Scot Archie Hamilton and American Nathaniel Davis. The
company aims to create a more sustainable ecosystem for music in China.[5]
Conceived at a time when live music options in China were extremely limited, Split Works is
one of a few notable groups that have aided the growth of the live music industry in China
and the wider Asia region, working with both Chinese and Western music artists across
many genres. They've been named "Best Promoter" in both Shanghai and Beijing by City
Weekend magazine (2013, 2014, and 2015)[6]. Split Works has organized concerts and tours
for notable artists including: Sonic Youth, Faithless, Steve Aoki, Diplo, Owl City, Jason
Mraz, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Ludacris, Grandmaster
Flash, the Lumineers, Death Cab for Cutie, Gang of Four, Girl Talk, Talib Kweli, José
González, Andrew Bird, Ghostface Killah, Dandi Wind, Grimes, St. Vincent, Gerard
Way, Young Fathers, Everything Everything, Black Star, Julia Holter, MIKA, Perfume
Genius, Pennywise and Olafur Arnalds.[7]
Split Works was also responsible for several notable brand campaigns in the four years
before its sister company, Splatter, was created.[8]
Splatter
Splatter was spun out of Split Works in 2010 to provide brands with an experienced
consultancy for using music in China. Splatter works with many global companies known for
their marketing practices. Splatter's (previously Split Works') Converse sponsored "Love
Noise" campaign in 2009 was named by AdAge as the best campaign in China that
year.[9] Splatter has also received critical acclaim from market research firm Millward Brown,
crediting the company for three of the top five branded music campaigns in China.
Converse Love Noise (2008–2009)
In association with the advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy, the Splatter team
conceptualized, planned and produced the Converse Love Noise road trip: the first campaign
in China of its kind. They designed and built China's first music focused tour bus and with the
2008 Olympics looming large, took two of the hottest Chinese indie bands (P.K.14 and Queen
Sea Big Shark) on a journey that spawned the "Love Noise" documentary.[10] It was selected
as the No. 1 campaign in China in 2009 by trade publication Ad Age.[11]
Chinese band Hanggai playing a Guinness-branded
show at MAO Livehouse, Shanghai in 2014.
Guinness (2013–2014)
Splatter strategically aligned China's up and coming folk scene with the Guinness brand for
the 2013-2014 Guinness "Made of More" Campaign.[12] The campaign in China included a
bespoke festival called Guinness Wood+Wires (健力士木+线音乐节).[citation needed] Supporting
the festival were five smaller Guinness branded concerts inviting the best folk artists in China
to perform including Hanggai, Ajinai, Hao Yun, and Su Yang.[13] Social platforms and branded
videos were used to engage its target audience on an even more interactive level. During the
campaign from September 2013 to May 2014, over 6,000 individuals were reached at the
festival and concerts, consuming more than 10,000 bottles of Guinness Original stout.
According to a non-partial study researched at the Wood + Wires festival, music fans agreed
there was a strong overall likeness between the brand and the festival. On the Guinness
MORE weibo, there was a reach of over 2.5 million views.
adidas Unite All Originals (2013)
Splatter was selected as lead Chinese agency for adidas Originals' "Global Unite All Originals"
campaign in 2013. This campaign dug deep into the world of original content, where
international artists from various disciplines collide to create something truly unexpected
and unique. Splatter developed and localized adidas' International concept for the China
market by bringing China's most innovative multi disciplinary artists in music, visual and
digital arts, fashion, dance and film together to curate a series of "collisions" over the
summer in 2013.[14]
Tuborg (2013-2014)
In 2013 Splatter collaborated with Carlsberg's Tuborg brand to launch the Tuborg Music
Truck Tour.[15] Over a five-month period, they organized 160 events across 51 developing
cities, among the first events in China targeting emergent youth cultures beyond the 1st and
2nd tier cities.[15] The campaign was extended to 2014, and featured more than 11 rising
underground artists.[16]
House of Vans Asia (2015)
Splatter curated the programming for the House of Vans Asia Tour. The tour included bands
from diverse genres, including high-energy punk rock (Pennywise), contemporary hip-hop
(Talib Kweli and Mobb Deep) and modern Chinese alternative (Nova Heart). The artists
played three sold-out, well received shows in Beijing, Chengdu and Seoul.
Apple (2015-2017)
Splatter has executed more than 70 in-store events for Apple across China, handling the
logistics and production for each event.
Topshop / Topman (2016)
Splatter executed an ambitious activation for global fashion brand Topshop / Topman at the
2016 Concrete & Grass Festival. It featured a sprawling style, fashion and art zone at the
heart of the festival, with stylists, selfie booths, the latest collections, special offers, and a
collaborative, evolving art installation.
Tuborg: Major Lazer x Chris Lee (2017)
Splatter teamed up with leading beer brand Tuborg to lead their 'Tuborg Open' initiative in
China. They partnered Major Lazer with 李宇春 (a.k.a. Chris Lee) in one of the most high-
profile creative collaborations between a Chinese pop star and an international dance music
act.
Scorched
Scorched is a talent booking agency that focuses on the greater Asia region established in
2009. Scorched has promoted and organized many 'firsts', taking Girl Talk into Vietnam in
2009 and the Handsome Furs to Myanmar to play the first ever shows by an international
band off embassy soil in 2011.[17] The agency has brought artists to tour throughout Asia,
including Mac DeMarco, Olafur Arnalds, Thee Oh Sees, The Dodos, And So I Watch You From
Afar, Shabazz Palaces, Bok Bok, Mumdance, Julia Holter, Untold (musician) and Lone.
China Music Radar
China Music Radar (CMR) is a China music industry online resource maintained by Split
United and includes a network of writers, musicians, and industry insiders operating in
China. Its goal is to demystify China's music business by communicating to the local and
international communities the latest news and realities on the ground. CMR hopes filling this
vital information gap will help to cultivate China's emerging music scene, and offer exposure
and opportunity to a new generation of musical talent. CMR's first post was on November
19, 2007[18] and is written in English for the benefit of the music industry outside of China.
Wooozy
Launched in April 2009, [Link] is one of the first Chinese-language specialist web
publications focusing on both underground and mainstream music in China and across the
globe. Wooozy Radio is a monthly podcast featuring Chinese and international independent
music. Wooozy is also a supporter of local talent, previously holding the "Wooozy Sessions"
which was a series of events that invited Chinese bands outside of Shanghai to play in
Shanghai, thus giving them a platform to showcase their talent. Bands like Skip Skip Ben Ben
and Mr. Graceless played at previous Wooozy Sessions.
In April 2014, the community launched "Wooozy Offline" – a series of parties that bring
some of the most important and relevant DJ's and producers from around the world to play
with local Chinese DJs.[19] International artists for the Wooozy Offline series include New
York Transit Authority, Bok Bok, Nguzunguzu, The Field, Slackk, Lakker, DJ Nobu, Palmistry,
Logos, and Untold.
Festivals
Split Works owns and operates several independent events and festivals in China:
The view from the main stage, Echo Park 2015
Concrete & Grass
An annual outdoor music festival in Shanghai, previously known as 'Echo Park'.[20] The
festival featured 57 artists across four stages, and was headlined by Gerard Way, Kelis, Jay
Park, Pennywise, Chase & Status and Black Star. The 2016 edition was headlined by Japanese
band Sekai No Owari, rapper A$AP Ferg and Hong Kong actor Edison Chen.
The festival in 2017 was headlined by RADWIMPS, DIIV. Carsick Cars played their first album
in full and for the first time in six years with the original lineup.
Concrete & Grass is coming up with Li Jian, Daddy Yankee, Slowdive, Togawa Jun and Zee
Avi in 2018.