NetEase Cloud Music honors indie musicians

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NetEase Cloud Music, a massive online music platform under China's internet giant NetEase, has honored the country's indie and original musicians at Sunday night in Beijing.

The event at Beijing's M Space brought together artists from all over China, including veteran rocker Zhang Chu, singer-songwriter Mao Buyi and rapper Wang Yitai.

The biggest winner was Mao Buyi.

Singer-songwriter Mao Buyi performs onstage during the ceremony by NetEase Cloud Music to honor original musicians in Beijing, January 20, 2019. /Photo courtesy of NetEase Cloud Music

The 24-year-old won "Album of the Year" for "Perfect Day," which was released last May. It has sold more than 11 million singles on the platform.

"This is my debut album, and also the first album that I released on NetEase Cloud Music. I'm very happy that the album can be recognized. This will be a new beginning for me," said Mao.

Mao's "Someone Like Me" was one of the Top10 songs of the year.

"Rapper of the Year" went to the four-man group, Higher Brothers. Their single "Lover Boy 88" inspired a lot of online discussion over the year.

The four-man rap group, Higher Brothers, perform onstage during the ceremony by NetEase Cloud Music to honor original musicians in Beijing, January 20, 2019. /Photo courtesy of NetEase Cloud Music

While Chengdu-based rapper Wang Yitai claimed "New Artist of the Year" and performed his hit song "Feel and Sight."

"First of all, I'm very thankful for this achievement, it's quite a unique achievement for me, but I must say that a lot of underground rappers, they tried a lot like I did. I should say we deserve it, and we gonna keep it up," said Wang.

Sunset Rollercoaster, an alternative rock group from Taiwan, was awarded with "Band of the Year" for their romantic, upbeat style.

The event presented 11 other awards, including "New Age Artist" and "Most Reviewed Song."

Rapper Wang Yitai, who wins "New Artist of the Year," performs onstage during the ceremony by NetEase Cloud Music to honor original musicians in Beijing, January 20, 2019. /Photo courtesy of NetEase Cloud Music

Meanwhile, Ding Bo, vice president of NetEase Cloud Music, joined singer-songwriter Mu Xiaoya and launched the third season of Project Stone, an incubation program to support independent musicians.

Mu was a beneficiary of the Project. She said it gave her a chance to collaborate with top music producers and get more media exposure.

"It (Project Stone) has done a lot of work to make my songs accessible to more audience, it gave me a chance to learn, and I've got a lot of advice from experienced music producers and sound engineers," said Mu.

NetEase Cloud Music is China's biggest platform for original music, with millions of users, and tens of thousands of registered singer-songwriters.

Initiated last year, the ceremony honors the contributions and influence of independent musicians. Its winners are derived from big data analysis of online clicks and comments.