Shanghai clears Mayday of lip-syncing allegations

No evidence was found to back up allegations that the pop band Mayday lip-synced during their concerts in Shanghai last year, local authorities said on Sunday.

An investigation did not find any instances of the band using prerecorded music at their eight concerts in Shanghai in November, officials from the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism said.

The lip-syncing allegations stemmed from a blogger's claim that a professional analysis of 12 fan-recorded songs from the popular Taiwan rock band's concerts in Shanghai showed five of them were lip-synced when compared to the original recordings. This sparked fierce online discussion among netizens and music professionals.

The officials reviewed audio and visual footage from cameras at the venue and conducted inquiries with the organizers, venue operators and on-site audio engineers.

According to China's regulations on the administration of commercial performances, lip-syncing refers to "performers using prerecorded songs or music instead of live singing or playing during a performance".

"Our standardized investigation, including analysis by independent experts, concluded that the evidence did not reveal instances fitting the regulation's definition of lip-syncing at Mayday's Shanghai concerts," the authorities said.

In December, Mayday's record company, B'in Music (Beijing) Co, denied the lip-syncing claims, labeling them as malicious attacks and defamation, and actively cooperated with law enforcement investigations.

Despite the controversy, tickets for the band's 10-show run at Beijing's National Stadium, starting May 18, quickly sold out.

According to data from the Nandu Big Data Institute, Mayday's 2023 tour included at least 68 shows at home and abroad. It is estimated that the band's concerts on the Chinese mainland last year generated 2.96 billion yuan ($409 million), including over 600 million yuan from Shanghai alone.

China has strict regulations prohibiting lip-syncing in commercial performances.

Violations can lead to license revocations for organizers and performers, and fines from cultural authorities.