Entrepreneur bridges Taiwan, mainland through music

Wang Youtong, a musician and entrepreneur from Taiwan, found the music market on the Chinese mainland to be full of potential.

Wang, whose real name is Lin Shi'yi, established a platform for music producers, singers and musicians from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to train music skills, exchange ideas and promote their musical works.

"Growth of the Asian music market reached 15.4 percent last year, and the mainland market increased by 28.4 percent, which is rapidly expanding," Wang said.

She brought her project to the 2023 Cross-Strait Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition recently in Changzhou, Jiangsu province.

Wang developed an interest in music during college and then tried to sing and write songs. After traveling to a number of mainland cities with her band, she found that Taiwan and the mainland have the same cultural background, and people from from both sides of the Strait can find resonance with each other through music.

"The mainland music market is large and I think there are many things I can do," she said.

She established her own workshop in Quanzhou, Fujian province.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, I found that people need good music to comfort their minds. Music has no boundaries. I hope to bring positive energy to more people through music," she said, adding that Taiwan has rich experience in expanding and cultivating music, which suggests an opportunity for cooperation with the mainland.

She added that the mainland gives a lot of support to entrepreneurs from Taiwan, and she hopes to promote more cross-Strait exchanges through the event.