“It’s actually not that difficult to live a contented life. All of us could choose an easy way of living, one without struggle. But that path wasn’t for me. Instead, I chose a more challenging, riskier path — similar to that of a gambler. Just like organising a music festival is always a gamble.”

Those are the words of Shen Lihui — the man behind Modern Sky, the massive music empire that envelops artist management, a record company, music festivals, the live house venue “ModernSky Lab”, a radio station, and magazine. His journey took him from his rock and roll breakthrough at Tsinhua Academy of Arts to becoming the big shot of his billion-dollar empire. In the last 20 years, he not only witnessed, but essentially influenced and built China’s independent music scene. Through him, many an independent artist landed record deals and thereby reached larger platforms, as well as audiences.

Using the instincts of a gambler, he succeeded in shining an international spotlight on China’s independent music scene.

Shen Lihui is an Unreasonable man.