IMG Artists will join hands with China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG), a state-owned entertainment and exhibition agency directly overseen by the Ministry of Culture, to expand its business in China and bring Chinese performing arts programs abroad.
The joint venture, Sino America Global Entertainment (SAGE), will be an investment of several hundred million dollars and aims to introduce a wide array of Chinese programs with an emphasis on classical music and dance artists. One of their first projects will be a reality Chinese TV show similar to “America’s Got Talent”, except it will scout for the next generation of Chinese prodigies in classical music.
“We are going to pick a classical musician and pair [him/her] with a pop musician. The two will collaborate to come up with a performance piece,” says the CEO of IMG Artists, Jeff Inzerillo, who believes that the show, called “Pairing,” will widen the audience base for classical music in China. IMG Artists was formerly owned by the sports and media conglomerate IMG, but was bought by entrepreneur Barrett Wissman in 2003…. Read More on Forbes.com