Jay Chou fans call for boycott of their idol's impersonator
Fans of Taiwan pop singer Jay Chou have called for a boycott of impersonator "Hei Lun" over his commercial performances that mimic Jay Chou.
"Hei Lun," who has branded himself the "No.1 Jay Chou on the Chinese mainland," extensively imitates Jay Chou in terms of image, voice, and language on his social media accounts.
He has collaborated with a bar chain to conduct a multi-city tour of the chain's outlets since June, to cities including Foshan, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, with astonishing attendance rates. All the songs he performs are works by Jay Chou.
"Hei Lun" embarked on a bar tour across multiple cities in June.
His performance at the Hangzhou Shangcheng branch of the chain bar on June 15 was reported to have a sky-high "ticket price" of 6,000 yuan (US$826.28).
An insider told Shangyou News that the 6,000 yuan was not the ticket price, but the minimum consumption for a booth in the bar, and included beer, liquor, fruit platters, and snacks.
Another outlet of the chain bar in Foshan issued a statement saying that it had never sold tickets.
The insider also said that because "Hei Lun" is not only physically similar to Jay Chou, but also sounds very similar, sales for the performances were quite good, and the minimum consumption of the booths during his performances was triple the usual spend.
"Hei Lun" performs at a bar in Taiyuan on June 21.
Many fans have questioned whether the behavior of "Hei Lun" singing Jay Chou's songs in a bar for commercial performances constitutes an infringement.
Zhang Gongdian, a senior partner at Chongqing Zhihezhi Law Firm, told Shangyou News, "If it is merely imitation of Jay Chou, performing an imitation show in a bar with clear notification, and there is no deception of others by pretending to be Jay Chou or any derogation of Jay Chou's image, it is difficult to be considered as infringing on the right of portraiture."
"If a Jay Chou impersonator sings Jay Chou's songs for commercial activities and profits without obtaining Jay Chou's official authorization, then this behavior is suspected of infringing Jay Chou's musical copyright," he added.
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