Yang Chengang was a music teacher by day and lounge singer by night in central China’s Hubei province when one day three years ago a friend suggested putting one of his songs on the Internet.
Fast forward to 2005, when Yang and his song, “Mice Love Rice,” have become two of the hottest refrains on China’s music scene — all without the help of a slick marketing campaign, national concert tour or even a proper album release.
“At first, the Internet posting didn’t have much effect,” said the 26-year-old Yang, whose debut, self-titled album won’t even hit music stores until November.