(No.14 Order of the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China

Now issue the Implementation Specifications of Administrative Statute on Commercial Performance, and it takes effects as of the day of promulgation.

Minister: Liu Zhongde

March 5, 1998)

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 This implementation specifications are made basing on the Administrative Statute on Business Performance (hereinafter refer to as Statute for short)

Article 2 Commercial performances in Statute refer to performance activities through which performers or organizers aim to gain money, goods or advertising effect. The forms are as follows:

(1)   Selling tickets or booking a whole theatre;

(2)   Paying for the performing fee for performance units or individuals;

(3)   Advertising by resorting to performance as media;

(4)   Obtaining sponsor or donation;

(5)   Attracting audience and customers by performance so as to serve for other commercial activity;

(6)   Organizing performance with other commercial ways.

Article 3 Performance referred in Statute includes live shows with the purpose of aesthetic and appreciation such as music, drama, dance, acrobatics, gramary, circus, Quyi, puppet show, shadow play, fashion show and folk literature.

Article 4 The State protects the legal rights of performers and audience of commercial performances, and forbids unfair competition. The performance management shall be separated from administration management.

Chapter 2 Performance Unit

Article 5 Commercial performance units are the operational units, which tally with Article 9 of and are engaged in various live literature performance activities.

Article 6 Commercial performance places are the operational units, which tally with Article 11 and supply field and relative service for commercial performance activities.

Article 7 Performance brokers are the operational units which tally with Article 13 and undertake services of planning, organizing, contacting with, making, marketing, and deputizing.

Article 8 Performance units which apply for License for Commercial Performance (short for License) shall submit certificates in line with the Statute and the implementation specifications to the examination and approval organs.

The principals of performance units shall have a diploma of college or above or senior professional titles and no criminal record. Major management personnel shall have a diploma of senior high school or above or intermediate professional title.

Article 9 The statutes of commercial performance units shall accord to relative regulations, policies and laws of the country, and illuminate the following items:

(1)   Tenet;

(2)   Name and location;

(3)   Nature of ownership;

(4)   Volume and source of registered capital;

(5)   Business scope;

(6)   Organizational structure and its authority;

(7)   Creation process of legal representative and the range of power;

(8)   Financial management system and the profit distribution form;

(9)   Employee and salary distribution system;

(10)Procedure of Statute amending;

(11)Procedure of termination;

(12)Other matters.

Article 10 Commercial performance units must have a definite performance categories, registered capital of over 100 thousands yuan (RMB) and more than 5 performers, and performers shall pass the skill test of cultural administrations at county level or above.

Article 11 Performance groups, which enjoy state capital allocation, in Statute refer to those performance groups invested by state organs at county level or above. The name is checked and approved by cultural administrations, which are in charge of check and approval and protected by laws.

The above-mentioned groups can use only one name. If there is a special need, they can use a subordinate name in the prescribed range with the approval of cultural administrations at provincial level or above.

Article 12 To apply for a performance license, the performance place shall have a registered capital of over 100-thousand yuan (RMB), ticket window and service personnel.

To construct, reconstruct, relocate or dismantle commercial performance places, application shall be submitted to cultural administrations at county level or above. With its approval, other procedures can be transacted according to prescription. If the place wants to change its business, it shall apply for cancellation or alteration to the original licensing organ.

Article 13 Performance brokers are divided into three classes according to the business scope:

(1)   The first class can sign the performance import- or export- contract directly with Hong Kong Special Administration Region, Macao, Taiwan and foreign countries' performance units or individuals and manage performance business themselves;

(2)   The second class can conduct the performance introduced by the first class in their provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities;

(3)   The third class can only manage performance activities of domestic groups or that of individuals;

(4)   The first and the second classes are called by a joint name as foreign performance brokers, which can manage the business of the third class.

Article 14 Performance brokers shall have at least 5 full-time staff.

(1)   The first class performance brokers shall be state-owned units with authorization of foreign cultural exchange qualification by the Ministry of Culture, with a registered capital of over 1 million yuan (RMB), foreign financial management system and corresponding financial staff, and good achievements in the second class business for over two years.

(2)   The second class shall be state-owned units, with a registered capital of over 500-thousand yuan (RMB) and good achievements in the third class business for over one year.

(3)   The third class shall have a registered capital of over 200-thousand yuan (RMB).

Article 15 The operational places with good business performance can apply for broker qualification suitable to their scale and nature in the same location to provincial cultural administrations, of which, foreign performance business shall be in line with the Administrative Provision of Foreign Culture and Art Performances and Exhibitions of the Ministry of Culture.

Article 16 Permitted by cultural administrations, entertainment places or other comprehensive corporations concurrently operate performance business, shall set up special organs to undertake the performance business and make special managerial measures.

Article 17 If departments (including army system) under the Central Government and units directly under the Ministry of Culture want to set up commercial performance units, they shall apply for the examination, approval and licensing of the Ministry of Culture. Additionally, application for setting up the first class performance broker shall be submitted by the provincial cultural administrations to the Ministry of Culture for approval and licensing, and the provincial cultural administration will issue performance license to those which has gotten the approval; application for setting up performance brokers of the second and third classes shall be approved by provincial cultural administrations and put on the record of the Ministry of Culture. To set up performance groups and places shall be examined and licensed by the cultural administrations at county level or above where the applicant locates.

Chapter 3 Individual Performer

Article 18 The individual performer described in the implementation specifications includes:

(1)   Individual performer with performance as his or her career and having no fixed work unit;

(2)   Performer of arts college (department) and artistic performance groups who temporarily attends activities outside with individual's status (short for in-service performer);

(3)   Besides 1) and 2), amateur performer who attends commercial performance concurrently.

Article 19 The essential requirements for individuals' application for performance license:

(1) 16-year old or above (acrobat can be 14-year old or above);

(2) Having certain basic knowledge and performance skills. The individuals and the amateurs shall pass the tests on laws and regulation as well as performance skill organized by cultural administrations at county level or above, further detailed testing measures are drawn by the Ministry of Culture in addition.

Article 20 Individual performance license shall be approved and issued by the cultural administrations at county level of the registered residence or above. Living in places outside of the permanent residence for over 6 months and undertaking commercial performances, the individual performers shall ask for alien-land licensing certificate from cultural administrations of the registered residence, and then go to the cultural administrations of temporary residence to transact performance licensing procedures. Duplication of license is forbidden. The license issuing department shall notify the result to cultural administrations of the performer's registered residence.

Article 21 If an in-service performer wants to attend commercial performance outside his or her unit, he or she shall first get approval from his or her serving unit and go to the upper-level cultural administrations to transact performance license.

Article 22 When applying for performance license, the amateurs shall get approval from his or her work unit and then go through all the procedures in local cultural administrations at county level or above.

Article 23 Individuals with any of the following circs shall not get performance license:

(1)   Dismissed by a artistic performance group for less than one year;

(2)   Forbidden to perform by cultural administrations, with prohibition still remaining;

(3)   Being morally degenerated and causing public anger;

(4)   Withdrawn of the performance license by cultural administrations for less than one year.

Chapter 4 Contract Regulations

Article 24 To hold a commercial performance, the contract shall be signed between the performance units or the performance unit and the invited performers.

If the non-performance broker (consigner) needs to hold a performance, it shall sign an entrusting contract with performance broker (consignee).

Article 25 All the contracts shall tally with laws, administrative rules and the Implementation Specifications. For performance activities that shall be examined as prescribed in Statute and Implementation Specifications, the performance contracts will become effective only after being approved.

For those contracts not tally with the first section of this item, the examination and approval organs shall ask both sides in the contracts to amend the contracts in due time, otherwise it shall not approve the contracts. It shall reapply for approval to amend major articles of an approved contract.

Article 26 If performance brokers want to hold group performances, they shall sign performance contract with the invited performance groups, individuals or amateurs.

Article 27 If performance brokers or groups want to invite in-service performers to perform, they shall sign a contract with his or her work unit.

Article 28 To invite performance groups or individuals from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao, Taiwan or foreign countries to attend a commercial performance (hereinafter refer to as foreign performance), the first class performance brokers shall sign contracts with all the invited groups or individuals.

Article 29 Elements shall be illuminated in a contract:

(1)   Name of performance;

(2)   Present performance groups and major performers;

(3)   Performance programs;

(4)   Date, venue, location and number of showings;

(5)   Ticket price and booking methods;

(6)   Gratuity or paying manner;

(7)   Settlement of income and expenses;

(8)   Boarding, travel arrangement and various additional fees for performers and staff;

(9)   Default responsibility;

(10)Solution for dispute;

(11)Other agreements between the two parties;

(12)Date and venue of signing contract, signatures of undertakers or cachet.

The foreign performance contract shall also include nationality, residence, language and effectiveness of the involved parties.

Article 30 Essential elements in entrusting contracts:

(1)   Name of the invited performance group or individuals, showing time, venue, period, major programs, performance expenses and paying manner;

(2)   Rights and responsibility of consignee and consigner and expenses sharing;

(3)   Period of validity and solution for disputes;

(4)   Responsibility of default;

(5)   Other agreements.

Article 31 The consignee shall provide consigner real operational information of the market and performers. With the agreement of consignee, consigner can attend the contract negotiation. But consigner cannot make any promise about the contract items, alternate or revoke the signed contract.

Article 32 The consignee signs a contract with performance party in the name of himself according to the entrusting contract, and then it shall send the contract copy to the consigner in time. The consignee undertakes contract responsibility for the performance party and enjoys contract rights, at the same time it shall notify development information to the consigner in time.

In signing the contract with the performance party or its agent, consigner and consignee shall illuminate each party's rights and obligations separately and cannot treat both as one party.

Article 33 Responsibilities of the performance brokers in sponsoring and organizing commercial performances include:

(1)   To conduct application for approval procedures relative to performance;

(2)   To arrange the program contents;

(3)   To confirm ticket price and undertake settlement of income and expenses of performance activities;

(4)   To pay the performance fee and location rent;

(5)   To legally pay taxes or withholding related taxes.

The first class performance brokers shall undertake the complete procedures of entering and leaving the country, pay the import or export performance fee for groups, arrange whole-course liaison and programs in performing tour.

Article 34 The ticket of commercial performance is the contract form of obligations and rights between performance units and audiences. The audience can ask for keeping the ticket when buying tickets. The ticket is the voucher for compensation, excluding complimentary tickets or working tickets.

The audience shall watch performance with ticket and accept ticket inspection. It is forbidden to forge or sell tickets at a profit.

Chapter 5 Performance Management

Article 35 To apply for group performance, the performance broker shall provide the following documents to the license-issuing cultural administrations:

(1)   Performance application;

(2)   Letter of intent for performance contract;

(3)   Content of performance programs ;

(4)   Performance licenses of the performance group and individuals.

Article 36 Application for foreign commercial performance shall be submitted to the Ministry of Culture by the license-issuing cultural administrations, the performance broker shall provide the following documents:

(1)   Performance application;

(2)   Letter of intent for performance contract (in Chinese and foreign language);

(3)   Content of performance programs and program video tapes;

(4)   List of foreign performance groups and that of performers and staff, the certificate of their artistic level and credit. Performance of trans-provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities shall also provide the agreement from the cultural administration at provincial level of the performance venue.

Article 37 If artistic performance groups set up by the state organs at county level or above want to conduct trans-regional commercial performance, the reception side or the performance brokers shall send the performance program details and advertisement to the license-issuing cultural administrations for censoring ten days previous the performing time.

Article 38 In addition, other artistic performance groups making performance trans- provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities shall transact examination and approval procedure in cultural administration of the performing location with their provincial cultural administration's introduction letter.

Procedures shall be transacted for exchange performances between neighboring counties and cities in province, autonomous regions or municipality; at the same time, reports shall be submitted to provincial cultural administrations separately to keep records.

Article 39 Any unit, which invites the performer of other units to perform, shall get the performer's work unit's permission, or sign a contract if it is a commercial performance or television program.

Article 40 The performer who attends any performance hold by other units shall get the permission of his or her work unit; for commercial performance, the performer shall have his or her performance license approved and sealed by his or her serving unit, and then the inviting performance broker or performance place has the license reported to the cultural administrations for approval.

Article 41 If individual performers or amateurs want to attend commercial performance, the inviting performance broker or place shall have his or her license reported to the cultural administration for approval and sealing. To perform continuously for a period in a fixed location as contract prescribed is regarded as one performance.

Article 42 If artistic performance groups under cultural administration at provincial level or above invites artistic performance groups or individuals from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao, Taiwan and foreign countries to cooperate temporarily for commercial performances, it shall entrust performance broker to undertake it or let the artistic performance group organize it, and apply for approval from the Ministry of Culture according to prescribed procedures.

Article 43 For those artistic colleges which invite art experts from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao, Taiwan and foreign countries to teach or research in their own unit with approval, if temporary commercial performances are in need, they shall entrust performance broker to undertake the organizing task and apply for approval from the Ministry of Culture.

Article 44 For those state organs which hold commonweal performance for work purpose, if they need advertisement to complement the shortage of fund, they shall conduct the examination and approval procedures as stipulated in Statute and the implementation specifications. State organs are forbidden to share the performance income.

Performance groups and state organs, which make use of performance to do advertisement business, shall go through registration procedures of advertisement business in the administration of industry and commerce.

Article 45 The funding unit of performance can act as sponsor independently or act as one of the sponsors together with other units; it can enjoy the right of naming the performance activity with the review of examination and approval organ, and can share the income as the contract stipulated.

Article 46 For the registered amateur countryside performance group performing in local province, autonomous region or municipality, if the total commercial performance time is less than 3 months, it shall not obtain performance license stipulated in Statute; but its performance shall be reported to the cultural administrations at county level or above for approval.

If the total commercial performance time is over 3 months or they go to other provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities to perform, they shall transact performance license according to Statute and implementation specification.

Article 47 Mass amateur performance groups under enterprises, institutions, schools and organs registered in the cultural administrations cannot make commercial performance. If they have achieved a certain degree in artistic level and do have a need to hold a temporary commercial performance, report shall be submitted to local cultural administrations for approval.

Article 48 When performance is on in commercial performance places, smoking and using of naked fire are forbidden in audience and performing area, except for the need of programs.

Article 49 If the performance place with performance broker qualification wants to hold a group performance in its location, it needs to report to the license-issuing cultural administration for approval.

Article 50 If places without license, such as hotel, restaurant, or marketplace, want to invite performance groups or individuals for musical performance, singing and dancing accompaniment in their location, they shall apply for approval from the cultural administration at county level or above.

Article 51 Performance advertisements published in newspapers, or played in radio, TV, network or through other media and other forms shall be examined and approved by the cultural administrations in charge; those advertisements of activities approved by the Ministry of Culture to go through procedures in the performance location, the content of advertisements shall be examined and approved by cultural administrations of the performance location.

Article 52 The performance activity, which needs to be examined and approved, shall undergo examination and approval procedures ahead of news publicity and ticket sale.

Article 53 For various performance activity applications waiting for examination and approval, cultural administrations shall make the decision on approval or disapproval, and notify the applicant in time.

Article 54 The income of non-profit performance, including ticket income, donations and advertisement sponsor. The essential cost refers to boarding fees and transport expenses, rent of stage, lighting and sound equipment, costumes and property, art design and location, and the publicity cost, etc., for performers and staff.

Ten days after the non-profit performance and donation, the sponsor shall report the income and expenses of performance activity to the examination and approval organ for record keeping.

Article 55 Dissension arising from the performance contract shall be settled through both parties' friendly negotiation; if negotiation is impossible, parties can apply for intermediation of cultural administrations where the performance contract have been carried out or signed, or settle the dissension according to the agreed ways in the contract.

Article 56 The managers and principals of commercial performance units shall pass the work training and test held by cultural administrations. The detailed measures are separately decided by the Ministry of Culture.

Chapter 6 Performance License Management

Article 57 The performance license of commercial performance consists of original and copy. The original shall be hung on the obvious position of office location; performance units can apply for 2 copies if needed. Individual performers have only original license.

The performance license is printed uniformly by the Ministry of Culture, and it shall be printed and filled in according to the demands and specification of the Ministry of Culture by the license-issuing organ.

Article 58 Cultural administrations shall conduct annual test on units and individuals with performance license.

Performance units shall submit annual test report in due time, the license-issuing organs shall examine their commercial behaviors to make sure whether they are qualified to continue business or not. It is regarded as doing business without license if not to take annual test.

Article 59 Performance units or individuals that apply for altering major items of license or canceling license shall submit related departments' certificate or the alteration and cancellation application signed by the legal representative, and license-issuing organs shall take the original license back.

Article 60 If the cultural administration withdraws the performance license, it shall notify industrial and commercial administrations to withdraw the business license or alter business scope of the performance units or individuals. Only cultural administrations have the right to detain temporarily or revoke the performance license according to law; no other units or individuals have the right to confiscate, detain or destroy.

Article 61 Cultural administrations at all levels shall set up a license-issuing record and issuance statistics system.

Chapter 7 Penalty Rules

Article 62 If the performance broker violates the Implementation Specifications, selling or transferring the performance operational right at a profit, cultural administrations shall give warning with a fine of less than 10 thousand yuan (RMB); to those who have gained illegal earning, the fine shall be less than 30 thousand yuan (RMB); to those who have caused serious result, punishment shall be to suspend or withdraw the qualification for foreign performance business.

Article 63 If units do not tally with Article 37 of the Implementation Specifications, performing without examination and approval, cultural administrations shall give warning to the performance units; and a fine of less than one thousand yuan (RMB) shall be implemented if serious result or double violation occurs.

Article 64 If units do not tally with Section 1 of Article 38 of the Implementation Specifications, performing without undergoing the examination and approval procedures, cultural administrations shall give warning to the performance groups, and order the stop of performance or the post-transaction of related procedures, together with a fine of less than 1 thousand yuan (RMB).

Article 65 If units do not tally with Article 39 of the Implementation Specifications, operating commercial performances and shooting movies or television series, cultural administrations shall give warning to the performance units, order the stop of performance or the post-transaction of related procedures, together with a fine of less than 1 thousand yuan (RMB).

Article 66 If units don't tally with Article 41 of the Implementation Specifications, cultural administrations shall punish the performance broker or place for a fine of less than 1 thousand yuan (RMB); to individual performers and amateurs, the punishment shall be a warning with a fine of less than 1 thousand yuan (RMB).

Article 67 For foreign performance organized by performance brokers which causes serious result or diplomatic dissension, cultural administrations shall warn, order to suspend business or withdraw qualification for foreign performance according to the seriousness level.

If the foreign-related performance broker has no foreign performance within two years, its business qualification shall be revoked by cultural administrations.

Article 68 According to Advertisement Law and related advertisement rules, the industrial and commercial administrations shall punish those who release performance advertisement without examination and approval as well as violate other regulations. Public security departments shall punish those who forge tickets or sell tickets at a profit according to laws.

Article 69 For the action of submitting false documents for approval, performance license and cultural administration's approval documents, cultural administrations shall order the supply of true materials, and at the same time implement the fine of 1000 yuan (RMB); cultural administrations shall revoke the performance license or approval documents if, after censoring, the units are not qualified to apply for performance license or performance. Justice departments shall deal with those criminal actions.

Article 70 If performance unit uses unapproved name or changes name to do commercial performance, those registered in industrial and commercial administrations as required shall be punished by the industry and commercial administration; for those not registered in industrial and commercial administrations as required, cultural administrations shall charge them to correct in time and give warning.

Article 71 For performance units and individuals that do not pass the annual test, cultural administrations shall postpone the annual test registration, and charge them to adjust and correct in due time; the annual test registration shall be allowed when the units are qualified after correction; the performance license shall be abolished automatically for those unqualified. The longest period of correction is 6 months.

Article 72 If performance units or individuals do not apply for annual test in due time as required by cultural administrations, cultural administrations shall charge them to apply for annual test in due time and stop their business operation; if they still do not apply for annual test in due time, it is regarded as shutout automatically and the performance license becomes ineffective automatically. Cultural administrations shall detain or revoke the performance license if any overdue, invalid, forged or tampered licenses are used in performances. The justice departments shall see to those criminal actions.

Article 73 Article 26 and Section 1 of Article 36 of the Statute are applicable to in-service performers and amateur performers.

Article 74 All penalties to ban performers' performance and revoke or cancel performance licenses of the performance units or individuals shall be reported to the provincial cultural administrations and to the Ministry of Culture for record keeping.

Article 75 All the administrative punishments made to performance units or individuals by the cultural administrations shall be recorded on the performance license with the cachet of implementation organ and be notified to the license-issuing department.

Chapter 8 Supplementary Articles

Article 76 As Article 54 of Statutes states, folk artistic performers are farmers who are engaged in folk artistic shows in countryside and not qualified to apply for performance license according to the Statute and the Implementation Specification.

Article 77 Cultural administrations shall issue temporary performance license to those tallying with Article 46, 47, 50, and 76 of the Implementation Specifications. The detailed methods are to be made by cultural administrations of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

Article 78 In ten days of registration in industrial and commercial administrations, the performance units shall report to cultural administrations with the copy of business license for record keeping.

Article 79 Regulation in Administrative Statute of Show Tour of National Artistic Performance Troupes, Several Trial Regulations on Administration of Folk Artistic Performers, Regulations of Trial Operation of Commercial Performance License for Commercial Performance Units and Places, General Office of the State Council's Transmission of Implementation Method of the Report on Strengthening Management of Performance Market from the Ministry of Culture, Regulations on Performance Licensing System Applied to Artistic Performance Brokers, Provisional Regulations on Commercial Fashion Show Management, Provisional Method on the Management of Individual Performer's Commercial Performance, and other regulations enacted before which conflict with the Statute and the Implementation Specifications shall be abolished at the same time.

Article 80 The Ministry of Culture reserves the right of interpretation of the Implementation Specifications.

Article 81 The Implementation Specifications takes effect as of the day of promulgation.