Dr Chen-Yu Lin

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

Teaching

I have been teaching in the field of popular music, media, as well as creative and cultural industries.

The modules I have convened are:

* Introduction to Music Industries: Global and Local Perspectives (3rd, 4th year, MA)  [National Taiwan University]

* History of Popular Music (MA) [National Taiwan Normal University]

* Popular Culture Studies (MA) [National Taiwan Normal University]

* Popular Musics of the World (2nd year) [University of Liverpool]

The modules I have contributed to as University Teacher [University of Liverpool] are:

* Music in World Cinema (2nd year)

* Promotion, Identity and Creative Labor (3rd year)

* Music as Sound (1st year)

* Promotion, Identity and Creative Labor. (3rd year)

* Asian Practice and the Global Music Repertoire (3rd year)

* Music, Culture, and Identity (2nd year)

* Music as An Industry: Music and Mediation (2nd year)

Biography

I was born and raised in Taiwan, a young democracy shaped by complex colonial histories and once the centre of the Mandopop music industry. From forming bands as a teenager to pursuing interdisciplinary research on popular music and media, I have long been interested in the intertwined relationships among music, politics, identity, and cultural power, and how these forces shape the production, circulation, and consumption of popular music across the Sinophone world. 

I completed both my MA and PhD at the Department of Music at the University of Liverpool, home to the Institute of Popular Music. My doctoral thesis, Questions of Chineseness: A Study on China Wind Pop Music and the Post-1990 Generation in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and the UK, examined how notions of 'Chineseness' are constructed, circulated, and interpreted through China Wind pop music and transnational audiences. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted across Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and the UK, my research combines popular music studies, media studies, cultural sociology, and anthropology.

Alongside my academic career, I have worked extensively across the music and media industries in both Taiwan and the UK since 2012, including roles as a music journalist and international business development manager. I have taught and conducted research at institutions including Universtiy of Liverpool, National Taiwan University, and National Taiwan Normal University. I also worked Liverpool Sound City and Ostereo. 

My current research focuses on transnational censorship, Taiwanese popular music, Sinophone cultural industries, and artistic freedom, particularly in relation to the influence of PRC censorship beyond China’s borders. Combining ethnographic research with documentary filmmaking as a research method, I directed the research documentary Silenced Sunrise: Taiwan’s Music vs. The China Factor, which examines the pressures faced by Taiwanese musicians navigating the China market and broader geopolitical tensions in East Asian cultural industries. My work bridges academia, public engagement, and creative practice through publications, talks, documentaries, and media writing produced in both English and traditional Chinese.

Honours and awards

• JOMEC-funded student internship scheme for the project 'Transnational censorship and a video project on the China Factor: the cases in the UK and Taiwan' (2023)
• Inspiration Award at the AHRC Research in Film Awards (Shortlisted) 'Go Ahead Remix!' (2021)
• Best Doctoral or Early Research Film of the Year Award at the AHRC Research in Film Awards (Shortlisted) 'Go Ahead Remix!' (2021)
• Research grant for the project 'online/offline indie music performances in Taiwan under COVID-19', National Foundation of Arts and Culture, Taiwan (2020)
• Research grant for the project 'Popular Music and Mapping in Taipei', National Foundation of Arts and Culture, Taiwan (2019). The project website with all research output can be found at: https://taipeimusicmap.com/
• Social Media Short Award at the AHRC Research in Film Awards (Shortlisted) 'George Harrison: The Story of the Beatles and Indian Musicians' Performance Teaser' (2018)
• 1st Prize of Young Scholar Award (YSA), The European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS), Presentation and article, titled 'A Tale of Two Versions: Censorship attitudes of UK-based Chinese students towards Taiwanese Popular Music' (2018)
• Thurston Dart Award, Royal Music Association (2018)
• Utopia Award at the AHRC Research in Film Awards (Shortlisted), Chasing the China Wind: A Musical Journey (2016)
• Internationalisation Fund Award, School of the Arts, University of Liverpool (2015)
• Faculty Award, University of Liverpool (2012)

Professional memberships

• Council Member, British Association for Chinese Studies (2026–present)

Academic positions

* 2020 - 2022 Assistant Professor (part-time), Department of Music, National Taiwan Normal University

* 2020 - 2022 2Assistant Professor (part-time), International Business, National Taiwan University

* 2019 0 present: Research Fellow (Honorary), Institute of Popular Music, University of Liverpool

* 2018-2019: Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Music, University of Liverpool

* 2018-2019: Research Associate, Department of Music, University of Liverpool

* Curator, 1021 Creative. Improving user experience of Apple Music (China). Dec 2017-

* 2017- 2019: Research Associate/ Editor, Taiwan Studies Programme (TSP), Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham.

* 2014- 2018: University Teacher, Department of Music, University of Liverpool

* 2014 -2015: Research Assistant, <Leap into Live Music!> Scheme, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. June 2014-

Engagement

• 'Experiencing Music Censorship: Creating a Research-based Online Exhibition with the Research Center for Chinese Cultural Metaverse in Taiwan', Taith Staff Mobility Awards 2024.
• 'Transnational Censorship and a Video Project on the China Factor: The Cases in the UK and Taiwan', On-campus Innovation Impact Internship. 2024. Cardiff University.
•  'Unveiling Gender Inequality in Taiwan's Music Industries: Contemporary Realities '. 2024. The 21st annual conference of European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS), University of Vienna (Austria)
• 'Taipei: The Centre of (Mando)pop Muisc? Mapping Out Music Policies'. 2024. Mapping Music History, University of Aberdeen.
• 'Taiwan’s Changing Pop Music Scene' Interview with Zoom In, Zoom Out, Newscast by TaiwanPlus https://www.taiwanplus.com/news/newscasts/zoom-in-zoom-out/230706005/taiwans-changing-pop-music-scene 
• Interviewed and quoted in Cheung, Eric (2023), 'China lip-synch probe into top Taiwanese rock band is politically motivated, Taiwan intelligence officials claim', CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/28/asia/china-lip-synch-probe-mayday-taiwan-intelligence-intl-hnk/index.html 
• Interviewed 
• 'Exporting Welsh Language Music: From Policy to Practice', On-campus Innovation Impact Internship. 2023. JOMEC, Cardiff University.
•  'Tackling the Challenge of Digitalisation in Music Industries: Taiwan, China and South Korea'. The Unfinished Miracle: Taiwan's Economy and Society in Transition Workshop. 2019. SOAS, London (UK).
•  'A Study on Two Approaches of Musical Export and the Conception of Independence for Taiwanese Musicians' .2019. The 16th annual conference of European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS), Nottingham Trent University (UK).
• 'Hearing the Voice of China: Reality Shows, Soft Power and the Representation of the Nation'.2018. Theorising the Popular Conference, Liverpool Hope University (UK).
•  'Chineseness in China Wind Pop Songs: Two Case Studies' .2018. The 6th Inter-Asia popular Music Studies Conference, Communication University of China (China).
•  'A Tale of Two Versions: Censorship Attitudes of UK-based Chinese Students towards Taiwanese Popular Music' (2018)The 15th Annual Conference of European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS), University of Zurich (Switzerland).
• Film director/ Speaker introducing the screening of Three sound cities: Liverpool, Beijing and Seoul and Q&A (2019)BBC Music Introducing Live at Tobacco Dock, London.
•  Film Director/ Speaker introducing the screening of Three sound cities: Liverpool, Beijing and Seoul and Q&A. 2019. Sound City + at British Music Experience.