Kong Dongbei, 32, born in Beijing but who now works for an investment bank in Hong Kong, agrees that good songs reflect reality in an artistic way.

After working in the finance industry for more than 10 years, Kong says, he is now paid 3.5 million yuan ($500,000) a year.

Kong says he feels fortunate to be materially well off at such an early age, and that he empathizes with his contemporaries who need to fight to make ends meet.

He goes on to recount the early days of his career when, in his first year after graduating from the University of Toronto, he found it difficult to find the ideal job. For more than six months he worked for the Bank of China in Toronto, being paid 8,000 yuan a month, he says.

"After paying rent, utilities, telephone and internet I was left with 1,000 yuan. I saw no hope for promotion or a raise, and my life was a hopeless mess."