Article: More support for music in Singapore

[soft]

Janice Koh's Maiden Speech at Budget Debate 2012 - citing more support for arts and highlighting local music in particular.
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I recently spoke to several local musicians who lamented to me about the lack of opportunities for home-grown bands to be seen and heard. One of them, Daniel Sassoon, was so incensed by how indie bands have been sidelined from the local scene that he approached his MP, Ms Indranee Rajah, about the pressing need to develop more platforms to showcase local music. As a result of that discussion, a free, outdoor gig featuring six local indie bands called Lepa(r)k! was born. The name Lepa(r)k is a pun on the Malay word lepak, which is a colloquial for “chill out” or “relax”. Organized in conjunction with Tanglin-Cairnhill CC, it was held last November in Tiong Bahru Park, and played to over 500 audiences. It was a small start, but it is an excellent example of a ground-up initiative to promote the arts and widen audience access to the works of local artists.


To make our arts, culture and heritage a source of civic pride, we need to make them easily accessible to Singaporeans from all walks of life. And we need to take collective ownership of this process – it’s not just MICA’s job. Anyone of us can here do it – especially as an MP in your own constituency. Let’s not be lepak about this! We need to hear more local music on radio, we need to see more local films on the big screen, we need to see the works of our pioneering artists in our museums, and promote local literature in schools and libraries. We need to make ticket prices affordable to all. Not all the work may be good – but some will be world-class. That’s not the point. If we take pride in our own cultural treasures, we will encourage the production of more high quality work, and the world will take notice.


Since I’m on the topic of local music, I also want to applaud the commitment by Changi Airport to fill at least 25% of its playlist in its terminals with local music. Not only does this help Singaporean music to reach out to the millions of passengers at Changi, it also provides a stream of royalty income that supports local musicians.


You can view the page at http://www.soft.com.sg/forum/content.php/262-More-support-for-music-in-Singapore

 

[blackductape]

"If we take pride in our own cultural treasures, we will encourage the production of more high quality work, and the world will take notice."

i feel this is something singaporeans lack. the lack of pride in the music/art work done by our own singaporeans. but to be fair, the quantity of the quality work will have to increase in order to people to take notice, when people hear something and say wow, and they realise "this is singaporean?" the word has a higher chance of spreading. we've got more music/audio courses now in polytechnics/ites so over the next few years when the graduates develop and mature, im sure there'll be more greater works out there.

i got a concern though. i myself am a graduate from one of the music and audio course i just feel the job/business climate in singapore makes me feel insecure of JUST having a diploma in music/audio. it feels too risky for me to sit at home and write music with the aim of getting enough income to survive in singapore. while i can always go the way of working for a company, sometimes i feel there are not enough demand for my skills/not enough jobs out there. as a diploma holder, i visioned a desk (like editing, studio,writing) job after i graduated if i didnt want to do my own music. but then i come to realise jobs that i got offered were mostly event based audio-enforcement related meaning heavy-weighting type of work (not being picky but im not a big person). if i do not want that route, again i can always go the freelance way to produce jingles etc or be a trainer in music/technology. but then again, musicians/songwriters would prefer to write songs and do music for a living and back to the topic of supporting local arts/music, when locals turn a blind eye on our own produced music, its disheartnening and difficult to confidently say i will want to do music/songwriting full time and earn my living out of it cause from the perception, i will most probably not survive. also as someone fresh from NS, i do not have enough funding if lets say i want to produce my work professionally or get equipment to do it and i do not know of resources of funding which can help independent artist fund their start-up.

it prompted me to take a business degree alongside doing a freelance sound engineer at clubs, doing music for about 5 months a year (vacation) as a back-up which im pretty sure will come into use sooner or later.

i hope there'll more funding for high-potential entertainers/musicians/artists who do not have any corporate support, better production from the artists themselves, identification for artists who have stand a chance in going side-by-side on the world stage, nurture them and provide funding for the best portrayal of their work possible. i hope local media will open up some airtime for the local artists who meet the production/work standard. when singaporeans see good local stuff on TV, you dont need to ask for support, because it will naturally come. good example is The Noose. we do not need to beg for support, but once our works are portrayed to be really solid to singaporeans, im pretty sure they'll say "wow this is amazing and its singaporean".

 

[soft]

Hi blackductape

Being a career musician is really not easy. If you are not working full time for a company, you will become your own "1-man-do-all" company. Meaning - planning, producing, executing, marketing, making deals and most importantly, COLLECTING money.

Try out as many 'jobs' as you can when you are still young but once you hit 30s, got to focus on where we see ourselves doing for long term.

Knowing that Changi Airport is having 25% local music on their playlist gives me an idea. I could sit there for a few days to understand what kind of music they play and I will produce as many tracks that might fit their playlist.

 

[benjaminang]

Another business opportunity idea sparked by Changi Airport - since the shops sell all manner of Singapore souvenirs for tourists to bring back to their home countries, they can also actively promote Singapore artists' CDs (and also other artforms like prints, sculptures) that tourists can buy for friends back home.
The model is already available from shops like Esplanade Shop, Straits Records and The Arts House.
To make the Singapore CDs easier to sell, we the artists should tag our CDs with recognizable genres (e.g. rock, metal, alternative, acoustic, dance, electronic, hip hop, pop) so that shoppers (hurrying to catch flights) can quickly identify what CDs to buy.
Any Changi Airport shop interested in tapping this market?

 

[carboxymoron]

Knowing that Changi Airport is having 25% local music on their playlist gives me an idea. I could sit there for a few days to understand what kind of music they play and I will produce as many tracks that might fit their playlist.

Don't need to do that: they want typical lounge/ambient music. Probably piano based, and a hint of jazz http://www.compass.org.sg/cIndex240.aspx

Basically nameless, faceless compositions that you would never be able to guess are locally written or not from hearing it over the airport PA. I have no problem with that; after all, airport music should be unobtrusive, like lounge, toilet, or elevator music. But then they shouldn't pretend they are doing a great thing for local artists.

Since it's background music anyway, why can't they just license 100% local compositions? Nobody would notice the difference, while the revenue would be directed to local composers.