Why the local scene sucks...

[circuitboy]

The problem I see in your country as to the music scene is your Media. One good example is Live and loaded. I don't know why the show ended but if I am a singaporean who supports local music, it's embarassing. Especially when I heard this line.." that's it, the best of music" ( i dunno if it's the exact line the host said during commercials. That's it? - is that all singapore music can offer? i don't think so. they are killing the music scene.

 

[theliverevolution]

Depends on what aspect of the scene you're talking about.

Most of us that are online here are into genres like Rock (and its subsequent sub-genres), Metal, Hardcore, etc. The list goes on. Not many of us do Indie Pop, RnB, Hip-hop, etc. Not that there are no one doing it, but its not as big as rock.

We all have our reasons for choosing the genres that we play, believe and love. I'm a huge fan of Indie/Alternate Rock, and I have my reasons.

But too many people in Singapore are stuck listening to whats on the Top 40s, which would be RnB, Hip-hop, Pop, etc. In my opinon, most of the songs from these genres are synthetic and souless.

Why I say so?

Exactly how many of these popular artistes actually write their own songs? Not many, probably more than half these people don't write their own songs. And the Top 40s always follow a certain formula. You can't break out of this formula.
The end results usually produce a song that the vocals, although no matter how good they are, is soulless. The singer is merely SINGING. There is no heart, no soul, no emotion in the vocals.

But a lot of people just suck it up. They just appreciate music as music. Full stop. They don't appreciate it as a way of release, to put express emotions, feelings, thoughts, etc, in a way that comes from the heart

 

[ThePreamble]

Well, I'm speaking from experience. I'm in a local band, and so far, we have been the furthest thing from profitable, yet to even break even with the money we invest in jamming and what not. Most bands here don't get paid to play. Like many have already pointed out, we have to either pay to play or sell tickets to play. However we don't earn from selling tickets, so that isn't someone supporting us, it's them supporting the organiser's wallet. People have told me that you might as well give up with the local market. However, i refuse to believe that, and I'm sure that my band will succeed. It might take time, but it will happen.


What it all comes down to, is support. Let's be honest and admit it, the support the local scene gets is pathetic. Yes, there, I said it. Sadly, it's the truth. The same faces turn up at the same gigs, to hear the same band play. People compare local music to mainstream music. They hear you, and instantly, you're compared to someone big, someone who's made it, and also someone who has alot of editting. All I can say is, please, if you really claim to support local music, then good on you. If you don't then please, give us all a try, because there is talent here, there just isn't enough help to make the talent turn into something substancial. Thank you.

 

[heavenarmy]

I think most of the posts seem to be missing the main beef here about the local music scene. I don't claim to understand what's missing, duh, obviously, otherwise I would be in some Ministry holding some cushy job... =)

The original poster pointed to the fact the by and large, our society has been "coerced" into conforming, and that leaves very little space for creative expressions. So what if you are the best and most talented bands to have come out from Singapore? You don't even have the audience to begin with, and I feel it has nothing to do with the size of our population. It's the size of the APPRECIATIVE population that is just too small, because most of us are conditioned to think along the 9-to-5 mentality, that to survive, you need to conform. Lacking critical mass, it is just not possible to start a vibrant music scene, so local bands are better off sticking to playing Top-40 stuffs, so the "normal" people can appreciate, the media can justify airing them, and everyone's happy. Vicious cycle goes on and on....and every now and then, we have people debating what is going on???

Just my brain fart...I maybe wrong.

 

[bobby]

Excellent points in hand raised by the various posters of this thread.

My point, however, wasn't so much the issue of illegal music downloads or the merits and morality of segmented variations of support. These are surfaceful concerns that plague not just Singapore but the world over, and thus, do not exclusively apply to Singaporean bands. My concerns branch deeper into the heart of the social building blocks that contribute to one glaring fundamental fact - Singaporeans just don't care. And no matter how you whitewash it with blare horns of 'support' and paragraphs of encouragement, that will not change in the immediate future.

Take for example a country like Finland with a population of approximately 5,238,460, slightly more than that of Singapore. Demographically, Finland is similar to that of our beautiful Lion City in its numerical measurements of its youth culture. But there is one notable difference when it comes to comparing the musical output of both countries. I don't have to spell it out.

Please take into consideration that even though Singapore has a distinct advantage of being geographically smaller than Finland (Hence, the additional advantage of 'word of mouth' spreading about good music), why is it that Finland has produced a greater abundance of musical accomplishments vs. our country's less remarkable ones? It isn't demographic limitation, nor is it the hindrance of illegal music downloads that should amply affect both nations.

Take another example; Jamaica - population 2,804,334, significantly lesser than that of Singapore. Yet, throughout the entire course of its country's history, they have produced far more influential and successful musical acts in any single decade than our nation has done in our entire (but short) history.

It comes down to that one singular social characteristic which I mentioned earlier. Singaporeans just don't care.

We are a nation conditioned to believe that trodding down the unbeaten artistic path is a risk not worth taking. And indeed that is true. For how many of us have felt the pressures of conformity bearing down on our shoulders as we strapped on our guitars?

Interestingly enough, if you take the time to read the lengthy definitions of what the National Arts Council defines as 'performance art', they implicitly point out that 'pop or rock' acts do not fall under their considerations as art forms. Why this is so defies logic, but hey, who are we to persuade them otherwise?

But it would be erronous to simply point the finger at society and its authoritative defections and blame it for the failures of our musical endeavours. The limitations of our collective accomplishments also stem greatly from the musicians themselves - most of whom have been conditioned to think on the same principles as their peers outside of the industry. With little external interest comes little incentive. With little incentive, there is less reason for a musician's unconditional, unrelenting and utterly committed focus on his or her craft. Hisotry has shown us time and time again that the world's biggest accomplishments in music do not come about overnight but from hours of unmentioned dedication. And without that, our musical outpourings are less likely to inspire than they are to lie buried beneath the rubble of nostalgia. It's a vicious cycle that has repeated itself for generations.

Do not be lulled by the apparent success of our scene's 'top tier' bands. Deeper probing of actual sales figures and financial viability will reveal that they too fall under the above mentioned category. And while they are certainly noteworthy in their contributions to our 'scene', they are examples that, if cited by fellow SOFT posters, only amplify and exemplify the above debate.

Our country, for all its economic achievements and spirit of industrial and financial growth (ignoring the current recession), sorely lacks the social consciousness needed for the arts in truly flourish within our sunny shores. Where does the blame lie? That is for you guys to debate.

 

[heavenarmy]

If it's any consolation (or disconsolation), the apathy runs deeper than just the music scene. So the good news is, if we can find the cure, will all the problems go away?

 

[bobby]

If it's any consolation (or disconsolation), the apathy runs deeper than just the music scene. So the good news is, if we can find the cure, will all the problems go away?

Indeed. It snares itself into our literary 'scene' as well, as well as various other forms of locally-made art forms. I just kept it in reference to the local music scene since this is, afterall, a local music forum.

 

[visa]

If it's any consolation (or disconsolation), the apathy runs deeper than just the music scene. So the good news is, if we can find the cure, will all the problems go away?

apathy, by definition, is a lack of interest.

you can't "cure" a lack of interest, much like how you can't "cure/heal/revive" somebody who doesn't exist.

i would suppose that you would have to figure out what makes people interested in something, and then work towards that.

 

[panz3rr]

k i think i went off topic ah astaroth hahaha. I thought u meant every band. u were referring to local acts k ya. but if u like what you hear will you buy the cds to support?

 

[blackductape]

this topic has been argued for the longest time. i think the problem lies in the bands themselves. we talk about 'talent', 'potential' and everything, but if the final product (songs, recordings, performances) the bands produce is rubbish, who is there to blame.
viewers? media? or the bands themselves?

media can provide 987's home, channel 5's live n loaded and power98's rock revolution and everything. i strongly believe the exposure is quite reasonable. local musicians should use these avenues to create support. but if the bands keep providing lousy content for people to watch or listen, it brings down the scene rather than bringing it up. i watched LnL for a few episodes and half the time, some of the bands played nonsense and i couldnt help but to change channels. to be fair, some of the bands were really good, just that some bands really need to buck up before going on tv. its the masses' perception of local music at stake. to get more their support/demand, we need to win them over, not gross them out.

there has to be some kind of quality control before going on to these mainstream platforms of exposure. a few rotten apples spoils the whole basket. what about 25% of sucky bands on LnL among the other good ones. its unfair to the good bands which were "overshadowed" by the crap ones. singaporeans are fast to stereotype, once they hear one lousy band at first impression (esp if its the first local band they see) on these types of shows, there you go, the brain automaticly goes "local=lousy". so don't complain, we can't change the mindset of people, we just have to find a way around it. and one way is when bands want to go for exposure, make sure you're good enough.

my few cents.

 

[theliverevolution]

i think the problem lies in the bands themselves. we talk about 'talent', 'potential' and everything, but if the final product (songs, recordings, performances) the bands produce is rubbish, who is there to blame.
viewers? media? or the bands themselves?

Have to disagree with you. I don't think the bands are the only problem around here. Yes, there are bands who spoil the basket, but there are also good ones out there. What I feel is the main problem, is the masses.
The listeners

What the problem is is that they simply do not bother about the local acts. Singaporeans are lazy. They want to be spoon-fed, this problem stemming from a particular system that we all suffer for 10 years *coughs*. They do not bother to find out what music is good. They are unwilling to experiment, to lend their years to hear bands out. They just listen to whatever is on the radio, then claim they like it.
I speak from experience.
There are a few clowns in my camp who claim they are supporters of music. They can talk all about the singers, their lives, etc. But ask them two questions, and they give these answers:

Me: Listen to any local bands?
Them: Oh? Singapore has local bands/Nah, they're all rubbish/Nope, too lazy to listen

Me: What you like most about the song?
them: Just the song. Its 100% entertainment
Me: Er.. Don't you ever listen into the lyrics? Cause if you listen and study the...
Them: For ****?!

This, sadly, is the reality of listeners today. They either write off local bands as rubbish (before they even hear them) or they couldn't be bothered even trying to listen to them.
The other day I was playing Electrico softly over the speakers when they suddenly screamed at me for listening to "trash", before they started blasting their Top40s. Mind you, this was Electrico
(For those who were wondering, I was playing "Hail To The Friends")

It's not so much on "the bands aren't doing well"
I believe the bulk of the problem is "Singaporeans are simply BO-CHUP"

 

[soft]

Don't worry about the listeners, media or bands if you just want to make music. If you want to sell music for profit, that's another story.

Music is something that cannot be forced upon. Just like local film. How many here watches local tv production? or local movie production? local musicals? local dance? SSO?

We look at them as local but to a foreigner, we are "International" or "Foreign Language".

The local music scene is at a all time high now. We might be the county that has the highest musical instrument ownership! Highest number of bands per million too! (this part i add for fun)

 

[Kidt]

As an outsider, i would say, Singapore music scene is still very small. Small but growing. And because the scene is small, there aren't much variety. Like what thread starter mentioned, bands keep copying each other. Well, that's actually normal for a small music scene. If you guys look back at Malaysian local scene, 10-15 years ago, its the same thing. During that era, if you've got a band, its weather you play Grunge or Metal. That's it. Its totally normal, and its a two way thing, the bands and the audience, both parties haven't matured musically, they just do, listen, and copy what inspires them. But slowly the mindset will evolve and that's when the scene will start to grow. As i said, the scene is small but growing, so don't worry, keep doing what you guys are doing.

Another factor will be, the age groups. I realize a lot of local musicians in Singapore are pretty damn young, as in 14,15,16. Well, age make whole lotta difference on musician's thinking. We cant deny that. And the act of idolizing bands we love and try to emulate them are normal at those age. Once again, don't worry bout it, they will change as they grow older and understand why originality is important.

If you compare this to Malaysian musicians, its very different, because in Malaysia, kids around 14,15,16, cant even afford to own a guitar. Hence, Malaysian musicians start a little late, therefore by the time they start, their music taste and directions are already semi-matured.

About the support part, its actually not about "Supporting Local Scene". Its about support beautiful music, dont support just for the sake of supporting the scene. If you like a band, go watch them live, when they release album, buy their album, if you love them more than that, then buy their merchandise.

About downloading, as for me, im a musician myself, i have no problem with illegal download as long as the audience know what they're doing. I do download albums, but have only 2 reasons of downloading.

1) Check out the album' songs before buying, cos like i say, dont support for the sake of supporting, if the songs are not good, no point owning the album.
2) Foreign bands that are already dead, and you know your money is not going to your favorite artist. E.g Nirvana.

I've seen quite a few mp3 blogs that loaded my band's full album on it. I dont make any complaints. Good music will naturally get good album sales.

Those who love the album, but too stingy to buy the album? Too bad.

Anyway,thats all i have to say, happy rocking dear neighbours!

Kidt

 

[mama]

This are just my personnal view, i have always enjoy listening to good local bands who really know their stuff,
Just recently i ve notice some of our local band who is still amature get to perform at popular gig and places with some kind of payment, but.. sadly some of these good bands have to pay the gigs organiser to bring out their music to be heard by the general public..
I think if there are more avenue for the local bands to perform get their good music heard by the general public then people would give some respect for the local music scene.

Personnaly for me.. i think the local bands need to check out their music quality before they come on stage to showcase their music.

 

[theliverevolution]

Don't worry about the listeners, media or bands if you just want to make music. If you want to sell music for profit, that's another story.

Music is something that cannot be forced upon. Just like local film. How many here watches local tv production? or local movie production? local musicals? local dance? SSO?

We look at them as local but to a foreigner, we are "International" or "Foreign Language".

The local music scene is at a all time high now. We might be the county that has the highest musical instrument ownership! Highest number of bands per million too! (this part i add for fun)

Well said James
But all the same, music is an expensive hobby to pursue. Even a recording of music takes... a couple of thousands? What I feel is that at least we should pay these musicians back in a way to compensate their cost and make it less problematic for their wallets

 

[Dime]

The best way is to cut supply of International Arts for a period of time.In other words extensively promote Local Arts in the expense of Top 40 music.

 

[AgingYouth]

I've seen quite a few mp3 blog that loaded my band's full album on it. I dont make any complaints. Good music will naturally get good album sales.

Those who love the album, but too stingy to buy the album? Too bad.

Anyway,thats all i have to say, happy rocking dear neighbours!

Kidt

I know that blog! Hurhurhur... even gotch Singapore bands also.

 

[ocping]

Let's face it: We as Singaporeans are too rigid and self-limiting in pursuing our dreams, no doubt attributed to the Singapore brand of pragmatism which creates a market devoid of demand for non-essential (i.e. don't have won't die one) markets like music, sports and arts, though of course this is because as a small nation, MSA (music sports arts) can't feed us; sound economic strategies do.

IMO, the only way the Singapore MSA scene can break out of this is by helping to mould the mentalities of the future generations so that they will not be imprisoned by the psychological shackles which have been inherently nurtured into our very souls, albeit with good intentions but ultimately stunting our cultural growth to extreme limits.

In this distant-in-the-future Singaporean society, the MSA scene will be taken seriously as a whole for them to become commercially viable such that most people (i.e. the non-crap ones) in these fields will be able to carve out their own living even with the relatively small size of the Singaporean non-monetary-related market.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Jerseystar]

The best way is to cut supply of International Arts for a period of time.In other words extensively promote Local Arts in the expense of Top 40 music.

Somehow I just don't see how that'll ever happen.

 

[Dime]

Somehow I just don't see how that'll ever happen.

Obviously it wont.People will turn into elitist and talk about the lack of entertainment value from the Local act in comparison to the International serving.

But in actual fact,they dont even wanna give Local act a chance to prove them wrong.