Nominated Member of Parliament Janice Koh, who is also a stage and television actress, recently spoke about how the Singapore government can do more to cultivate locally produced music and talents in a sustainable fashion.

Her speech has been lauded by practitioners in the music industry, in particular, the English music sector, which has been in the doldrums for many years and is in serious need of some thought leadership.

The most illuminating part of her speech was when Koh said:

"To be honest, I wasn’t even sure under which Ministry to file my cut, since MCCY, MCI and other economic agencies are all separately involved in the development of this sector, each with their own set of KPIs."

In other words, the creative industry is nobody's child in Singapore.

The following speech was made by Koh at the Ministry of Communications and Information Committee of Supply debate on March 10.

This could be one of her last few speeches in parliament as Koh has said she will not be seeking an extension of her two-and-half-year term as NMP when it come to an end this August.

She will join three other NMPs, Teo Siong Seng, Laurence Lien and Mary Liew, who will be leaving parliament.

Developing a Strong Singapore Music Industry

By Janice Koh at the Ministry of Communications and Information Committee of Supply debate on March 10

Madam, I am encouraged by the growing support for contemporary Singapore music over the last two years. But deeper, more sustainable efforts are needed if we want to transform what is now just a Singapore music scene into a Singapore music industry. This can only be achieved if key stakeholders play a part to ensure the wider accessibility of Singapore-made music. In this regard, I have three recommendations for the Ministry to consider.

First, Madam, I’d like to reiterate the call to establish a broadcast quota for airtime play of Singapore music on local radio. I first raised this at the MICA COS two years ago. Despite increasing access to digital music online, a sizeable number of Singaporeans still access music through radio. While I acknowledge that locally-produced Chinese and Malay music have been given adequate broadcast exposure, the case is just not the same for English-language music.

I appreciate Mediacorp’s initiative to play one local song per hour across their English stations after discussions with local music producers last year. I also note that effort has been made to increase airplay through Lush99.5. The station has been doing an excellent job. But this is not quite enough to increase accessibility of our homegrown music to the wider listening public. One local song per hour is not enough to show Singaporeans that we have such diverse and excellent talents like Ming Bridges, Kevin Lester, CharlieLim, Monster Cat, The Observatory, Shigga Shay, The Sam Willows, I could go on - all homegrown, Singapore music talents who work so hard, whom we can and must be proud of, and whom we should support.

In a previous reply to my PQ on this issue, the Ministry explained that there wasn’t sufficient broadcast quality content from Singapore musicians. What is not good enough exactly? If our recording quality is poor, then let’s address that technicality with capability development and raise our sound engineering and mastering standards. Or does “not good enough” refer to the artistry of Singapore music? If so, is this an issue of music preference – a music preference that has been dominated and influenced by decades of listening to American-made pop music on local radio? Radio is a taste-making platform. If we don’t help create a taste for Singapore music, then we may never be “good enough”.

This strategy of broadcast quota is firmly established in countries like Australia, New Zealand, France, and the UK. In Canada, for instance, a quota of 20% was mandated in the 70’s, and now it’s at 35%. Funding and tax structures were promptly put in place to support music production, videos, marketing, promotion and touring. Today, there is no shortage of well-known Canadian music artists, from Michael Buble to Avril Lavigne.

Second, Madam,we need to develop a strong export strategy for Singapore music, so as to tap into the commercial and soft power potential of our music talent in international markets. The growth of South Korea’s music industry is a good example. Once peripheral and small, Korea’s creative industries developed their own local cultural assets after investments were made into the creative sector, modelled after the UK creative industries blueprint. Today, it is among the most successful contributors to their national economy. The Korean Wave experienced a significant boost with the development of digital technologies, social media, and smartphones in the 21st century. In 2005 they were ranked the 33rd largest recorded music market in the world. Today, they are ranked 10th. But such a change didn’t happen overnight. The updating of copyright laws, filtering illegal content and more investment in local artists, were all major pillars that led to the rise of the South Korean music industry today.

Finally, Madam, our state of play for music has been hampered by the lack of a singular vision for music industry development. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure under which Ministry to file my cut, since MCCY, MCI and other economic agencies are all separately involved in the development of this sector, each with their own set of KPIs. I am, however, glad to see both Ministers in the House today! Madam, I hope a central agency or a single body can be formed to work directly, and not in isolation, with industry professionals, to take a holistic view of our music industries’ needs.

Madam, popular music is such an essential component in the daily lives of many Singaporeans, especially teenagers and young people. Let’s make sure that Singapore-made music can be a part of their lives and memories too, as they grow up, and that Singaporeans will have a strong music heritage to look back upon fifty years from now.

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