ANNUAL ADDRESS BY DR EDMUND LAM
CEO & DIRECTOR / COMPASS & CHAIRMAN/ CISAC (ASIA PACIFIC)
AT COMPASS AWARDS 2008 CEREMONY
AT SWISSOTEL THE STAMFORD SINGAPORE
ON SUNDAY 25 MAY 2008
Ladies and gentlemen, a very good evening.
On behalf of the Chairman and the Board of Directors of COMPASS, I extend our warmest welcome to our distinguished guest-of-honour, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, our special guest, Mr Yatiman Yusoff, former Member of Parliament and Senior Parliamentary Secretary of MICA, distinguished guests, members of the HIP alliance, COMPASS members and friends.
As per tradition, I will speak shortly in Malay and Chinese on specific issues before I revert to English. The English translation of my speeches will be on our website.
MALAY SPEECH
Para ahli budiman,
Antara tujuan utama COMPASS ialah melestari dan memajukan mutu muzik Singapura, termasuk muzik Melayu. PERKAMUS, dibentuk pada 1992 pimpinan Encik Yusnor Ef. Ia diamanahkan usaha ini. Tentu saja COMPASS terus menyokong banyak aktivitinya.
Industri muzik Melayu kita terus hadapi perubahan pesat untuk menakat. Untuk berjaya, apapun organisasi mesti mengurangkan ancaman daripada perubahan tadi. Serentak itu, ia cuba raih peluang yang muncul.
Tiada guna kita salahkan Internet kerana cetak rompak tapi duduk diam saja. Seharusnya kita cuba cara untuk menggalak dan menjual muzik dengan menimba kekuatan Internet. Industri muzik sudah jauh berubah. Internet telah meratakan pelantar bagi firma dan artis bebas. Mereka boleh berjaya jika punya lagu yang memikat. Artis tidak lagi perlu pemasaran menyeluruh dan sarana edaran.
Saya amat sukacita melihat pemuzik Melayu muda bangkit semula dan berhasil. Lihat saja angkanya. Pada carta radio RIA bagi 20 lagu paling popular dalam Mac dan April lalu, purata LIMA daripada DUA PULUH lagu asal Singapura. Sepanjang ENAM minggu, lagu nombor satu sama ada Taufik Batisah atau Didi yang menyanyikan karya setempat. Artis setempat yang turut berjaya termasuk Nurun Nuwarah, B8, Cradle dan Merah. Ini satu kejayaan besar dalam konteks pasaran yang amat bersaing. Mari kita beri tepukan hangat kepada pemuzik kita.
Pada ucapan tahun lalu, saya galakkan kerjasama antara ahli kita daripada pelbagai bangsa. Saya sukacita melaporkan suatu kejayaan bersemangat. Seribu Kenangan, nyanyian Didi, dengan lirik oleh Didi juga, berasal dari lagu Cina gubahan JJ Lin. Ia ‘meletup’ dalam masyarakat Melayu. Saya yakin lagu ini akan disambut baik di Malaysia dan Indonesia.
Saya juga gembira umumkan COMPASS bersama radio RIA dan WARNA dengan sokongan PERKAMUS, sudah melancarkan peraduan gubah lagu peringkat nasional pada 28 April. Tarikh tutupnya 9 Jun. Peringkat akhirnya akan diadakan sempena sebuah konsert gah bersama artis veteran dan muda. Konsert akan diadakan pada minggu sambutan Hari Kebangsaan. Saya harap para ahli akan sertai dan sokong acara ini.
Hari muka kita cerah. Lebih banyak muzik akan dinikmati, lebih banyak persembahan langsung, lebih banyak singles dan kian kurang album, pelbagai corak niaga untuk menjual muzik. Ayuh kita jayakan dengan harmoni.
Sekian dan terima kasih
Malay Speech in English
One of the main objectives of COMPASS is always to preserve and enhance the standard of Singapore music including Malay music. PERKAMUS, formed in 1992, under the leadership of Encik Yusnor Ef, has tasked themselves with this important mission. Naturally, COMPASS has supported its activities and would continue to do so.
The Malay music industry continues to face tremendous changes in its operating environment. For any organisation to succeed it needs to minimise the threats posed by such changes and at the same time leverage on the emerging opportunities.
We cannot keep on blaming the Internet for the rampant piracy and not doing anything. We should instead find ways to promote and sell music utilising the strengths of the Internet. The industry has drastically transformed. The Internet levelled the playing field for the independent labels and artistes. They can now be successful if they have the right song and artiste without having to rely a comprehensive marketing and distribution infrastructure.
I am very pleased to note with great satisfaction that the younger Malay musicians have made a successful comeback and doing well. Let me quote some actual statistics. A look at the RIA top 20 charts in March and April will reveal that, on average, 5 out of the 20 songs are local songs. And in the past six weeks the number one song is occupied by our local artiste, either by Taufik Batisah or Didi both singing local compositions. Other local artistes doing well include Nurun Nuwarah, B8, Cradle and Merah. This is a laudable performance in the context of a stiff market competition. Let’s give them, the young Malay musicians, a round of applause for their achievements.
During my last year’s address, I encouraged cross –collaboration among our members of different ethic groups. I am delighted to report an encouraging success. Seribu Kenangan, sung by Didi, is adapted with lyrics from Didi himself, from a Chinese song composed by JJ Lin. It has since become a big hit among the Malay community. I am sure the song would also make inroads into Malaysia and Indonesia.
I am also very pleased to announce that COMPASS together with RIA and WARNA radio stations, with the support of PERKAMUS, has launched a nation-wide song writing competition on 28 April. Entries will close on 9 June. The final will be held in conjunction with a major concert supported by both veteran and current artistes. The concert will be held in the week celebrating National Day. I hope members can actively participate and support the event.
The future is bright. There will no doubt be more music consumption, more live entertainment, more singles and fewer and fewer albums, different business models to sell music. Let’s work together harmoniously.
CHINESE SPEECH
亲爱的会员和朋友们，
COMPASS创立于1993年。当时我们的规模非常小，资源也有限。加上当时的社会对版权概念非常模糊，因此我们在执行职务时，可说困难重重相当的不容易。可是我们的努力没有白费。这些年来，协会一直稳定地成长。我们在去年更是达到了1千330万元的总税收。
另外，海外的税收在去年也增长了15%。这显示了有越来越多的本地创作在竞争激烈的中文音乐市场上受到瞩目与肯定。目前亚洲的经济备受看好，在这良好经济的状况下，我们如果能持续不断地推出好作品，相信本地创作在区域市场将继续有一番作为。
当然，如果要维持这股发展后劲，本地乐坛就必须不断注入新血。很高兴我们能在今晚见证两代音乐人棒子的交替。今晚得到最佳创作人奖的是一位年轻，优秀的音乐人。 这是他第一次领这个奖项。这趋势非常鼓舞人心。当然，我要强调新生代的崛起并不代表资深音乐人的没落。相反的，我相信他们会因此被激励，创作出更好的音乐来争取再度得奖的机会。
为吸引更多有才华的年轻人从事音乐创作，我们尝试通过资助两个节目来达到目的。首先是与电台933合作的“创作初体验”，这个节目不只介绍资深音乐人，也是一个让有才华的创作新人发表作品的平台。
我们与中文电台的合作也延伸到电视节目上–S-Pop万岁! S-Pop万岁! 是我们第一个资助的电视节目。由U频道制作，等同于电视版的新谣节。这个节目有两个重要的单元 – 歌曲创作比赛以及介绍本地成功的歌手与创作人。通过这个节目，本地歌手和本地创作可说是第一次得到电视媒体的大力推崇，成功地提高了大家对本地音乐及歌手的认识。
我们资助的这两个节目激起了这一代年轻人对80年代新谣歌曲的兴趣，让他们更了解新谣前辈们在过去所经历的挣扎与挑战，并从中吸取经验，将创作理念更发挥得淋漓尽致。
除了流行乐方面，我们也通过各种活动或赞助来协助推广古典艺术音乐。我们在去年3月和11月份主办了两场会员音乐发表会，也和孔子学院合办 ，探讨如何融合诗词与音乐的讲座。这些活动都得到了不错的回响。在这里，要特别感谢担任主讲的两位资深音乐人：郭永秀先生和刘斌先生。谢谢两位在百忙之中抽空前来协助我们把讲座办好。
我在去年致词时鼓励大家善用我们多元种族的特色，通过与不同族群的合作交流来撞击出音乐新火花。我很高兴能在这里向大家汇报一个成功的例子。由林俊杰创作的“一千年以后”在填上马来词发表之后，受到马来同胞的喜爱，成功地登上了本地马来音乐排行榜。相信这首歌也会在马来西亚和印尼有优异的表现。从这里我们可学到如何善用一首好歌来为创作人和版权公司争取更好的利益。
祝大家有更好的明天。
谢谢。
Chinese Speech in English
The turnover of COMPASS grossed more than $13.3 million for the year 2007, an all-time high for the company. We have enjoyed continuing annual growth since 1993 when we were only a small society with limited resources.
Overseas revenue also recorded an increase with 15% growth indicating increased popularity of local songs in Chinese territories. If we are able to keep up with our creative output, this upward trend would definitely continue in the foreseeable future buoy by the dynamic Asian economies.
However, to sustain this momentum, we have to ensure that there is a pipeline of younger song writers joining our creative industry. We are glad to be able to observe a gradual generational transition. Tonight’s Top Composer of the Year Award goes to a first-time recipient, much younger than the past award winners. It is an encouraging trend. But it does not mean the end of the veteran writers – I am sure they will compete more vigorously for the award again.
To attract more young talent into the industry, we tried out two programmes last year. Firstly COMPASS collaborated with radio station 93.3FM to produce weekly radio programmes focusing on both veterans and promising talents within the industry. We also did the same with the English station (FM 98.7) and Malay station (FM 89.7). The Chinese radio station also linked part of its programme with the TV programme, S-Pop Hurray. These programmes have enhanced popularity and awareness of local compositions and artiste.
S-Pop Hurray! produced by U-Channel was a TV-version of the Xin Yao Festival. The weekly popular programme comprised a section on song writing competition and another profiling successful local artiste and songwriters. This was the first time local artiste and song writing has been promoted so intensively over the media. The two promotional programmes have in fact created a boom among the young people today an interest in the Xin Yao songs created in the early 1980s. The programmes also gave the younger generation the opportunity to learn about the struggles and challenges the seniors went through in the past and how to maximise their creative talents.
We have also supported members engaged in the classical and art music through project and individual sponsorships. We organised two COMPASS Members Showcase Events (one held in March and another in November at the Art House) which were well attended by members. A Chinese Classical Master Class course on “Music and Traditional Poems” was organised jointly with the Confucious Institute. The classes were conducted by senior members, Quek Yong Siew and Liu Pin, as a contribution back to our society. I hereby like to express my deep appreciation to both of them.
During my last year’s address, I encouraged cross –collaboration among our members of different ethic groups. I am delighted to report an encouraging success. Seribu Kenangan, a Malay song sung by Didi, adapted from the Chinese song, One Thousand Years, composed by JJ Lin has since become a big hit among the Malay community. I am sure the song would also make inroads into Malaysia and Indonesia. This is a good example how to better leverage on good songs to make more money for the song writers and publishers.
Thank you and have a good year ahead.
ENGLISH SPEECH
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The past year has been a successful one for COMPASS especially in our main role to provide an efficient service of collecting and distributing royalties for the use of our members’ and affiliated overseas societies’ music. I am pleased to report that our collections have surpassed $13 million chalking up a high 13% growth. Our expense to revenue ratio remained at a very competitive rate of 16%. On top of this good performance, our members also earned more from overseas markets, about 15% more than last year’s.
The operating environment continues to be in a turbulent state. The music industry, which has been complacent for years, I must concede, is now rushing to reconstruct itself as the digital revolution has destroyed many of its existing business models. CD sales continue to decline unabated while digital sales of music hardly make up for the decline. Stakeholders are also realigning themselves. There are many prominent examples. Prince is giving away his CDs with newspapers to promote his concerts. Radiohead offered a pay-what-you-want digital download for their latest album. Madonna, quit her record label, and instead joined LiveNation, a concert promoter.
In the midst of such challenges, various business innovations seeking new business models are speedily being implemented to ensure there is always new music. We also have to convince various stakeholders within the industry to work together to facilitate new digital products into the digital market place at the fastest possible way. In this connection, BIEM, CISAC, the major labels and music publishers are working on a regional MOU to make the licensing and reporting system for the users fair and simple.
I also wish to reassure our members that the rights of authors would not be diminished in economic value in the digital era. We will protect our right to be compensated for the use of our creative works and share in the revenues that they generate. People are consuming more music now than they ever have before, including an estimated 20 billion illegally downloaded music files. We have to work hard to make sure we have a legitimate piece of that.
In recent years, the Chinese and Malay radio stations have been increasingly playing Singapore-made music. For this, we are extremely grateful. This is despite the absence of official quota ruling that requires radio stations to play home-grown music which is common in Europe like in Britain, France, Canada and even the Philippines. In these countries usually the radio stations have to ensure that a certain percentage of all music aired for the day is local-made. I think the radio stations can do more to promote local music especially the English radio stations instead of playing standard Western pop. We are seeing more home-grown musicians, bands and singers attracting attention in the local club scene. It would be a strategic mistake if younger Singaporeans turn off the local radio stations and turn to the Internet or You Tube to listen and watch their favourite local rock bands.
To boost local music, we have concluded a significant licence deal with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) for background music played within the four airport terminals. This significant licence deal ensures that at least 25% of music used is local-made music.
On our part, we will continue to organise COMPASS Extravaganza – third in the series on 19 Jul at the Art House. It provides a very meaningful platform for younger members of all races to interact and perform on the same stage. Senior members are also there to provide the mentorship and encouragement.
Tonight, our membership gathers together for the thirteenth time in our history to present awards to members whose compositions topped the popularity charts and also outstanding Singaporeans within the music industry for their achievements and contributions. I would like to express our heartiest congratulations to all deserving winners and recipients. We are proud of you all.
Significantly, we have a young, first-time recipient of the Top Composer of the Year Award. This is a significant testimony that the pipeline of young Singaporean composers is in place to ensure the continuity of our creative outputs. I would also like to commend the successful effort put in by our senior members in nurturing and mentoring the pool of young and promising song writers.
Finally, on behalf of the membership, I would like once again thank our guest-of-honour, Mr Lee, for his presence in gracing the occasion. My sincere appreciation also goes to all of tonight’s performers, artistes, Sebestian and Kai Ying, backstage and technical staff, music writers of musical works to be performed tonight, event advisor – our Director Mel Ferdinands, and our PR manager Rachel for shouldering the burden for organizing this event. So everyone just relax and enjoy your evening. Thank you.
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