OPM sets summit to see where local music is headed
CELESTE Legaspi proclaims her love. photo: BLACKTIEPROJECT
To draw out and address concerns and issues that weigh down the music industry, the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (Filscap) and Organisasyon ng mga Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) will gather stakeholders in a music summit on March 19 at Landbank Plaza in Malate, Manila.
“We will assess the state of local music, identify problems and, hopefully, devise ways to overcome obstacles, following a series of talks and discussions,” Noel Cabangon, conference director of “Pinoy Music Summit: Basta Pinoy, Push Mo ’Yan!,” told the Inquirer at the recent OPM general assembly.
Sufficient support
“We also seek to affirm that music is a representation of our culture and, as such, could contribute to our economy, given sufficient support,” asserted Cabangon, himself a recording artist, and current president of Filscap as well as OPM vice president for external affairs.
OPM president Ogie Alcasid said the summit would “help us evaluate where we stand and where we are headed.” For that, he added, “We need everyone’s input.”
NOEL Cabangon
Expected at the summit, Cabangon said, will be “music creators” (artists, composers, publishers, recording companies) and “music users” (television networks, radio stations, etc.). “We need to have them commit to an agenda that will help develop and promote local music,” he said.
Also invited to participate in the discussions are legislators and representatives from government agencies like the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Department of Education and Department of Tourism. “We must engage them; we can’t move forward without the government’s help,” Cabangon said.
One of the most pressing dilemmas is lack of enough exposure for local music, even in our own country, he pointed out. “Better exposure will encourage music creators to create more,” he stressed.
Alcasid hopes to fix the disconnect between OPM and the youth. “Young people seem to know only foreign artists,” he said.
FROM left: Abra, Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez and Julie Anne San Jose at the recent general assembly PHOTOS BY BLACKTIEPROJECT
Other topics on the table are piracy, artist equity and the advent of digital media. “We’ve invited a speaker from South Korea to talk about how K-pop became an economic driving force,” Cabangon said.
Asked what he hoped the summit would accomplish as a whole, he added: “We want to come up with a road map for a vibrant and sustainable music industry, anchored on original Filipino music.”
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