From the Editor |
Home
| Archives | About | Media Links |
| January 2000 Local music industry Who is the doctor? When Wong Ka Kung, one of the members of the local band Beyond, said a few years ago that Hong Kong did not have a music scene, but only show business, his words immediately became the talk of the town. It was almost as if, when everyone was losing their heads, Mr. Wong was keeping his. Thereafter, lots of condemnations of the Hong Kong music industry were bandied about. It was as if the Hong Kong music scene — or what some would like to refer to as show business — was bankrupt. The condemnations became knee-jerk reactions from faceless crowds. True, the local market is not diverse enough to accommodate all music genres. True also that people have their preferences and priorities. If the local market doesn’t accept, say, fusion, rap, soul, blues or honky tonk, this does necessarily mean that the local music industry is unhealthy? People always like to compare the Hong Kong music scene with that of the States or England. But they forget that larger markets allow greater diversity. Moreover, what is “unhealthy”? And who is qualified to do the diagnosis? What criteria must be met in order to have a “healthy music industry”? And how healthy is the music scene in foreign countries? Is there a doctor in the house? If there is, please raise your hand. To keep the music industry moving forward, there must be new blood, an infusion of new ideas. Audiences are not so passive as most people think. They are not going to sit back and take everything the media gives them. In recent years, the local music market has become more diversified, thanks to more interactions with other countries. With more exposure, the audience has become a lot pickier. Every year there are hundreds of budding artists, and more than a half of them will be eliminated within a few years. This shows that it is the market and the audiences who do the scanning, and they scan out what they do not like. No matter how insightful it is to say that Hong Kong does not have a music scene, but only show business, it is meaningless to stick to this old point forever. This clever and witty comment ended up being a tiresome cliche after being repeated again and again. Granted, the music scene in Hong Kong could be a lot better than it is now. Improving it will take time and patience, though. We need to give room to the market to digest the more diverse styles of music, and we need to give time to the audience to expose themselves to it.
Lousia Yan |
|
Home | Archives | About | Media Links |
