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With two new government initiatives, Malaysia’s music scene is set to be more melodious in 2025. About time too, say experts.
WHEN global superstar Taylor Swift held her sold-out concerts in Singapore in March, it wasn’t just the local music industry that got a boost through concert ticket sales.
The ripple effect from such a highly popular act meant that many other industries in the city-state, especially the tourism sector, also saw business boom in tandem.
Economists have since estimated that Swift’s concerts added up to S$400mil (RM1.32bil) to the country’s first-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Further east in South Korea, the land of K-pop, the idol group BTS alone contributed about 0.3% of the country’s national GDP in 2019.
Just the year before, Statista’s analysis found BTS’ contribution to the South Korean GDP almost comparable with that of the national airline, Korean Air.
These were several of the examples provided by music manager Joe Lee when talking about the economic potential of the music industry if the government were to recognise and seriously develop the local music scene.
That’s why he welcomes the recent announcement from Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil about two initiatives – the Malaysian Music Industry Development Study (KPIMM) and the establishment of the Pro Tem Music Industry Committee (JK-PTIM) – meant to support the growth of the local music industry.
“It is a very positive sign that the government is acknowledging that we need this, and that the music industry is a commodity and a potential source of revenue for the government itself, as well as recognising our talents and giving us the opportunity to go abroad,” says Lee, who is one of the 20 members of the JK-PTIM.
Of course, live events and concerts are only one source of revenue for the music industry.
In April it was reported that the local music industry earned a historic RM303.89mil in 2023, marking the highest income ever recorded, surpassing the previous record of RM300mil set in 1998. The increase was driven by a 53% rise in digital sales and a 70% surge in collections by Collective Management Organisations such as Public Performers Malaysia (PPM), the Music Copyright Protection Body Berhad (MACP), and Recording Performers Malaysia Berhad (RPM).
Reports said the industry’s success also saw local artists like the girl group Dolla gaining international fame: Dolla even featured in Chinese reality show Show It All.
MyCreative Ventures (MyCV), a government investment arm under the Communications Ministry that focuses on the creative industry, also notes that these initiatives reflect the government’s dedication to elevate and expand the Malaysian music industry.
However, Lee says, it is “early days” and as such, he urges the industry to remain realistic and not expect overnight miracles.
Change was needed – five, 10 years ago
Still, these efforts are long overdue as Lee says the industry needed change “like five, 10 years ago”.
“All these things happening, we are missing out on opportunities, not having a proper development programme, you can see the industry is on autopilot … it’s just working like factories, we’ll run through the motions and just not worry about things even if the pie is getting smaller,” he says.
Many people are also not familiar with how much the music industry encompasses.
“When you talk about music, it’s not just pop artists coming out with music on the radio. You have to talk about royalties, copyright, the live music industry,” Lee says.
Earlier this year, Recording Music Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) chairman Rosmin Hashim told a local news portal that the music industry relies on royalties from recordings
According to RIM, royalties contribute to the economy of the music industry, giving an annual RM8.6bil boost to the country’s GDP, support for 111,000 jobs, and RM210mil in taxes.
Rosmin stressed then that it is crucial for copyright protection to be extended from 50 years to at least 70 years.
“So far, 73 countries have extended the copyright term of sound recordings and song works to at least 70 years.
“This includes 17 of the top 20 music markets [in terms of trade revenue] in the world, which includes some of Malaysia’s main trading partners such as Singapore, the United States, and Japan,” he was quoted as saying.
Prof Dr Tazul Izan Tajuddin – a composer, music researcher, and assistant vice-chancellor at the music composition department of the Conservatory of Music, College of Creative Arts at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) – also says the two initiatives Fahmi introduced must look further than the commercial music scene as Malaysia has a rich pool of talented composers of “art music”, otherwise known as classical music.
“The initiative must also look at the art music or art contemporary music scene where all practitioners need the support, more than just the commercial ones.
“The focus should be to prioritise art music that has been neglected in the country, even though we have excellent art music composers that are recognised outside of Malaysia but they are unheard of, or not part of the initiatives mentioned,” he says.
But it’s not like the government has never tried to prioritise the music industry; back in 2019, Malaysia was this close to establishing a Music Council to regulate and govern the industry – something which Lee also worked on.
“It was supposed to be the authority for the music industry because right now, we do not have a sole authority to govern the music industry.
“So that was voted on in 2018 … and we actually had a pro tem committee and we were supposed to be legitimised by Parliament,” he recounts.
But when the Pakatan Harapan government at that time suddenly lost power, plans for the Music Council fell to the wayside under the next two administrations.
“That’s why I said, even though the current efforts are early days, based on what happened, this is a very good follow-up.
“The minister has told me personally that he is serious, he is going to help us, but again, they are going through the route of legislation right now, so that takes time,” Lee says.
Regardless, Lee says the government should eventually take a holistic approach to support the music industry.
“We want a more holistic approach to developing the music industry rather than just tunnel vision,” he says.
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But with the two newly announced initiatives, Tazul Izan hopes that the results will be more than surface-level.
“The hope is for the initiative to include a practitioner that is also an academician and researcher so the outcome will be deeper rather than superficial,” he says.
Malaysian pop trio Dolla has gained a following in China and other countries. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star
Diverse markets
Lee says suitable development policies and the establishment of an independent governing body are among the urgent needs of the industry, especially post- pandemic.
Currently, Malaysia is not policy-friendly when it comes to wooing artists to perform in the country due to “moral guidelines” and a long laundry list of bureaucratic red tape, he says.
At the same time, it is also not easy to send our own talents abroad, which frustrates Lee as he wants to take more Malaysian artists to Indonesia.
“I believe that the Malay archipelago actually can be a standalone industry on its own.
“We have the numbers. It’s just like the Chinese market, the Latin market, the Indian market. Why not the Malay language?
“So we’re trying to initiate that and we’re asking the government to be more aware of all this.”
At the same time, he says, the Malaysian music scene is one of the most unique markets in the world because our population is so segmented.
MyCV CEO Zainariah Johari also acknowledges the diversity of our local music scene.
“With its rich multicultural and multilingual heritage, Malaysia’s music scene holds immense potential to resonate on both local and global stages,” she says.
As a key supporter of the creative sector, she adds that MyCV is committed to working alongside the government to nurture the industry’s growth.
“We have several initiatives in the pipeline designed to complement these efforts. Together, we can help the Malaysian music industry achieve the recognition it deserves while becoming a sustainable and globally competitive industry.”
Among MyCV’s initiatives are the Creative Content Fund for the music industry and the International Marketing and Pro-motion Fund with grants of up to RM300,000. In November, there was also the inaugural Futureland Festival at Stadium Merdeka which was expected to boost the growth of the local and regional music industry.
KPIMM’s role includes:
> Examining industry issues and challenges
> Developing a more comprehensive music ecosystem
> Proposing suitable action plans to strengthen the music industry
> Analysing the local music industry’s value chains
> Setting regulatory frameworks, policies and legislation
> Benchmarking best practices regionally and globally
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