It's long been the case that when a large pop music act puts on a concert in Taipei, organizers are forced to rent a sports stadium and quickly throw up a rented stage, sound system and lights while taking time out to pray for good weather. Then, even if the weather cooperates, the echoes rebounding off the bleachers and the noise from airplanes flying overhead compete with the music and pop stars for concert-goers' attention.
Looking to improve this situation and tackle a host of other problems besetting the pop-music industry at the same time, the Council for Cultural Affairs has drafted a plan that within five years would see the completion of a multi-functional Pop Music Center in the northern, central and southern parts of the country. The plan, dubbed the Mushroom Music Project, is part of the central government's plan for 10 new construction projects that it has set out for completion by 2008.
According to the council's chairwoman Chen Yu-chiou (
Johnny Tuan (段鍾沂), chairman of Taiwan's largest indigenous music label Rock Records, who served as an unofficial consultant to the council, said he envisioned spaces that would be epicenters of musical and artistic creativity.
"I told them that if they just build static concert halls, then that would be a waste of public resources. If it's going to have any role in boosting pop music and pop culture it needs to be a performance center, as well as an educational center, a knowledge repository and a leisure center," he said.
He cited Seattle's Experimental Music Project (EMP) as a model to emulate. "At the EMP, every day the parking lot is filled with those yellow school buses, which testify to the educational value of the space. It also shows that the education system has recognized the cultural value of pop music."
Chen seems to have taken Tuan's advice and is quick to affirm the importance her office places in pop music as an integral element of Taiwanese culture, but she also stressed the economic reasons for pursuing the plan.
According to the council, pop music album sales in Taiwan dropped by 57 percent from their peak of NT$11.6 billion in 1997 to NT$4.6 billion in 2002 and have continued to decline. Tuan and Chen attributed the drop to rampant piracy that has stifled the industry's urge to promote new groups and capped labels' budgets for artist development.
"The problems extend beyond music, because the music industry is connected to film and TV and publishing -- essentially all forms of media. If one side goes down, the effect is felt all over. We need to take a fresh look at how to sustain a vibrant pop-music culture, and having the proper hardware is elemental to saving the music industry," Tuan said.
Each of the centers, to be built with a budget currently pending approval in the Legislative Yuan, will provide permanent settings with state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment in spaces of varying sizes to accommodate different-sized crowds. Under the plan, local governments are to offer the land, the central government budget will pay for the building and facilities, and private groups will operate the centers.
"If there are more international-standard venues, then more top-rate performers will put on concerts. We're working on the principle that one person attending a concert is the equivalent in dollar terms of two album sales. It's simply an efficient way to generate more revenue for the industry," Chen said.
The locations of the three centers have yet to be determined, but Chen said that the northern branch would be built in Taipei County and not in Taipei City because the city simply doesn't have space. Kaohsiung City will be the location of the southern branch, but the site of the central branch is up in the air, as Taichung City and County and other central cities and counties haven't established committees to scout locations and carry out feasibility studies.
Over the long term, the cen-ters are expected to administer a shot in the arm for Taiwan's competitiveness in Chinese-language pop culture, which the recent decline in album sales has undercut.
Tuan said Taiwan still retains the most experienced Chinese-language music industry personnel, from recording to marketing, but that without a resurgence in the market, these talents will begin to move elsewhere to find work. This threat notwithstanding, Tuan argued that potential big-name pop acts and other talent would continue to bubble up from Taiwan's vibrant independent music scene in the manner of pop-rock band Mayday (五月天).
"I'm aware that Taiwan has plenty of underground bands that perform in privately owned spaces. With this project we're telling people involved in music that we're willing to complement those with new ones that are publicly funded. We're just providing the soil for the plant to grow," Chen said.
For more information on the Mushroom Music Project and to offer opinions on the plan, check out http://mmp.cca.gov.tw
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