They're mostly known for their catchy love songs, the ballads for the new boyfriend or the relationship that just went bad.
But yesterday stars such as A-mei (
They were singing the blues.
According to recording industry executives, the nation's music industry could die off within three to five years if steps aren't taken to stamp out piracy of intellectual property.
Taiwan -- a creative center for Chinese-language pop music -- used to boast the second-largest music market in Asia. Sales in 1999 were more than NT$10 billion.
But since then revenues have dropped to a mere NT$5 billion, and music executives say the piracy of copyrighted material is mostly to blame.
"If substantial action is not taken to stamp out CD piracy and the illegal downloading of MP3 files, the music industry could very possibly follow in the footsteps of the local movie industry and disappear altogether within the next three to five years," warned Robin Lee (
Other industry professionals note that the decline in sales resulting from music piracy has forced budget and production cutbacks.
"Annual losses of NT$400 million to NT$500 million have forced us to cut back on production costs by one third per album," said Steven Fan (
Fan said Universal hasn't been able to afford top-tier video directors, cover photographers and stylists for its artists because of the cutbacks.
To be sure, last year's economic downturn may also have contributed to sagging music sales.
Still, many in the music industry have no doubts that sales of their multi-million-dollar productions are being hurt by pirates equipped with the latest technology to manufacture flawless reproductions of their work.
"Singers are greatly perplexed whether their efforts to promote albums will actually help copyrighted or pirated record sales," said Teng Kung-chang (鄧孔彰), a promotion manager at EMI in Taiwan.
Singer Karen Mok joked that while piracy is a form a flattery, it's still upsetting not to be compensated for her artistic endeavors.
"You should start worrying about your career if you don't find yourself, your works, available in pirated form. At the same time, you are pissed off as well," Mok was quoted as saying.
Teng said Mandarin pop music is all that remains of Taiwan's entertainment industry. If the nation's music culture isn't saved, its entertainment sector is doomed.
According to Teng, heavy losses at EMI have forced the company to cut salaries for directors by 10 percent to 20 percent and lay off more than 30 staff members.
Sony Music Taiwan -- with its line up of stars such as CoCo Lee, Karen Mok and Wang Lee-horm (王力宏) -- managed to reach NT$1 billion in sales last year despite piracy.
But Sony estimates sales could have been double that amount if it weren't for the rip-off artists pirating the works of its stars.
Because of lost sales, Sony's is less willing to support artists that aren't considered bankable acts.
"We're very cautious now about releasing albums," said Adam Tsuei (
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