9:1 Ratio

If you haven't heard already, the Malaysian Artistes Association (Karyawan) wants a 9:1 ratio of local to foreign songs to be aired by private radio stations. Basically, they want local radio stations to air 90% of local content.

I agree that there should be more local talent on our radio airwaves, but blocking out foreign music like this is not the answer. Already we are years behind countries like Indonesia, and instead of working our asses off to compete with them, we decide to go about it the easier way. As it is, its already very difficult to penetrate the Indonesian market, and by restricting their market here is gonna make it even worse.

Lets take a look at our music industry. Only a few composers and songwriters are willing to take risks and test the market with fresh sounds. The rest are just playing it safe. Either that or they have lost touch with modern day music. When things don't work out, we play our favourite game, finger pointing. It used to be the pirates who got the blame, then it was the free downloading and file sharing on the internet. Now we blame foreign music, our neigbours, and the radio stations who keep airing them. When will we stop playing the blaming game and realize that at the end of the day, its our own fault. Its time to wake up and work harder.

Why do people rather listen to Indonesian artistes rather than our own? Its simply because our music industry is not up to date. Our country has developed and grown rapidly. We can build modern day buildings, world class airports, and F1 circuits, but our music industry has remained stagnant, and undeveloped. Yet we choose to blame others for our own incompetence. That's really very sad.