TypeWriter: First Singapore band to perform at Liverpool’s The Cavern Club

Whether is it for a new act or an established artist, performing live these days is an essential way to not only reach out to more fans, but also as a source of income. Many artists or bands would love to be engaged for an overseas gig in order to increase their exposure to a wider audience. However, touring costs can be high, especially for overseas stints, and while there are grants available from various organizations such as the Media Development Authority and National Arts Council to cover partial touring costs, many Singaporean artists and bands find it a challenge to continue doing so. Nevertheless, it has not stopped Singapore acts such as local powerpop band TypeWriter who are seasoned performers from pushing themselves and exploring foreign territory.

As how guitarist Patrick Chng explains, “For an indie band like us, I don't think it's sustainable to keep touring overseas because it is expensive and the grants or funding only covers a small percentage of the cost. We did it for the experience and to see and meet other musicians in their own backyard. We've definitely learned a lot and it was an amazing experience. It has brought the band closer and opened our eyes to a lot of things. You can't put a price on that.”

Playing seven shows in 12 days in the UK, TypeWriter became the first Singapore band to perform at one of this year’s International Pop Overthrow Festival held in Liverpool from 14^th to 21^st May. In particular, TypeWriter had the opportunity to perform at The Cavern Club, where the legendary Beatles played in the early 60s as the club’s resident band.

We caught up with the band after their return to share more on their “English Breakfast” experience.

How did the opportunity to play at IPO come about? Was there an intention to play IPO all this while?

International Pop Overthrow is a powerpop music festival that's been around for over 10 years. We love powerpop music and I think TypeWriter's music is aligned to the sensibilities of the genre. When we came under KAMCO Music management last year, we talked about playing overseas and IPO was a festival we thought would be perfect for us. So our manager Kevin Mathews wrote to them to check us out and they wrote back with an invitation to perform at IPO Liverpool.

How did you manage to arrange for the other gigs other than the one at IPO? Did you work with a local agent over there?

We just wrote to a lot of people and venues for the other gigs. It wasn't easy at all. We know a friend in Cornwall who arranged a gig in Plymouth and Cornwall for us.

What was the whole experience like, especially since this is the first time for TypeWriter to perform overseas? Was there additional pressure? 

We went without any expectations as we knew that we're totally unknown in the UK. Let's be honest. I don't think anyone in the UK will be excited to watch an unknown band from Singapore. The pressure that we put on ourselves was to perform well at every gig.

How did the audience take to the band's music? What was the size of the crowd like? Did you have the opportunity to sell your music or merchandise there?

We were pleasantly surprised by the response. Apart from Liverpool, most of the places we played at were small venues averaging about 20 to 30 people at each gig. Yes there were opportunities to sell our merchandise. We brought our CDs over and gave them away free at IPO. We wanted to spread our music so we thought the best way is to just give out our CDs to people who are interested.

What was it like meeting other bands who were performing at the festival? Any interaction of sorts on or off stage?

Actually I think we met more artists at the other venues than at the IPO festival. We had dinner with Axel Loughrey who supported us at 12 Bar Club in London. We met a really talented jazz guitarist Cy Brandl and other singer-songwriters at The Vauxhall Quay in Plymouth. A few of us met Pugwash and Farrah when we went to watch them at a small venue in Brixton. We did chat with and checked out a few bands at IPO Liverpool. It was really inspiring to watch the other performers.

How was the tour funded? How was NAC and Gibson involved? Was getting funding challenging? What were the sponsors' expectations? Any advice to other bands who would like to do the same?

We got a grant from NAC which covered almost 70% of our airfare. The rest was funded by us. Gibson supported us by lending us guitars in London. Yes, it was challenging to get funding and we're grateful to the NAC for their support. Bands who would like to do the same must be prepared to fork out most of their money.

What are TypeWriter's future plans? Will TypeWriter be actively looking at having more overseas gigs? If yes, which ones? Will you be focusing on touring in Asia?

We've just roped in a fifth member Alan Bok into the band so our immediate plan is to rehearse as a quintet. We plan to record an EP by end of the year so we're not thinking of touring overseas at the moment. We have contacts in Beijing but the opportunity for IPO Liverpool came up first. Maybe next time.

Photographs courtesy of TypeWriter/Lennat Mak

About TypeWriter

Formed in 2001, the band has journeyed through the years with various line-up changes and a vast catalogue that has been reworked with different contributions by its changing members, culminating in the two-CD debut album Indian Head Massage (2010).

With its current line-up of Yee Chang Kang (vocals, guitar, harmonica and keyboards), Patrick Chng (guitar, vocals and keyboards), Desmond Goh (bass and vocals),  Redzuan Hussin (drums and percussion) and Alan Bok (guitars, keyboards), TypeWriter will continue to pursue its passionate dedication for song-craft and heartfelt honesty. 

http://typewriterband.com

http://www.facebook.com/typewriterband

http://typewriterband.bandcamp.com

About International Pop Overthrow

International Pop Overthrow (IPO) is a pop music festival which has been held for the past fourteen years in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Boston, San Diego, Phoenix, Detroit, Milwaukee, Portland, Seattle, Austin, Dallas, Vancouver, and Toronto, as well as in Liverpool (at the world famous Cavern Club), and London, UK. Each IPO features between 25-180 of the best pop bands from around the world.

http://internationalpopoverthrow.com

"Opportunities are everywhere. It's what you make of it," says Wu Jiahui, multi-award winning Malaysian singer-songwriter

With more than 150 songs under his belt and multiple award wins, including the Malaysia Outstanding Artist Award at the recent Global Chinese Music Awards (全球華語歌曲排行榜) 2012 held in Singapore, Wu Jiahui (伍家辉) is arguably Malaysia’s fastest-rising singer-songwriter.

He has written songs for some top artistes such as Jacky Cheung 張學友 (Black and White 黑白畫映), Stefanie Sun 孫燕姿 (Wish you happiness 祝你開心), Leon Lai 黎明 (Man with Love 有情郎) and Jerry Yan 言承旭 (One metre一公尺), and sang the hit song “One-Half” from movie “881” original soundtrack that sold more than 13,000 copies in Singapore.

Jiahui first started as a songwriter writing for other singers, but eventually became a full-fledged recording artist and performer, singing his own material. However, it’s still songwriting, as Jiahui admits, that gives him the kicks.

“I definitely prefer being a songwriter, because I started out behind the scenes. But today, being a singer and a producer allows me to exert more influence and control over the music. Although being a singer definitely brings in more revenue from performances as compared to the efforts put in as a producer or songwriter, ultimately it’s still songwriting and producing that brings me the greatest satisfaction.”

Multiple award winning Malaysian singer-songwriter, Wu Jiahui

“When I first started, I already felt contented just merely by sharing my music through songwriting. Later when I took part in a songwriting competition, I was discovered by a publisher, and was later signed as an artist by renowned Singaporean musician Eric Ng (Funkie Monkies Production). Actually, I feel that as long as I am able to sing for one more day, I would grasp that opportunity and continue to make the music I love and share it with others, because music is my dream and an indelible part of my life.”

We understand that you did not renew your contract with Funkie Monkies (FM) Productions and decided to become independent. Could you share why you made this decision? How different is it having your own label?

Actually, I’m very thankful and grateful to FM Productions for grooming me all this time. My decision to set up my own company was because both the label and I share the same consensus that it’s time for me to step out on my own. I’ve been signed to FM since 2006, and during all these years we’ve experienced so much together, and have built a lot of camaraderie. Our relationship is not just simply that of a label and its artiste, it’s more like a family, and now the parents are very happy to see their child take flight.

The new label starts out with signing myself. It’s called “Dreammy Studio”(吾梦工作室), which means finding one’s dreams. Currently there’s a manager running it for the moment, but later, when the time is right, we will slowly expand or work with other companies who are interested.

The difference between having my own label and being signed to a bigger label is that having my own label gives me a lot more freedom and control to exercise my thoughts and opinions, while a bigger label would have more financial and human resources.

What's the music industry in Malaysia like? Are there more opportunities as compared to Singapore, Taiwan and China? Where does the majority of your fan base come from? Is the media more supportive in your home country?

There are several segments in the music industry in Malaysia. There’s Malay music, English music and Chinese music, and within the Chinese music market, it’s split between local and overseas Chinese music. Actually I feel that the level of opportunities is equal everywhere, it’s all a matter of how you target the market and where you stand. Basically, my fans come from Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, and I’m thankful that the media here supports me very much.

How many performances do you do typically in a month? Are they mostly in Malaysia or overseas? Now that you have won the Most Outstanding Artiste Award (Malaysia) in the Global Chinese Music Awards, do you see anything changing for you?

On average, I do about three to four performances in a month, out of which usually one is from overseas (but it depends on the market, sometimes we could have more requests towards the end of the year, all at the same time). I feel that winning the award is just a form of recognition, and perhaps a platform for more friends to know me, and maybe because of that there are more performance requests.

Other than the Most Outstanding Artiste Award (Malaysia), your song <我們怎麼LOVE> has also been awarded as one of the Top 20 Songs. What do these two awards mean to you?

I’m very happy because I never thought that <我們怎麼LOVE> would win an award, because when I was writing it, I didn’t have too many considerations or further thoughts, I was simply just writing what I had wanted to express and record down my feelings at that moment. So now it’s really great that the song had won.

What do you think of the future of the Chinese music industry in Malaysia and in Asia would be like?

Malaysia’s music industry has been creating waves and is now on a surge. In the Chinese music industry in general, Malaysian artistes make up a considerable number; and now, as long as we stay united and work hard together, we can definitely achieve even greater success and reach higher levels. I hope that all musicians will put in their very best and their upmost sincerity in every song and every musical note, to move and to encourage more and more people out there.

After note

In the midst of arranging this interview, another of Jiahui's works, 《灰》, has won Best Television/ Movie Soundtrack at the PWH Music Awards 2012. 《灰》，together with another recent work, 《香火》, written for a TV serial by Malaysia’s NTV7 of the same name, are nominated Best Theme Song in the upcoming Asian Television Awards 2012.

Certainly a wave-maker himself.

 

Ranked No. 1 in Singapore on Reverbnation, Eli T. sets to take on both Asian and Western markets.

With his 2009 major hit song “Record Breaker” sung by multi-platinum selling Filipino artiste Sarah Geronimo, 2 award nominations "Best Singer/Songwriter" & "Best Solo Artist" in the 2012 "All Indie Music Awards" held in Hollywood, CA, and more than 33,000 likes on his Facebook page as of writing (an impressive number for a Singaporean artist), Eli T. is an upcoming electro-pop act certainly worth tuning into.

Born in Singapore and grown up in Canada, Eli reveals that his East-meets-West identity as an artist poses many challenges for him. Nevertheless, with the love and support from his fans “which mean the world to (him)”, he continues to stick true to himself.

 “It was pretty tough for me when I first got back to Singapore. I just didn't fit in. Collectivistic culture is an interesting thing that doesn't take well to sore thumbs. I was told to chisel away aspects of who I am to be more accessible. I sing, write, produce, arrange, perform and am extremely particular about the execution and presentation of my art form. Critics have tried so many times to box and compartmentalize what I do. Thankfully my fans see the larger picture and stick by me because they understand that I view the entire process as part of the art form too.”

Eli T. - Voted Female magazine's 50 Most Gorgeous people in Singapore and Cleo Magazine's 50 Most Eligible Bachelors in Singapore

You started out as a producer behind the scenes. What made you decide to step into the limelight and become a performer instead? Was it something that you were always working towards? Tell us more about this journey and what you have learnt.

Yes, I got my start professionally as a producer. Stepping into production was a growing phase in my career. There's something special about taking a song in for a good "buff and shine". Writing, producing, arranging and re-mixing bring me large amounts of joy and satisfaction.

That said, I've always been performing but it was only in 2011 that performing took precedence. I've always been an Artist (learnt that the hard way, haha) and I needed a larger outlet for expression.

There's something cathartic about flushing your thoughts, emotions and experiences into a song and production. Performing it just takes it to a whole other level. There's just nothing like it.

I feel like I'm always learning, which is great, cos I never want to be stagnant as an artist. Travelling down this road has also hardened me a fair bit. Artists are sensitive creatures but anyone who decides to go for a spin in the industry will have to learn that business and art are mutually exclusive.

What made you decide to leave a bigger label and become independent?

For me it's all about the art. I wanted to have the ability to create and deliver my best. It was exhausting - trying to be moulded into the "next so and so". I am much happier just being me.

For now, I want to make art on my own terms.

Could you tell us more about your fan base and how you stay connected with them?

I love my fans. They are a huge source of strength and encouragement. I talk to them on Facebook and Twitter whenever I can and it always brings me such joy to see them.

We've been touring/performing extensively and the power of social media has allowed us to connect. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a workaholic. I aim to give my fans the best.

Apart from the many social platforms that we have, there's an app for the fans to get instant updates about shows as they get come in.

You have released your debut album "Revolt" in March this year. How has been the response so far?

It is a really exciting time for my team and I as well. We released the record at our show for Mosaic in March. Truth be told, I can only say that we feel extremely blessed for everything to have come together the way the way it has. Just this year alone, we've travelled to so many places and played at major festivals and venues like M.E.A.N.Y Fest (New York, US), Mosaic (SG), City Showcase (Napier, NZ), Singapore Arts Festival (SG), Music & Mens Fashion Week (SG), Indie Week (Toronto, CA) etc.

The album is now available in multiple countries and across all major online platforms including iTunes and Amazon. In June 2012, we signed a distribution deal in Korea and the album is currently distributed across all Korean online portals like Mnet and Olleh Music. We currently rank #1 in Singapore on the Reverbnation music charts and we couldn't be happier.

Right now we're in New York getting ready to go on tour again. This leg of the tour will see us through, New York, L.A. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. There's just so much more to come. It's going to be an amazing experience.

How do you and your management team work things out, artistically and financially?

My team and I are really close and we function like a family. It's all part of the art form for me and I feel deeply blessed to have a manager that is so patient and understanding. We sit through long team discussions to learn together and make decisions.

I am also so grateful that my team entrusts me with the creative vision. It's not often you get a bunch of crazies working so great together. haha

You are not only a producer, singer, songwriter, but also a model and actor. What do you enjoy doing most?

I would say that I am a musician who can act and I was lucky when I was younger to stumble around a little bit of modelling. Music is definitely the heart of me. Acting comes a close second, but music is so all-encompassing that it's a whole different world than acting for me. I would say that they are all rewarding but the best part about all of this is that it keeps me on my toes. I keep learning and I keep getting inspired to put new elements into my music.

What do you think of the future of the music industry in Singapore and in Asia? Is Asia also a place where you will be focusing on too?

The music industry in Singapore is growing. It is my opinion that it is not near as flourished as the Philippines, Japan or Korea at the moment (which is surprising cos Singapore is so forward with so many things). That said, a number of talented artists released records this year and that is a huge sign of growth and that makes me super excited.

North America shaped a large part of who I am but it was in Asia that I got my professional start as a musician. I also feel really close to my asian fans and I can't wait for 2013 to come around so that I can see them again.

We're in the 2nd leg of our North American Tour, among other things but I try as much as possible to live in the moment.

The journey's so much more enjoyable that way.

My dream is to connect with as many people as possible through my craft and every day I feel grateful for being able to do just that.

Ex-NUS undergraduate receives $10,000 seed money in entrepreneurship grant scheme to set up local music discovery website.

It all started when Danny W., back then a National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate, saw an advertisement while waiting for a shuttle bus on campus and saw the poster ad of the NUS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practicum Grant.

Back in college, Danny had several musician friends who aspired to become full time musicians, but they struggled and finally decided to follow the "normal" graduate path and find a stable job. Danny wanted to make a difference, and his vision was to create a digital music platform that focused on local musicians as a means for them to be more easily discovered. By coming in together as a grassroots movement and having a concentrated platform for local musicians, he hoped that aspiring musicians will then be able to reach out to a lot more people than just their friends-zone.

Danny W., creator of iamLOCALIZED.sg

However, putting ideas into action naturally required a financial investment and it had been a tough start for him.

“I was still a student in my final semester and without a penny in my pocket. How will I fund this social project?” Danny asked himself.

So when the opportunity came, he jumped on it and submitted his proposal to set up iamLOCALIZED.sg. After weeks of waiting, he was finally notified that his business plan was selected to receive the $10,000 worth of funding.

He immediately looked for reputable website developers to create a prototype, The Alpha version came out for test drive in January 2012, and then on April 2012, the Beta version finally went online.

Screen shot of the website www.iamLOCALIZED.sg

How did you think your proposal stood out?

I believe the reason for being selected for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practicum Grant was because iamLOCALIZED's main element is that I identified it as an online grassroots movement, where iamLOCALIZED will bring together local musicians and listeners to promote local music. Online grassroots movement is undoubtedly the most happening thing at the moment, and my idea consists of that element. The area I chose, local music, is probably also the reason why my proposal stood out. There have been so many efforts by the organizations and musicians themselves to promote local music. Every time when they are asked what is lacking in the local music scene, their answers have always been more-less the same: "there is no platform that brings local musicians and listeners together". Hence I came up with an idea of having an online music platform specifically just for the local musicians.

It seems that currently there are no revenue streams in your model. How do you plan to be sustainable?

We do know that we need to be able to sustain the website, and most importantly to keep on developing the website for better user experience. Thanks to the grant, the website will still run for the next 2 years and this gives us ample time to experiment a few business models, may it be something that already exists or a totally new innovation. As of now, we are trying out different revenue generation models that would fit well with Singapore market. Music is consumed differently in different countries, and hence we see the importance of not sticking with just one business model. We believe there must be few trials-and-errors, and analyze to figure out what fits well with Singapore market. One revenue stream is through our IALiveSHOW. We have tried it, and currently we are in talks with few prominent venues to hold future IALiveSHOWs.

How can artists be discovered on your website?

At the moment, it's actually just a normal simple search algorithm; no rocket science implemented. Users search band name that they already know. Type the band name or genre, and then it displays the results. 

Discovery can be done through the following features:
- Music Charts: Most Loved Chart, and Most Played Chart of the month
- New Releases: Recent uploaded songs on iamLOCALIZED

- Welcome Playlist: Mix of random playlist upon login
- Artists section: Manually look for artists from A-Z
- Search bar: Type in name of band or music genre 
- IALiveSHOW: Discovery through the live show, or via recorded video of the live show on iamLOCALIZED homepage, or YouTube
- Social Media posts: daily posts on Facebook and Twitter.


We found out from our survey that most of the local listeners have the tendency of not looking for new local acts themselves, but they tend to discover accidentally or they have seen the artists performed somewhere or through recommendation. Not only in Singapore, but this is also happening all over the world in these days. Through the discovery features that we have, especially with the Music Charts, New Releases, Welcome Playlist, and IALiveSHOW, we are actually recommending local music that our local listeners would like hear. We believe in equal promotion, so the amount of promotion each artist get on iamLOCALIZED is more or less equally the same.

Music charts: how does it work? One vote per person? Or multiple votes per person? Is it a weekly or monthly chart?

The music charts is a feature that we hope to bring the competitive spirit into the local music scene. Users can give one vote per song. It is a monthly chart where the Most Played Chart will reset at the end of the month. Most Loved Chart is where you give your votes (showing some loves as we call it) to the song that you like, and it will reset at the end of the year.

How are you working out the licensing issues?

We are currently in touch with COMPASS in how do we stand and go about in terms of music licensing matter. Copyright is a big issue for us because after all, we are promoting original local music. We are also helping aspiring musicians to know about the importance of copyright and protecting their original music, because it is part of the music business element that the aspiring musicians themselves need to know about.

As a new platform, how do you intend to get artists and publishers to join your website?

The main challenge is to convince the musicians that putting their music on iamLOCALIZED is safe, and is beneficial for their exposure. We have realized that, and we are able to convince the musicians that the website is safe. As mentioned before also, we are currently in touch with COMPASS in protecting the musicians’ music.

As for their exposure, IALiveSHOW is definitely the main feature we have. Musicians are able to perform live in venues where people are watching them perform. It is good for the aspiring musicians to be exposed to such atmosphere, and for the existing musicians, it is always good for them to have the opportunity to perform live. From there onwards, it is the musicians’ duty to impress using their music talent.

How is the response so far? Any future targets?

The long term target for iamLOCALIZED is to become the one-stop-shop music channel for local Singapore music. Since the beta went online, we have 70 registered artists and 165 registered listeners. That sum up to a total of 235 registered users. Through those 70 registered artists, there are a total of 101 songs, made in Singapore. By the end of the year, we are targeting to round up the number to 300 registered users. Not so ambitious as one might see, but starting next year we will be going "full force" in promoting the artists and their music through innovative collaborations with various parties.



Music sales/distribution definitely plays a big role as an indicator for the musicians’ existence in the music industry. But for iamLOCALIZED, discovery is the most important factor at the moment. If we are able to engage high numbers of audience to play songs on iamLOCALIZED, we can promote the musicians further and enable them to generate income from music sales/distribution, playing live/tour, royalties, etc. This would empower the musicians to keep doing music, and aspiring musicians to follow the footstep of those successful ones. From here, we can eventually start to have a healthy music scene where you will be able to see local musicians can live from doing music. For iamLOCALIZED, this would be our tipping point where iamLOCALIZED will be able to generate income along with the musicians.

Since your site only focuses on local music, do you think the market supply and demand is big enough for your model to be sustainable?

I believe that the local market supply and demand is not enough for iamLOCALIZED to be sustainable. Other than being able to sustain itself, iamLOCALIZED also needs to grow. Hence we believe there is a need to venture out of Singapore as well. What we are trying to do is to grow along with the musicians. We are also working toward getting collaboration and partnership outside of Singapore. This would open the door for the musicians to showcase themselves outside of Singapore and empower them in bringing good music representing Singapore.

To sustain the interests of listeners, the golden rule for all musicians is to keep challenging themselves to create new music. The same goes to our local musicians. It is not about quantity, but quality, and as a matter of fact considering the population we have, we actually do have quality materials to sustain the interest of users. For musicians, it is a matter of keeping the standard high and create even more quality material.

What is your view on shifting the role of taste making from mainstream media to the average listener?



With the power of social media, the opinion leaders are none other than ourselves. All of us now are giving comments or opinions to almost everything that we're being exposed to on social media platforms.

From what I discovered through research is that what shifted the decision-making in this case is the medium that the consumers use. Consumers have moved from listening to radios, to watching music videos on TV, and they now are able to consume both via the Internet, and more specifically via social media platforms. Consumers are however mostly still influenced by what others recommend. If they used to get recommendations from the DJs on the radio, or the music channels on TV, now most music consumers get recommendations from their Facebook newsfeed, or Tweets, or YouTube recommendation list. Your friends on Facebook are mostly friends you have similar interests. The same goes for the Twitter accounts that you follow. Hence you would likely to get hooked with what your peers are listening/watching. To figure out whether you would like it or now, it is now just a click away.

IALiveShow: how do you intend to bring audiences to the shows? Any plans to monetize this area?

We started IALiveSHOW as part of the discovery feature, and as mentioned before, we are currently in talks with few prominent venues to collaborate with us. We definitely have plans to monetize in this area that would benefit the musicians, venue, and iamLOCALIZED. As this is a grassroots movement, one strategy is revenue sharing with the venue, depending on how many people actually come to the venue to attend IALiveSHOW and watch the artist perform. We have seen this done before in Singapore, and we are definitely going into this direction for IALiveSHOW.

Singapore's market may be small, but they don't hate this place

Prudent is how one could describe Singapore-based synth pop band, I Hate This Place (IHTP). Not artistically, but financially. The band is self-proficient in producing its albums and chooses to focus its resources on funding tours and raising awareness instead. 

"When carefully planned and executed, these things end up paying for themselves also. So in that sense, yeah the project is sustainable. Let's also not forget that time working on music is money not spent on partying, which can be a substantial savings in and of itself :)" says Sean Nerny, who is the creator and soul of the band.

In 2007, IHTP entered into an agreement with Tokyo-based XTAL Records to distribute the music in Japan. Three dedicated Japanese editions of IHTP music have now been released and IHTP has toured extensively across the Land of the Rising Sun.

We spoke to them about the challenges of gigging in Singapore as compared to other countries. But even as Sean admitted that it is a small and developing one, he is hopeful that with the right attitude and mindset, the little red dot still has the potential to create world-class acts.

Q: How do you find the gigging industry in Singapore as compared to other countries that you have toured i.e. Japan, US and Philippines?

Singapore is an interesting place to play, and it does have some things going for it - you'll never have to travel far to get to a show, most of the live spaces are fairly well equipped, and the number of venues I feel is growing. That said, at this point in time, I think that the music scene here is still developing and the market is also very small -- this can make it challenging for a niche group like IHTP to build a sustainable local fan base. I don't think that there is a great deal of value placed on supporting local music on a large scale, and while it would be great to see any band from Singapore get known on a global level, my sense is that is a little while off.

Q: Describe your relationship with XTAL and how it has worked for you. What matters to you most when you go into a deal with a distributor or a touring agent?

XTAL has been great because they were able to get us connected with Japanese fans. Working across languages can be challenging so it was really nice to have that help. In terms of what to look for when agreeing to any sort of deal with anyone, I think the main thing is to make sure that expectations on both sides are clearly set. I would also recommend that the agreement be reviewed by someone with a legal/entertainment background so that you have a clear understanding about what you are committing to.

 

Q: Digital vs physical copies: what's your take and which works better for your band? How about streaming (e.g. Spotify) vs downloads (iTunes, CDBaby)? Which gives you better awareness and income?

 

At this point in time, for IHTP digital really makes the most sense and comprises the majority of sales, and we are fans of both streaming and downloads. The band's fans are in many different countries, CDs are expensive to manufacture and ship, and our target audience lives firmly in an iPhone world. We do have limited runs of discs that we sell at gigs and occasionally on line, but at this point it seems easier for everyone to do things digitally.

Q: How big is your fan base? Where do your fans come from geographically? Other than gigging, what are some of the efforts have you done to attract new fans and keep current ones interested?

 

IHTP is not world famous, but we do have friends all across the world! The majority of the band's fans are in the US, Japan, and the Philippines. Because of this, social media plays a big part in keeping in touch and getting the word out about the latest developments. The availability of the tracks online has also made it really easy for people just to stumble across the music by chance or listen if a friends recommends it.

Q: How do you think you can manage and make better use of that mailing list?

 

IHTP doesn't actually maintain a mailing list. There's so much email out there - I'd prefer that people keep in touch of their own accord. Anyway, it's the people that actively search you out and maintain contact that are most likely to positively impact your musical endeavors.

Q: Any future plans? New album, collaborations, distribution points, gigging lineup?

 

We've got a new EP in the works and a gig on 22 Sept (Saturday)! You can always find the latest news via our Facebook (Facebook.com/ihtpmusic) and Twitter (@ihatethisplace)

 

Q: What do you think would be the future of music industry be like in Singapore and in Asia?

 

Certainly Asia has scenes both local and international that can rival what you would find in the US or Europe. As for Singapore, though developing the market will continue to take time, if everyone stays focused I don't see why this place couldn't create a reputation for being a place to find successful, high quality music and musicians.

About I Hate This Place

I Hate This Place is a pop/electronic project that was created by Singapore-born Filipino/American Sean Nerney in 2004. Drawing inspiration from the likes of The Postal Service, The Album Leaf, as well as some of Sean’s favorite 80s synthpop groups, I Hate This Place’s music has a distinct pop appeal that is still sensitive, deep, and thoughtful. Fans of Owl City, Lights, Shiny Toy Guns, and Swimming With Dolphins will feel right at home in IHTP’s world.

Though traditionally a solo project, in recent years I Hate This Place has been fortunate to have several talented co-conspirators. Since relocating to Singapore, Sean has teamed up with Singapore Idol finalist and The Kitchen Musical singer/actress Gayle Nerva, former Firebrands guitarist Roman Tarassov, and Bostonbased bassist Dave D’aranjo. The latest album, Shiny One, was released in September 2011. IHTP’s seven album discography is available online via CD Baby and iTunes. I Hate This Place plays live often, having completed a successful five city tour of Japan in February 2012 in addition to previous shows in the US, Singapore, Japan and the Philippines.

 

On the web:
facebook.com/ihtpmusic

myspace.com/ihtp

youtube.com/ihtpmusic

@ihatethisplace (Twitter)

"Musicians must be paid and paid on time. It's a form of respect to their craft and their occupation." ~ Peng Chi Sheng, Promising SME 500 Award recipient

It is never easy earning a living in the music industry. Many musicians have day jobs, and even if they are working full-time in the music industry, they have to wear many hats as writers, performers, sessionists, educators, artiste managers, publishing managers and many more. When Chi Sheng started out as a student and music enthusiast in a local music school, he never dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur. But fate has it when he eventually established his own outfit, Intune Music School, with a fellow ex-colleague, and struggled with the steep learning curve of turning from employee to employer. Yet, he has come a long way, and the business has since then not only stabilized, but also been recognized by various institutions, including the Small Medium Business Enterprise Association of Singapore, which presented them the recent Promising SME 500 Award 2012.

Chi Sheng (centre) and his partner, Aaron Lim (left) receiving the Promising SME 500 Award

Q: How did you get started out in the music industry?

I started out as a student at Lee Wei Song School of Music (LWSM) when I was 21, and was quite fortunate to be one of the last batch of students taught by Lee Wei Song himself. During those days, I started performing at Music Dreamer Café (爱情海民歌餐厅). The owner of the café, Sally, was also my music teacher. She saw the potential in me and gave me the opportunity to go on stage for a regular gig, and within half a year, I was able to perform on the popular slots on Fridays with local artiste Cai Li Lian and former lead singer of ‘Dreamz FM’ Ric Low. The weekly gigs were a motivation to hone my playing skills. Although we were only paid a transport allowance, the exposure was good and it served as an opportunity for me to jam with other musicians. Later I became a music instructor teaching music theory, but continued composing. We wrote songs every week as homework submissions, and one of my songs was selected for Tony Leung (梁朝伟). Lee Wei Song helped refine the song, so the final version was co-written by both of us.

I was a teacher at LWSM for 6 years, and was a publishing manager for the last 2 years there. My job was to look out for writers who have potential and ensure that the group of writers under me submitted good quality demos. I also formed the writers’ club, organizing monthly meetups for writers to showcase their demos, usually attended by one of the Lee brothers. The group of writers consisted of both current writers and those who were selected from the pool of students upon graduation. I had about 15 writers under me, and published about 10 songs over the period of 2 years. The biggest challenge for being a publishing manager is to ensure good quality demos, because most of the time, demos are rejected because the singer was not suitable, or the arrangement was not good enough. But once the demo is right, pushing the song to the sub-publisher will be much easier.

After 6 years at LWSM, a few of us left, and Aaron and I set up Intune Music School.

Q: So you went from being a writer/teacher to a publishing manager and finally an owner of a music school. What were some of the challenges you faced?

We set up Intune by circumstance, but I never regretted the decision because I have definitely learnt a lot throughout the years. I’m very fortunate to have Aaron take care of the school’s administration, finances, accounting and business development, so I can focus on the classes, PR, and the artistic development of our students. Running a business is never easy; it is always a challenge to maintain profitability. However, our principle is to never default on payment to musicians and music teachers. Musicians must be paid and paid on time; it’s a form of respect to their craft and their occupation.

Q: Tell us more about Intune Music School. Who are your customers? What are your strategies to attract new students and retain current ones? Has the strategy changed or evolved over time?

Running a school is running a business, so the decisions and strategies that we undertake are commercially driven. Our school is unique because we offer many different types of courses, including vocal classes in classical broadway and ukelele courses. Our customers are aged from 13-35, and about 30% of them are international students. We are seen more as a bilingual music school, unlike from other music schools which may focus on Chinese pop. We are also the official examination centre for the London College of Music Examinations since 2007.

To attract new students, our marketing is done purely online, so most of our students find us through our website. We also conduct live performances to increase general awareness.

Intune’s main revenue stream stems from our in-house classes. However, we also conduct music classes in various Primary and Secondary Schools, which is a growing market, as many schools celebrate an annual two-week festival promoting mother tongue by bringing in various vendors to expose students various fun and interesting ways to learn the language. There are also schools that engage us on a longer stint to conduct 8-week music classes for their students.

The courses and activities we conduct in schools vary from iPad Music Making, Vocal Placement, Chinese Lyrics writing to song writing competitions such as the NEA Eco Music Challenge.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

Now that the school’s operations have stabilized, we have just set up our own publishing arm and are planning to work with a sub-publisher in the near future. The timing is right, because we now have a stable of writers and are able to create a consistent flow of good quality demos. We will start small, with 5 writers under the publishing wing. It will be an exciting new phase for us.

About Peng Chi Sheng

Chi Sheng is one of the directors of InTune Music School, and has 10 years of music teaching experience in Singapore. He specializes in pop songwriting and sing-and-play courses, and has achieved Honours for the London College of Music Pop Vocals Grade 8 Examinations, as well as a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Recording Arts from Middlesex University, in partnership with the School of Audio Engineering (SAE) Institute, Singapore.

As a songwriter, Chi Sheng has published a number of songs for various artistes, including Kasih Indah (Love is Beautiful) for the NTUC 'U Care' compilation album in 2009 and 《这次是真的》 for Hong Kong Artiste Tony Leung Chiu Wai.