The 1st Musika Pilipinas Roundtable Discussion: The Roadmap To A Harmonious And Dynamic Future For The Philippine Music Industry

Representatives from various organizations within the Philippine Music Industry (FILSCAP, OPM, PRM, Mangyan Tunes, PhilStar, DTI)

QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES - PRM attended the first Musika Pilipinas Roundtable Discussion series held at Novotel Manila Araneta City last October 14, 2024, from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm. The roundtable discussion series was an industry-wide event to preview the organization’s roadmap for sustainable development of the music industry, entitled the “Music Industry Strategy for Investment Coordination (MuSIC) Program”, which falls in line with PRM’s advocacy as a collective management organization (CMO).

Musika Pilipinas as an organization was founded on a seminal research study funded by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), following R.A. 11904 (Philippine Creative Industries Act), with the goal of investigating how to cultivate and improve the Philippine Music Industry as a competitive cultural and socio-economic sector of the country. This includes determining what government policies would be most beneficial to the long-term growth and sustainability of the music industry and its members. In addition, the study aims to come up with strategies to utilize the income-generating power of the Philippine Music Industry and internationalize Philippine music as a means of economic gain and cultural exchange. The organization was initiated by Congressman Christopher “Toff” de Venecia and is currently being implemented by the UST Research Center for Culture, Arts, and Humanities, under Dr. Maria Alexandra I. Chua.

After lunch, at 1 pm, the event’s opening remarks were given by Geraldo S. Petilla, DPA, the Chief Administrative Officer of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), Finance Administrative Division (FAD), which was then followed by Dr. Chua’s presentation, entitled “Results and Findings of the Phase 1 of Musika Pilipinas and on the Music Industry Strategies for Investment Coordination (MusSIC) Program: A Roadmap for the Philippine Music Industry Development”, which is set to be complete by October 2025. In the presentation of her findings, Dr. Chua shared that a conceptual framework had been developed to understand the Philippine music industry's baseline and identify its big economic players. Dr. Chua then shared that the industry produces anywhere from Php 14.1 Billion to Php 28.3 Billion for the economy, inclusive of live performances, recording, publishing, and backward and forward linkages, which is in spite of the digitalization music constraining both the expansion of live music and investments in recording and publishing. These findings show that there is inherent economic value in the Philippine music industry that has been underutilized and deserves to be looked into.

Dr. Maria Alexandra I. Chua.

The presentation was then followed by the roundtable discussion, with its participants composed of music stakeholders such as music experts from CMOs, creative industry professionals, and representatives of independent groups of musicians, artists, and performers, such as Atty. Gio Franco Gomez, the Project Manager of Creative Industries of DTI, and Gab Cabangon of Organisasyon ng mga Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM). The roundtable discussion revolved around multiple questions vital to the music industry's continued growth and development. The first highlighted question of the discussion concerned constraints on music creation in the Philippines, with the main answer being the lack of quality music education given to Filipinos in schools, resulting in individuals passionate about music having to self-study to improve their skills. While there exists a M.A.P.E.H. (Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health) subject in the public school curriculum, the music experts pointed out that the subject does not treat music as an ‘important’ discipline, which leads to the students having a surface-level understanding of its concepts. Additionally, in practice, the music section of M.A.P.E.H. may even end up being pushed to the side for the other aspects of the subject depending on the instructor. Another key point in the conversation was that the opportunities for good music education and people who could teach music well are mostly concentrated in Metro Manila, with few opportunities generally in provincial areas. This indicates the need for more music education programs to be implemented in non-urban areas of the country. The lack of financial and economic support from the government also leads to music creators having more difficulty pursuing their craft. On top of that is the negative stigma that people have towards the economic value of music and music artists, which undermines the financial viability of music creation as a career. To combat these constraints, the suggested steps forward mentioned in the roundtable were to maximize digital platforms in educating the public, formulate a holistic policy agenda in developing the music industry, and use the economic value generated by the industry to make connections between different music-related organizations and working together for the common goal of fostering the industry’s growth. 

Another highlighted question was about whether Filipino music heritage can help safeguard intellectual property. The music experts mentioned the lack of a centralized archive or music library for Philippine music, which could help safeguard intellectual property and educate the public. Related to this is the existing knowledge and information gap surrounding the musical heritage of Filipinos, which ultimately hinders any efforts to preserve and appreciate the rich history of Filipino music. To assist in safeguarding intellectual property and Filipino music, the next steps according to the roundtable participants were to enhance music education and address physical and digital constraints on protecting music IP, which would mean streamlining the process of compiling, availing, and using copyrighted music under one music licensing organization affiliated with the government. However, this is currently not feasible because there is yet to be a mechanism made to prevent the possibility of the government manipulating the rate cards of the supposed one-stop shop licensing organization and corrupting the process, which is a situation currently faced in Indonesia. The participants in the discussion also suggested formulating rational, incentive mechanisms for businesses to use Filipino music, which would result in artists having financial incentives to continue their craft.

One more highlight of the roundtable was the discussion on the latest digital music technologies and how those in the music industry can take advantage of them. The technologies that were brought up the most were digital libraries and artificial intelligence, as both can be effective promotional tools when used properly. According to music experts, digital libraries have revolutionized the accessibility of resources to artists, researchers, and the public at large, which allows for materials and songs to reach a wider audience, allows artists to be inspired by other music works from around the world, and allows for cultural exchange to take place on a global scale. On the other hand, they said Artificial Intelligence is a new tool that can help ease the process of creating and executing promotional strategies for those in the industry, but it also necessitates the development of new guidelines on its use and implications in various industries, especially creative industries. The experts then suggested that those in the industry can use these developments to better navigate the active Filipino social media landscape and promote their works.

PRM's Licensing Head, Francis Buen, concurs with the need for better music education not only for those in public schools, but professionals within the industry as well. Related to one of the highlighted questions from the roundtable discussion, PRM has experienced working with licensees who are unaware of what organizations to go to regarding the use of music in public domains. The suggested steps forward related to music education and safeguarding intellectual property could be effective in preventing similar situations from taking place.

The first Musika Pilipinas Roundtable Discussion championed the advocacy of growing the Philippine Music Industry and protecting the rights of all in it, as it served as a platform for music stakeholders to share their plans and suggestions, as well as their experiences in the industry, to come up with solutions and policies that would be beneficial to the industry’s development and cultivation. The roundtable discussion summarized the current landscape and issues present in the Philippine music industry and provided possible solutions to those issues, which gave a small look into what the industry could be like in the future. That said, the fight for growing the Philippine Music industry doesn’t just happen in formal roundtable discussions, but it takes place in the day-to-day efforts of PRM to do its part as a music CMO.

Gab Cabangon, Candice Lima-Del Rosario, Francis Buen

To be updated on Philippine Music news, visit www.prm.com.ph.

Written by Raui Supnet