The GIO’s Support for Taiwanese Pop
Whether the music world is thriving or flagging, the government is always there, playing the role of helmsman, helping with course corrections and keeping one hand on the throttle.
In her paper “Music as an Element of Cultural Citizenship: Reflections on Popular Music Policy,” Professor Jian Miao-ju of National Chung Cheng University’s Department of Communication notes that after banning many songs and promoting “spiritually purifying songs” in the early authoritarian era and moving to a focus on protecting intellectual property rights later, in 1990 the state began to acknowledge the value of popular music with the founding of the Golden Melody Awards, and since 2000 this has grown into support for the economic value of the industry.
After approving the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Plan in 2009, the government inaugurated a five-year “Flagship Plan” for the TV-content, motion-picture, and pop-music industries, with a budget of NT$13.5 billion. Part of this, the Government Information Office-led “Pop Music Industry Development Action Plan,” was allocated NT$2.135 billion to support the local music industry over those five years.
In fact, the GIO had already begun subsidizing recording acts in 2007, and has increased this support in the last two years, providing NT$10 million in investment across at least 20 acts each year, to help oft-overlooked independent music acts realize their dreams of releasing albums.
The six-year-old Monkey Pilot, for example, released their first album, My Guitar, and its follow-up Big Child both with grants from the GIO. Elder statesmen of Taiwanese indie music Tizzy Bac have also received GIO subsidies for album releases, overseas tours, and marketing.
As well as helping bands release albums, since 2010 the GIO has worked to provide musicians and bands opportunities to take part in festivals and events abroad as part of their aim of “taking Taiwanese music to the global market.”
As part of their efforts to encourage musical creativity, in 2010 the GIO established the Golden Indie Music Awards, attracting some 1800 entrants. Monkey Pilot’s album My Guitar won them the Best Band award, while independent songstress Deserts Chang took Best Singer-Songwriter and Best Rock Single. The big winner of the Second Golden Indie Music Awards was Lin Sheng-xiang, who walked away with Best Album, Best Singer-Songwriter, and Best Folk Album.
Through financial support and incentives like the awards, the GIO has been getting more talented artists noticed and independent music heard by more people.(Chang Chiung-fang/tr. by Geof Aberhart)
Getting their albums released is the dream shared by all indie bands.
Music is a means for young people to express themselves and discover who they are. Here we see Monkey Pilot performing at Riverside Live House in Ximending, Taipei, reaching out and connecting with their fans.
Popular music today thrives on diversity. For example, jazz band Timeless Fusion Party walked away with the Best Instrumental Album award at the 2011 Golden Melody Awards.