Amidthe current economic downturn, one thing apparently can still sell like hot cakes: CDs of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
His movie and CD may generate as much as US$400 million (Bt13.3 billion) in sales worldwide as fans turn out to see and hear the last live performances by the great entertainer.
"Michael Jackson's This Is It" album, featuring one new song, went on sale yesterday. The movie with the same title opens tomorrow in more than 90 countries, including 3,400 theatres in the US, Bloomberg quoted Hollywood.com Box-Office as saying.
More than 1,000 US shows were sold out as of October 22, according to the online ticket vendor Fandango.com. Cinemas in London, Sydney, Bangkok and Tokyo also reported sell-outs, according to Sony, which is releasing the film and the album. In the UK, sales toppoed those of "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" at the Vue Entertainment chain.
"It's a true phenomenon," said Tim Richards, chief executive officer of London-based Vue, whose cinema near the 02 Arena, where Jackson was scheduled to perform a series of comeback concerts, is among those that sold out.
Jackson's work may be prized more after his death than it was in life, said Robert Sillerman, CEO of CKX, the New York-based operator of Graceland, Elvis Presley's Tennessee home, and co-producer of "American Idol".
"In death, people remember the best of somebody," Sillerman said. "Certainly that is turning out to be the case with Elvis and the Beatles. I think it will turn out to be the case in Michael's situation."
Jackson died at age 50 on June 25 in Los Angeles of a drug overdose, three weeks before he was to perform in concerts.
The film may generate $300 million to $400 million in global ticket sales, said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst for Los Angeles-based researcher Exhibitor Relations. US sales in the first five days may be $55 million to $60 million, said Jeffrey Hartke, an analyst with Los Angeles-based Hollywood Stock Exchange, which forecasts film performance.
The two-disc album, with the new track "This is It", as well as "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal" and "Thriller", may sell 200,000 to 500,000 copies in the US, according to Silvio Pietroluongo, director of sales charts at Billboard magazine.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
KARAOKE BUSINESS AND ROYALTY FEE COLLECTING AGENCIES
Since their introduction, karaoke machines have been popular among Thai consumers and part of the restaurant business throughout the country. But karaoke machines cannot operate without musical content, most of which is copyright-protected.
Widespread use of karaoke machines together with musical works hascertainly caught the attention of musical copyright owners. They started to enforce their rights by specifying the royalty rate and conducting police raids against those who use tunes without authorisation. It is important to note that using musical works without proper authorisation is a criminal offence carrying a jail term of up to four years or a fine of up to 800,000 baht (Section 69(2) Copyright Act).
For most small business owners, this fine is a huge figure. In 2002, a group of small restaurant owners with illegal karaoke operations surrounded a leading Thai musical company on Asok Road to protest the business concept in which musical companies would collect royalty fees for songs used by karaoke businesses.The restaurateurs later moved their protest to the Ministry of Commerce.
Since 2002, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), the Ministry of Commerce, and the police, among other agencies, have tried to resolve the conflict between restaurateurs and rights owners, but little progress has been achieved. Copyright owners want to collect royalty fees whenever their songs are played, whereas the karaoke operators believe fees are too high and that many musical companies collect fees outside of a properly regulated system.
Furthermore, there is no system in place to determine who the rightful owner of each song is. Some composers have transferred their copyright to more than one music publisher. The DIP has listed these "problem songs" and has asked the police not to prosecute the karaoke operators using these problematic songs.
This uncertainty calls for a law to regulate collecting agencies. In 2007,during Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's administration, the ministry proposed to amend the Copyright Act to establish a collection agency that would administer a minimum number of songs,with royalty rates controlled by the DIP.The minimum songs requirement is to avoid too many small agencies, each owning only a few songs, collecting royalty fees. A lot of collecting agencies would impose too great a burden on karaoke operators. But the draft was shelved by the National Assembly because of protests against the agency's establishment in front of Parliament by a group believed to be connected to the musical right owners.
Government-facilitated meetings have continued since, but to no avail. In 2009,under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government, the Ministry of Commerce has proposed new amendments of the Copyright Act for review by the Council of State, which serves as the government's legal adviser. While the amendments propose to make buying counterfeit products an offence, and to make landlords liable when tenants sell counterfeit products, a proposal for a royalty collection agency is not included.After two years of trying to pass its 2007 proposal, it seems the Ministry of Commerce has given up hope, at least in the short term.
Thailand is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that leaves royalty fee collection to musical companies, who take the law into their own hands without any proper control from authorities.Other Asean countries have established collection agencies, including the Philippines' Filipino Society of Composers Authors and Publishers,Singapore's Recording Industry Performance Singapore, and Malaysia's three collection agencies.
The lack of royalty collecting systems in Thailand means karaoke machine operators continue to be pitted against copyright owners and their collection agencies. Therefore, it is important that there must be clear and manageable legal rules for the collecting of royalties in the karaoke business. The authorities need to come up with concrete solutions to solve this long-pending predicament.It is unlikely that this matter would come to an end soon unless concerted efforts are made by all parties concerned.
Widespread use of karaoke machines together with musical works hascertainly caught the attention of musical copyright owners. They started to enforce their rights by specifying the royalty rate and conducting police raids against those who use tunes without authorisation. It is important to note that using musical works without proper authorisation is a criminal offence carrying a jail term of up to four years or a fine of up to 800,000 baht (Section 69(2) Copyright Act).
For most small business owners, this fine is a huge figure. In 2002, a group of small restaurant owners with illegal karaoke operations surrounded a leading Thai musical company on Asok Road to protest the business concept in which musical companies would collect royalty fees for songs used by karaoke businesses.The restaurateurs later moved their protest to the Ministry of Commerce.
Since 2002, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), the Ministry of Commerce, and the police, among other agencies, have tried to resolve the conflict between restaurateurs and rights owners, but little progress has been achieved. Copyright owners want to collect royalty fees whenever their songs are played, whereas the karaoke operators believe fees are too high and that many musical companies collect fees outside of a properly regulated system.
Furthermore, there is no system in place to determine who the rightful owner of each song is. Some composers have transferred their copyright to more than one music publisher. The DIP has listed these "problem songs" and has asked the police not to prosecute the karaoke operators using these problematic songs.
This uncertainty calls for a law to regulate collecting agencies. In 2007,during Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's administration, the ministry proposed to amend the Copyright Act to establish a collection agency that would administer a minimum number of songs,with royalty rates controlled by the DIP.The minimum songs requirement is to avoid too many small agencies, each owning only a few songs, collecting royalty fees. A lot of collecting agencies would impose too great a burden on karaoke operators. But the draft was shelved by the National Assembly because of protests against the agency's establishment in front of Parliament by a group believed to be connected to the musical right owners.
Government-facilitated meetings have continued since, but to no avail. In 2009,under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government, the Ministry of Commerce has proposed new amendments of the Copyright Act for review by the Council of State, which serves as the government's legal adviser. While the amendments propose to make buying counterfeit products an offence, and to make landlords liable when tenants sell counterfeit products, a proposal for a royalty collection agency is not included.After two years of trying to pass its 2007 proposal, it seems the Ministry of Commerce has given up hope, at least in the short term.
Thailand is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that leaves royalty fee collection to musical companies, who take the law into their own hands without any proper control from authorities.Other Asean countries have established collection agencies, including the Philippines' Filipino Society of Composers Authors and Publishers,Singapore's Recording Industry Performance Singapore, and Malaysia's three collection agencies.
The lack of royalty collecting systems in Thailand means karaoke machine operators continue to be pitted against copyright owners and their collection agencies. Therefore, it is important that there must be clear and manageable legal rules for the collecting of royalties in the karaoke business. The authorities need to come up with concrete solutions to solve this long-pending predicament.It is unlikely that this matter would come to an end soon unless concerted efforts are made by all parties concerned.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Vienna Mozart Trio gala concert
The Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok will host a gala concert,"Haydn Anniversary 2009", to be performed by the Vienna Mozart Trio, on October 21 at the Grand Ballroom of the hotel. The event will feature a 90-minute recital by the internationally acclaimed Auner family, namely Irina (piano), Daniel (violin) and Diethard (Cello). Their repertoire includes works by Haydn, Brahms, Schirk and Schumann. The Vienna Mozart Trio is known around the world and has performed on many prestigious stages from Asia to Europe. The Haydn Anniversary 2009 Concert is sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank in association with the Rotary Club of Bangkok and the Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok.Proceeds will go to community-related projects under the patronage of the Rotary Club of Bangkok.
Tickets for 'Haydn Anniversary 2009' are 2,000 baht each. For reservations, contact the Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok on 02-254-1234 ext 4324/5, from 9am to 5pm on weekdays,9am to noon on Saturdays.
Tickets for 'Haydn Anniversary 2009' are 2,000 baht each. For reservations, contact the Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok on 02-254-1234 ext 4324/5, from 9am to 5pm on weekdays,9am to noon on Saturdays.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Boyzone pay tribute to their "brother"
Thousands of Boyzone fans gathered in Dublin on Friday when the body of singer Stephen Gately arrived home for his funeral following his death in Spain.
People lining the roads outside a local funeral home applauded as a hearse carrying his coffin arrived.
His body had been escorted back to Ireland by the other members of the group: Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham,Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy.
With them on the private plane was Gately's partner Andrew Cowles, whom he married in a civil union in 2006.
Before leaving Palma airport on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, Keating read a statement and spoke of the band's grief.
"Last Saturday, our world changed forever when we lost our friend and brother Stephen."
He said the band and Gately's family had been overwhelmed by the messages of love and support they had received.
"What the future holds for the four of us now is too hard to even think about but we know that nothing will ever be the same without our dearest friend Stephen."
Keating promised an "unforgettable send-off" for Gately,33, who was found dead on Oct 10 in his holiday apartment in the Majorcan town of Port Andratx.
Keating and his bandmates have had tattoos featuring Gately's birth and death years in commemoration of him.
Irish police issued a special traffic management plan to deal with the large crowds that were expected to attend yesterday's funeral at St Lawrence O'Toole's church in Seville Place, close to his family home.
Close family and friends paid their respects at the funeral home and there was a private family mass on Friday.Local residents have been cleaning and painting the church for the funeral, and the surviving members of the band held an overnight vigil with Gately's remains.
The band's website says that Mr Cowles has asked that rather than flowers people should make a donation to a children's charity for which Gately was an ambassador. A further memorial service will be held in London, where Gately and Mr Cowles lived.
An autopsy revealed Gately died due to excess fluid in his lungs, a court spokeswoman in Majorca said.
"He died a natural death of acute pulmonary oedema which had nothing to do with any consumption of alcohol or drugs," the spokeswoman said.
Pulmonary oedema, or water on the lungs, can be due to either the failure of the heart to remove fluid from the lungs or direct damage to the lung tissue.
Gately joined the Irish pop band Boyzone in 1993 after answering an advert in Dublin for an audition.
The band went on to enjoy huge inter-national success, but split up in 2000.
They reunited seven years later, but their recent 19-date "Better" tour failed to fill stadiums, despite offers of free tickets.Gately also starred in West End mu-
sicals in London, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat .
People lining the roads outside a local funeral home applauded as a hearse carrying his coffin arrived.
His body had been escorted back to Ireland by the other members of the group: Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham,Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy.
With them on the private plane was Gately's partner Andrew Cowles, whom he married in a civil union in 2006.
Before leaving Palma airport on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, Keating read a statement and spoke of the band's grief.
"Last Saturday, our world changed forever when we lost our friend and brother Stephen."
He said the band and Gately's family had been overwhelmed by the messages of love and support they had received.
"What the future holds for the four of us now is too hard to even think about but we know that nothing will ever be the same without our dearest friend Stephen."
Keating promised an "unforgettable send-off" for Gately,33, who was found dead on Oct 10 in his holiday apartment in the Majorcan town of Port Andratx.
Keating and his bandmates have had tattoos featuring Gately's birth and death years in commemoration of him.
Irish police issued a special traffic management plan to deal with the large crowds that were expected to attend yesterday's funeral at St Lawrence O'Toole's church in Seville Place, close to his family home.
Close family and friends paid their respects at the funeral home and there was a private family mass on Friday.Local residents have been cleaning and painting the church for the funeral, and the surviving members of the band held an overnight vigil with Gately's remains.
The band's website says that Mr Cowles has asked that rather than flowers people should make a donation to a children's charity for which Gately was an ambassador. A further memorial service will be held in London, where Gately and Mr Cowles lived.
An autopsy revealed Gately died due to excess fluid in his lungs, a court spokeswoman in Majorca said.
"He died a natural death of acute pulmonary oedema which had nothing to do with any consumption of alcohol or drugs," the spokeswoman said.
Pulmonary oedema, or water on the lungs, can be due to either the failure of the heart to remove fluid from the lungs or direct damage to the lung tissue.
Gately joined the Irish pop band Boyzone in 1993 after answering an advert in Dublin for an audition.
The band went on to enjoy huge inter-national success, but split up in 2000.
They reunited seven years later, but their recent 19-date "Better" tour failed to fill stadiums, despite offers of free tickets.Gately also starred in West End mu-
sicals in London, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat .
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The saga drags on
The National Telecommunications Communications (NTC) finally confirmed that a lot of people have a lot of interest in thirdgeneration (3G) yuppiephone service,and not very many of them have kind thoughts about the regulators; about 1,000 people from the phone companies,financial advisers and phone suppliers showed up for what the NTC would be the one and only public hearing on its plans to auction and regulate 3G services;not so fast, said the private business leaders, such as Athueck Asvanont, who is chairman of vice at True Move ; he explained to the NTC that the constitution (Article 84-1) bans the government from competing with telecoms firms,and what are AIS (of Shingapore) and DTAC (of Norway) but foreign state companies?; then the lawyers took a crack at the commission, explaining that it is actually illegal for the NTC to get involved in 3G, because it is a matter for the National Broadcasting Commission, which doesn't exist yet - and any action by the NTC could be overturned by a court decision, sinking 3G even further behind high technology countries like Laos and Cambodia.
For those who missed it, lawyer Wirot Poonsuwan wrote an excellent review in a certain daily newspaper of the dogand-pony show known as 3G licensing and operation; it is online at www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/24707.
The Energy Ministry announced field tests on biodiesel B10 fuel will soon begin, supervised by PTT and the ministry's own Department of Energy Business; if everything goes as expected,the new fuel could win approval as soon as early next year; B10 is 90 percent regular diesel and 10 percent methyl ester, produced from palm.
Your CAT Telecom is no longer a long-distance telephone company, it is an "integrated wireless services provider"; so says your CAT president Jirayuth Roongsrithong, who figures the state enterprise can boost income by spreading out a bit here, tweaking a bit there, and reap the benefits of broadband Internet; but what CAT really is waiting for is issuing licences for thirdgeneration phones, because broadband services will really grow, then; Mr Jirayuth predicted CAT will gross 52 billion baht by the end of the year, even though international call income is certain to slide again.
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority slogged along on its lonely quest to bury power lines in Bangkok; all it has to do is to coordinate with City Hall, telecoms firms and mass-transit operators; MEA governor Pornthape Thunyapongchai noted the "poor city development plan" of previous Bangkok administrators; for now, the only underground power lines are around the Grand Palace and along Silom Road;the MEA is trying to herd the cats into a 3-billion-baht plan to bury wires along Phaya Thai, Sukhumvit and Phahon Yothin, and their sois.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp said flatly it would capture a quarter of the Thai smartphone market volume and value - by New Year's Eve; country manager Nattawat Woranopakul figured it would be easy to sell about 100,000 of the phones Thais will buy this year, and grow HTC revenues by 20 percent to 1.8 billion baht; overall,he expects Thais to buy 10 million yuppiephones for 27.9 billion baht - a huge drop from the record 47.3 billion baht in 2006; part of the reason for the drop is falling phone prices, with the cost of smartphones this year alone dropping from a 2008 average of 16,000 to 12,000 baht.
The company formerly known as Philips of Holland, now called China Electronics Corp (CEC) of Shenzhen,vowed to make a comeback in the Thailand yuppiephone market and get into the world Top 5 again by 2014; Philip Lee, who handles overseas affairs for CEC subsidiary Shenzhen Sang Fei Con-sumer Communications, predicted confidently he would double sales in Thailand and globally this year, selling six million phones in total; Philips sold the phone business to the Chinese firm in 2007.
Entertainment giant GMM Grammy signed a deal with Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan to provide Thai and other Asian workers to download music from the Internet trough their phones; managing director Surachai Sensri of GMM International was so devastated by all that homesickness by the 350,000 immigrant workers in Taiwan that he decided to cash in on it with music from the homeland; the exclusive deal allows Grammy to provide a "buffet service"of continuous music for the equivalent of 52 baht a month, and Grammy also expects to get streaming rights to Vietnamese and Philippines music for the service.
Thailand crunched the numbers on a single production base for the electrical and electronics industry in Southeast Asia - and gave a big smile; eliminating all import tariffs and facilitating trade with the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta)will give a big boost to the Thai industry;Charuek Hengrasmee, president of the Electrical and Electronics Institute, and Katiya Greigarn, chairman of the Electrical, Electronics Industry Club at the Federation of Thai Industries, noted the currently strong position of Thailand in the making of hard drives and electrical appliances - air conditioners,refrigerators and microwaves, say and figured that in international eyes,Thailand will be "the manufacturing centre of the region."
For those who missed it, lawyer Wirot Poonsuwan wrote an excellent review in a certain daily newspaper of the dogand-pony show known as 3G licensing and operation; it is online at www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/24707.
The Energy Ministry announced field tests on biodiesel B10 fuel will soon begin, supervised by PTT and the ministry's own Department of Energy Business; if everything goes as expected,the new fuel could win approval as soon as early next year; B10 is 90 percent regular diesel and 10 percent methyl ester, produced from palm.
Your CAT Telecom is no longer a long-distance telephone company, it is an "integrated wireless services provider"; so says your CAT president Jirayuth Roongsrithong, who figures the state enterprise can boost income by spreading out a bit here, tweaking a bit there, and reap the benefits of broadband Internet; but what CAT really is waiting for is issuing licences for thirdgeneration phones, because broadband services will really grow, then; Mr Jirayuth predicted CAT will gross 52 billion baht by the end of the year, even though international call income is certain to slide again.
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority slogged along on its lonely quest to bury power lines in Bangkok; all it has to do is to coordinate with City Hall, telecoms firms and mass-transit operators; MEA governor Pornthape Thunyapongchai noted the "poor city development plan" of previous Bangkok administrators; for now, the only underground power lines are around the Grand Palace and along Silom Road;the MEA is trying to herd the cats into a 3-billion-baht plan to bury wires along Phaya Thai, Sukhumvit and Phahon Yothin, and their sois.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp said flatly it would capture a quarter of the Thai smartphone market volume and value - by New Year's Eve; country manager Nattawat Woranopakul figured it would be easy to sell about 100,000 of the phones Thais will buy this year, and grow HTC revenues by 20 percent to 1.8 billion baht; overall,he expects Thais to buy 10 million yuppiephones for 27.9 billion baht - a huge drop from the record 47.3 billion baht in 2006; part of the reason for the drop is falling phone prices, with the cost of smartphones this year alone dropping from a 2008 average of 16,000 to 12,000 baht.
The company formerly known as Philips of Holland, now called China Electronics Corp (CEC) of Shenzhen,vowed to make a comeback in the Thailand yuppiephone market and get into the world Top 5 again by 2014; Philip Lee, who handles overseas affairs for CEC subsidiary Shenzhen Sang Fei Con-sumer Communications, predicted confidently he would double sales in Thailand and globally this year, selling six million phones in total; Philips sold the phone business to the Chinese firm in 2007.
Entertainment giant GMM Grammy signed a deal with Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan to provide Thai and other Asian workers to download music from the Internet trough their phones; managing director Surachai Sensri of GMM International was so devastated by all that homesickness by the 350,000 immigrant workers in Taiwan that he decided to cash in on it with music from the homeland; the exclusive deal allows Grammy to provide a "buffet service"of continuous music for the equivalent of 52 baht a month, and Grammy also expects to get streaming rights to Vietnamese and Philippines music for the service.
Thailand crunched the numbers on a single production base for the electrical and electronics industry in Southeast Asia - and gave a big smile; eliminating all import tariffs and facilitating trade with the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta)will give a big boost to the Thai industry;Charuek Hengrasmee, president of the Electrical and Electronics Institute, and Katiya Greigarn, chairman of the Electrical, Electronics Industry Club at the Federation of Thai Industries, noted the currently strong position of Thailand in the making of hard drives and electrical appliances - air conditioners,refrigerators and microwaves, say and figured that in international eyes,Thailand will be "the manufacturing centre of the region."
Monday, October 12, 2009
Guy Ritchie says he still loves "retarded" Madonna
Call it delayed reaction.A year after Madonna called him "emotionally retarded", former husband Guy Ritchie said in an Esquire interview that hit the Web on Wednesday that he still loves her, but that she is "retarded" herself.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
TAIWANESE POP STAR A-MEI GOES BACK TO HER ROOTS
It is the worst kept secret in Chinese pop. Newcome Guililai Amit is none other than Taiwanese singer A-mei.
The album title "Amit" already gives the game away as it also stands for A-mei-"Music is transformed".
No matter, recording the new album under her Puyuma tribal name seems to have fried up the 37-year-old singer, and fans have taken to the slightly more adventurous offerings. Tracks such as alter Ego"and"After the Sentimental Love of Animals" have topped Radoo 100.3's singles chart.
Controversy over a risque music video from the album for "Black Eat Black", which featured masochistc amd sexual themes, does not seem to have hurt either.
Since her debut in 1996 with the massive hit album "Sisters", the rhrid youngest child in a family of nine has had more than her fair share of highs and lows.
She was banned from performing in China for two years after singing at former president Chen Shui-bain's inauguration ceremony i n 2000, graced the over of Newsweek in 2001, had a disappointing album in "Maybe Tomorrow" (2004) and then bounced back with "I Want Happiness!?" in 2006.
This year was looking hgood for her, afte a well-received new album as well as relationship with basketballer He Shoucheng. Then tragedy struck: she lost her uncle and grother-in-law when Typhoon MOrakot hit Taiwan in August.
Nothing can keep her down, though. She spoke to the Straits Times by phone from Tiapei recently.
Is it true that you are a fan of former F1 champion Michael Schumacher?
It takes a high level ofskill and quick relfexes to take part in an F1 race and every racer is amazing.
I'm envious. I love to drive but I can't drive that fast so I love the thrill of watching them race.
How eid you approach the recording of "Amit"?
Everything from the songs to the themes to the visuals was conceived as a totality. It was not meant to be different for the sake of being different.
I didn't want Amit to come with too much baggage, that she should sing or not sing certain kinds of music. Whether picking the songs or recording in the studio, I needed to discard what was associated with A-mei and my usual style of expression.
Were you worried that you fans would not be able to accpet this change?
People have already associated A-mei with a certain style of music and have not been able to accept something new.
I thought that using a different persona would overcome that. But if you worry about album sales, then you might as well not make albums anymore.
How did your family react to the risque video?
I prepared them for it beforehand. They know that I have very strict demands of my music Whatever I wish to do or express, I want it to be conveyed 100 per cent and they were supportive of me.
What can we expect from Amit in future?
I think the starting point for each Amit album will be a diffeent theme. Maybe the next one could be vry folkish and easy-going or it could be an A-mei release, a very mainstream pop album with either dance tracks or love ballads.
Music is about being led by my emotions and expressing what I want to express.
Complete this sentence: If I could live my life all over again.
I think I would make the same choices but live with greater passion. Looking ahead, I hope that I'll continue to be as passionate about music and performing on stage.
The album title "Amit" already gives the game away as it also stands for A-mei-"Music is transformed".
No matter, recording the new album under her Puyuma tribal name seems to have fried up the 37-year-old singer, and fans have taken to the slightly more adventurous offerings. Tracks such as alter Ego"and"After the Sentimental Love of Animals" have topped Radoo 100.3's singles chart.
Controversy over a risque music video from the album for "Black Eat Black", which featured masochistc amd sexual themes, does not seem to have hurt either.
Since her debut in 1996 with the massive hit album "Sisters", the rhrid youngest child in a family of nine has had more than her fair share of highs and lows.
She was banned from performing in China for two years after singing at former president Chen Shui-bain's inauguration ceremony i n 2000, graced the over of Newsweek in 2001, had a disappointing album in "Maybe Tomorrow" (2004) and then bounced back with "I Want Happiness!?" in 2006.
This year was looking hgood for her, afte a well-received new album as well as relationship with basketballer He Shoucheng. Then tragedy struck: she lost her uncle and grother-in-law when Typhoon MOrakot hit Taiwan in August.
Nothing can keep her down, though. She spoke to the Straits Times by phone from Tiapei recently.
Is it true that you are a fan of former F1 champion Michael Schumacher?
It takes a high level ofskill and quick relfexes to take part in an F1 race and every racer is amazing.
I'm envious. I love to drive but I can't drive that fast so I love the thrill of watching them race.
How eid you approach the recording of "Amit"?
Everything from the songs to the themes to the visuals was conceived as a totality. It was not meant to be different for the sake of being different.
I didn't want Amit to come with too much baggage, that she should sing or not sing certain kinds of music. Whether picking the songs or recording in the studio, I needed to discard what was associated with A-mei and my usual style of expression.
Were you worried that you fans would not be able to accpet this change?
People have already associated A-mei with a certain style of music and have not been able to accept something new.
I thought that using a different persona would overcome that. But if you worry about album sales, then you might as well not make albums anymore.
How did your family react to the risque video?
I prepared them for it beforehand. They know that I have very strict demands of my music Whatever I wish to do or express, I want it to be conveyed 100 per cent and they were supportive of me.
What can we expect from Amit in future?
I think the starting point for each Amit album will be a diffeent theme. Maybe the next one could be vry folkish and easy-going or it could be an A-mei release, a very mainstream pop album with either dance tracks or love ballads.
Music is about being led by my emotions and expressing what I want to express.
Complete this sentence: If I could live my life all over again.
I think I would make the same choices but live with greater passion. Looking ahead, I hope that I'll continue to be as passionate about music and performing on stage.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Looking for "Easy Love"?
Masters of the remix - if not spelling - MSTRKRFT will flail the Fist of God tonight on the Royal City Avenue
Canadian electronic duo MSTRKRFT debuts in Bangkok tonight with music like you've never heard before.
Jesse Keeler and Al-P are the terrible spellers behind the tune unit pronounced "Mastercraft". They met as punks in 1997 and together goosed up studio recordings for Black Cat #13, Femme Fatale and Death from Above.
Their own first LP, "The Look", came out in 2006, featuring hits like "Easy Love" and "Work on You" and several remixes of tunes from other bands.
We pried the headphones off Al-P long enough for a chat in advance of tonight's gig on RCA.
What's in the backpack?
We're finishing up the tour cycle of our just-released album "Fist of God", playing Australia, Japan, South Korea and of course Thailand.
We're also preparing for our next album when we get back home to Toronto.
So it's true - there's music in Canada.
Canada actually has quite a few internationally successful acts right now, as we're seeing on our Australian tour. Besides us, there's DJ A-Trak from Montreal, who was a DJ for Kanye West.
The funny thing about Canada, and Toronto specifically, is that you never get big at home first. You have to become successful outside of Canada, and then people at home will notice you.
What's your favourite remix?
Recently it's the mix we did for Usher, which was - much to our disappointment - never officially released, because it contained elements of Eric Clapton's "Layla". But I think any music connoisseur would agree that our usage was clever, insightful and tasteful.
That's more than I can say for most of the sample-based music being released today. It's quite frustrating for us in that we've never dared use any samples, out of respect for the original artists, and out of respect for ourselves and our dying craft.
How did you get John Legend singing on "Heartbreaker"?
We'd done a remix for his "Green Light" that he actually liked, and he told us so personally. That rarely happens when we remix an artist, let alone an artist of John's calibre.
Instead of paying for that mix, we agreed that John would do vocals on our album. He liked the "Heartbreaker" instrumental, and he liked the lyrics that Nick [from Space Cowboy] wrote for it, so we ended up in the studio in New York City with him for two days.
Canadian electronic duo MSTRKRFT debuts in Bangkok tonight with music like you've never heard before.
Jesse Keeler and Al-P are the terrible spellers behind the tune unit pronounced "Mastercraft". They met as punks in 1997 and together goosed up studio recordings for Black Cat #13, Femme Fatale and Death from Above.
Their own first LP, "The Look", came out in 2006, featuring hits like "Easy Love" and "Work on You" and several remixes of tunes from other bands.
We pried the headphones off Al-P long enough for a chat in advance of tonight's gig on RCA.
What's in the backpack?
We're finishing up the tour cycle of our just-released album "Fist of God", playing Australia, Japan, South Korea and of course Thailand.
We're also preparing for our next album when we get back home to Toronto.
So it's true - there's music in Canada.
Canada actually has quite a few internationally successful acts right now, as we're seeing on our Australian tour. Besides us, there's DJ A-Trak from Montreal, who was a DJ for Kanye West.
The funny thing about Canada, and Toronto specifically, is that you never get big at home first. You have to become successful outside of Canada, and then people at home will notice you.
What's your favourite remix?
Recently it's the mix we did for Usher, which was - much to our disappointment - never officially released, because it contained elements of Eric Clapton's "Layla". But I think any music connoisseur would agree that our usage was clever, insightful and tasteful.
That's more than I can say for most of the sample-based music being released today. It's quite frustrating for us in that we've never dared use any samples, out of respect for the original artists, and out of respect for ourselves and our dying craft.
How did you get John Legend singing on "Heartbreaker"?
We'd done a remix for his "Green Light" that he actually liked, and he told us so personally. That rarely happens when we remix an artist, let alone an artist of John's calibre.
Instead of paying for that mix, we agreed that John would do vocals on our album. He liked the "Heartbreaker" instrumental, and he liked the lyrics that Nick [from Space Cowboy] wrote for it, so we ended up in the studio in New York City with him for two days.
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