My Thoughts on the Proposed OPM Bill

Posted byPatrick KennanPosted inMusic, Politics, Random RantingTags:, , , ,
Photo by Juice.ph
Chito Miranda performing. Photo by Juice.ph

Parokya ni Edgar vocalist Chito Miranda recently expressed his disappointment through a series of tweets over a proposed OPM bill, which, if passed, will require foreign acts to

pay a so-called Reciprocal Equity Fee before they could hold shows in the Philippines, among other measures. The bill also supposedly intends to “address the displacement of economic opportunity that arises when the foreign artists are here.” (taken from Pulp Magazine)

Here’s what Chito had to say:

More Taxes? Really?

I agree with every single one of Chito’s points. Why do we need to require foreign acts to pay extra taxes? How will the government use these taxes to help OPM — distribute equally to OPM artists because foreign artists supposedly take opportunities away from local acts to perform and earn? Yeah right. These extra taxes will make promoters think twice before bringing foreign acts to the country. Ultimately, foreign acts will think that performing in front of their fans in the Philippines isn’t worth losing money in extra taxes. They’d gladly move on to the next country that would welcome them with open arms. You know what that would bring to fans? Disappointment. And do you seriously think the disappointment will cause fans to support OPM acts? Heck no. If they weren’t OPM fans before this, they won’t be supporters after.

Not All Artists Are Earn Big Money To Afford Extra Taxes

Mayday Parade giving kids a good time. Why would the government want to deprive us of meeting our favorite bands? | Photo by Keyell Jeyespi
Mayday Parade giving kids a good time. Why would the government want to deprive us of meeting our favorite bands? | Photo by Keyell Jeyespi

Now, some artists, especially big pop stars like Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber can surely afford these additional taxes. But what about the artists that I and the thousands of other whiny kids want to see — small time bands whose loyal followers of fanboys and fangirls are dying to see? The extra taxes will no doubt be unappealing to them because they don’t make as much money as those pop stars (because they don’t charge obscenely expensive ticket prices, mind you). Despite not making much, these bands/artists give out their all when they play in front of Pinoy fans. Just ask those who watched Mayday Parade live at Skydome 3 weeks ago. It would be cruel (plain evil) to deprive the fans of the opportunity to experience what most likely is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

Good Music Is Good

Generally speaking, someone becomes a fan of a music artist when he/she/they make good music, obviously. Why idolize someone when he/she/they sound/s like your neighbor’s cat choking on a hairball? It doesn’t matter if the artist is Filipino or a foreigner. People will love him/her/them if they make good music. Conversely, people will not love him/her/them if they downright suck. Chito’s call for local artists to make good songs IS the solution to the decay of OPM, not some stupid bill that places additional burden for foreign acts to perform in front of fans. OPM artists should make good songs that not only sound good, but are actually meaningful to fans. Yes, I’ve said before that an artists should only write about something that would express their innerm0st feelings and thoughts. But if your goal is to gain supporters for local music, writing a song about selfies is not a good path to take.

Yaaarrrrrr!

Chito pointed out that the government should instead focus on pirates who illegally acquire/distribute  music. Let’s all admit that we’ve pirated songs at least once in our life. Downloading via torrents/music sharing sites, converting Youtube videos to MP3’s and even Bluetooth-ing MP3 files are forms of piracy. We all have our reasons why we pirate music. For most of us, we do so because we can’t afford to legally buy LP’s/EP’s/records. But know that this is stealing. I’ll happily drop this bad habit without second thoughts. I agree that the government should just focus on ways to fight piracy, and help promote local music.

The Solution?

Good music should be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of the artist’s country of origin.  Last February’s 7107 International Music Festival saw both local and foreign acts being patronized by fans. We need more of that, in my opinion. Not only did Filipinos get a chance to see big-time foreign bands (like the Red Hot Chili Peppers!!!!), OPM bands got the chance to showcase their stuff to Filipinos and foreigners (from neighboring countries who came just to watch the festival) alike. We need more international music festivals that feature foreign and local artists playing side-by-side here in the Philippines. It’s a good direction to head if we intend to give life back to OPM. Not some crummy bill.

 

(You can also read this on my music blog, Pop Punk, Not Pills)

Published by Patrick Kennan

Hello! I'm Patrick Kennan, welcome to my blog. It is a space for me to spew forth the random rumblings in my brain. For an in-depth discussion about what things I like to talk about, check out the "About" tab at the top of the site.

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