I’ve found this interesting article posted by Ronnie Khoo (Furniture) at Facebook.
Very well said i think.

Why is there so much back-patting in the KL scene?

OK controversial posting, because it’d be boring to read if I wrote it any other way.

Has anyone else noticed that all of a sudden, there appears to be a lot of awards, recognitions and what-nots being organized and given out in KL?

Just after discovering the VIMA awards I saw the latest copy of Juice which was basically one long advertisement for Hennessy trying to reposition its brand with the younger crowd by having some kind of awards thing (you still pay for the magazine).

I saw many friends on this list who I respect and admire, and others who appeared dubious to me (why does a social blogger deserve recognition for essentially writing a diary??? No one deserves an award for writing a diary unless you’re Anne Frank). But anyway the point is whether we can live without another award, and not have our collective scenes implode into some self-indulgent ritual of positioning ourselves to be the hippest award chasers by going to TAG a lot and having our party photos constantly appear in Juice right under that Hennessy logo.

It seems like anyone with good intentions can just round up some sponsors and dish out recognition, but I can’t figure out how this self-glamorizing actually benefits us, especially when awards are becoming as common as Datukships. KL is not that big, there are more awards than there are participants, you’ll see the same 80% of people/bands headlining all the awards, and the other 20% made up of friends of the organizers (don’t tell me this doesn’t happen, everyone has benefited from this at some point, me included). Can’t we live without this back-patting and focus on less glamorous and more humble initiatives to create a sustainable scene of whatever we do?

I suppose it is nice to dress up, go to a ceremony and give a speech, be all rah-rah, and add the recognition to your bio, naik saham. It’s glamorous and sponsors love it, and maybe it’s profitable which is why awards are mushrooming. But does it change anything? I don’t know. I din’t receive any award, I haven’t done anything deserving anyway unless you count staying home and watching Brendan Fraser movies.

But just in case anyone’s wondering, “Gee, you talk a lot, what do you suggest we do then?”, here’s my list of 5 practical things that are not glamorous, that needs to be done to save local music from the vacuous vapidity of another award. They’re not easily done, and they’re not immediately profitable:

1. Unbiased radio and TV coverage, curated by people with a real love and understanding of the wide scope of local music. No music to be rejected just because it doesn’t fit radio format, or the recording is lo-fi, or the band isn’t hip enough. Do it like college radio. Anything goes. We should do this to uncover more uniquely Malaysian music, apart from the stuff that already gets airtime because it’s pleasant or friendly.

2. More venues with good sound, accessibility and afforability to hold events. This has been an issue for, like, forever. But even as one venue closes, sure enough another one rises to replace it. Just for once, it’ll be nice to have a venue with great sound, so that local bands can come out sounding their best. Make it accessible so that public transport is an option, and affordable so that organisers can get their share back, and you’ve got a winner. If venue operators are not making money from selling alcohol it’s because they’re not reading their target market and should sell teh-o-ais limau instead.

3. We need more distros (and promoters, merchandisers, managers). Most local bands are not signed under a label, so they record and print albums themselves. Getting an album out to the public takes a lot of work, and there seems to be a lack of service to cater for new specific needs that were traditonally handled by the label. My band’s album has sold more copies in Singapore, Bangkok and possibly Europe, because we were offered distribution there, but we never had a distributor in our own country. Go figure.

4. Local music needs more political lobbying, because the current climate is hostile to youth culture that isn’t mainstream. Gig goers are victimised by moral defenders, operating a venue can be a bitch, ditto organizing an event, even selling CDs is a pain because of tulen stickers. There’s too much bureaucracy and politiking that runs counter to an environment that fosters the growth of creative talent. Is this something glamorous or profitable or easy to pursue? No. But it needs to be done.

5. We need public education to change the perception of music. Sponsors and their benefactors view music as entertainment and consumable youth culture, something that goes together with being hip, happening, and the letter ‘X’. We need to foster a view of music that is more inclusive and wholesome. I’m not even talking about 20th century avant-garde, just start with classical music and move up from there. Build the appreciation early.

Before the Beatles cut their first record, they used to play at strip clubs in Hamburg, Germany, 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. That’s slightly more than the stamina of the average Malaysian band, I would think. Before they’ve cut their first album, the Beatles already played more live music than most Malaysian bands would play their entire lifespans (which is usually the period between college and getting married).

It’s good that no one thought of giving the Beatles an award then, it might have gotten to their heads.