We herewith announce today the launching of our industry project entitled “The Music Must Go On 2020” (the “Scheme”). After months of preparation by the IFPI (Hong Kong Group) Limited, we are pleased to have sought the funding support from Create Hong Kong (“CreateHK”) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HKSAR”) for this Scheme to support the local music industry, rejuvenate local pop music masterpieces, and promote the continuous development of the recording industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Scheme aims to encourage creations and highlight the importance of the social and economic contributions of the local recording industry to the entertainment community in Hong Kong and other places.
Mr Victor TSANG Chiu-hok, Head of CreateHK, remarked that over HK$ 8 million are funded by CreateHK’s CreateSmart Initiative for the IFPI (Hong Kong Group) to implement the Scheme for promoting local creations as well as providing job opportunities to the practitioners of the local recording and related industries that have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
The Scheme supports local artistes and talents, such as record producers, music arrangers, musicians and sound engineers etc. to produce new master recordings of designated past local hit songs and release the new editions to the benefit of the community. Local Record Labels and Record Companies are eligible to apply for subsidy under the Scheme. Wide industry support has been secured with the Hong Kong Recording Industry Alliance Limited (HKRIA) and the Music Publishers Association of Hong Kong Limited (MPA) joining the Scheme as Supporting Organisations.
A spokesperson of the IFPI (Hong Kong Group) said that the production of new recordings of local pop music masterpieces within such a tight schedule will be a great creative challenge. But the release of the re-makes and the investment in their marketing and media promotion not only generate synergy for but also help sustain the recording and entertainment industries. Furthermore, the new production under the Scheme can provide entertainment that would help lift up Hong Kong people’s spirits.
The spokesperson added that the Scheme is the industry’s initiative to relaunch Hong Kong and restore confidence in the market. It is not about commercialising new performances, but providing comfort, joy and solace to Hong Kong people under the pandemic challenge.
Main features of the Scheme:
The Scheme is open for applications by all registered record labels and record companies in Hong Kong which have been established on or before 31 December 2019 with proven records of commercial releases locally between 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2019, or the original labels that publish the recordings in the pool of songs.
The Scheme provides up to 120 subsidising quotas. Each Qualified Applicant must select a song from the pool compiled by the Organiser for producing a cover version by the Qualified Applicant’s contracted recording artiste. The pool of songs will be posted on the Scheme’s official website. Based on a nominal cost per title at HK$68,000 for producing a cover version, the subsidy to be reimbursed to the Qualified Applicant will be up to 90% of its actual allowable cost in producing the cover version, or up to HK$61,200 per title, whichever is the lower, and at least 80% of the total subsidy must be used by the Qualified Applicant in the employment and engagement of at least 6 studio practitioners in producing the cover version concerned.
The application is open from 13:00 on 20 October 2020 to 13:00 on 10 November 2020. To ensure the widest mix of artistes of different genres and labels, a quota will be given to each Qualified Applicant for producing a song on a rolling basis. By the close of the application period, should there be remaining quotas, they will be given to lower priority applications also on a rolling basis until all quotas are distributed.
The Rules and Regulations that provide the ultimate reference are available on the Scheme’s official website.
To be eligible for the subsidy, the cover version approved under the Scheme must be completed in production and commercially released in Hong Kong on or before 30 January 2021.
Full details of the Scheme are available on the official website at www.the-music-must-go-on.com
For enquiries, please email to mmg@ifpihk.org or contact the Scheme’s organiser.
Contact person of the Scheme’s organiser: Mr. Kung, Tel: 852-5386 6400
(Monday to Friday 10:00-17:00, Saturday: 10:00-13:00)
