Music is one of the important elements of the cultural and creative industries. To promote the future music development of Macao is MACA's top mission. In view of this, the Macau Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers ( MACA ) held a Seminar on Macau Music, Cultural and Creative Industries on October 23, 2010 at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center, where over 50 industry practitioners attended.
Guests attending the seminar include the Macao SAR Government Executive Council Spokesman and Vice-President of Macau Cultural Industries Consultative Committee Leong Heng Teng, CEO of Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd. Elton Yeung, Hong Kong Renowned Composer and Producer Chan Fai Young, Hong Kong Gold Label Music Producer Gary Chan, Hong Kong and Macau Composer and Lyricist Joe Li, the band Soler, Hong Kong Singer Siu Fei and many of the local singers.
Ung Kuoc Iang, Chairman of MACA said in his speech that in recent years, many of the great composers, lyricists as well as singers have succeeded in promoting their music business to overseas markets, these are evidenced by a lot of success stories. The seminar’s objective is to communicate with the industries associates, as popular music is still finding its way in Macau. The market of Macau is limited and MACA’s aim is to arouse the consensus among the practitioners.
According to Ung, the most critical issue facing the creative industry is the copyright law, which is a legal right governed and established to protect the interests of the owner of an original work; and it is a intellectual property right exclusively controlled by the relevant copyright owner. If copyright is adequately protected, creativity in a community, and in turn its culture, will be encouraged and promoted. MACA since its establishment a year ago, received support from a number of Government Departments, Public Utilities Companies, Large International Brands, they have obtained licenses from MACA and pay royalties in order to perform their works. It reflects that the territory not only supports the copyright law, but also accelerates the development of the industries in Macao.
Ung also thanked the support of the Macao SAR Government, especially the Culture Industry Consultative Committees Vice-President Leong Heng Teng, and its affiliated associations, CASH for attending the seminar. In future, MACA will continue to promote awareness of copyright in Macao and strengthen the public's respect on music, so as to promote the cultural creativity for the next generation.
The affiliated society of MACA, CASH CEO Elton Yeung was invited as a keynote speaker during the event to explain the operation of CASH and Music Copyright Management issues. While the other two speakers; including Hong Kong Gold Label music producer Gary Chan and composer and lyricist Joe Li, have exchanged their views with the participants on how to develop the music industry of Macao, strengthening the awareness of music copyright, and how to promote Macao's potential artists and composers to the neighboring regions.
During the Q&A session, through the comprehensive interaction among the speakers and audiences, the participants discussed about the future development of Macau’s music industries and copyright issues.
MACA has been committed to promoting the music and providing music copyright information, seminars will be arranged from time to time in future to enhance the public’s understanding of copyright and related application knowledge.
