MACA’s Session on ‘Music Carriers Have Grown up with Us’

The twenty-sixth of April is the World Intellectual Property Day. On this occasion, MACA hosted a sharing session on the topic of ‘Music Carriers Have Grown up with Us’ at DSEJ Centre of Experimentation for the Youths between 4pm and 5.30pm on the day. MACA, as the organizer, wishes to raise the public awareness on music and copyright through the event.

A number of representatives from governmental departments and organizations attended, including LEONG Heng Teng (President of the Executive Committee of the Cultural Industry Fund), CHUI Sai Peng (Vice-President of the Committee of Cultural Industries), U Kam (Head of Judicial Cooperation Department in the Office of the Public Prosecutor General), CHEANG Kai Meng (Head of Division of Creation and Sports of Department in the Official Provisional Municipal Council), LEONG Kin Wa (Customs Service Inspector), TAM Meng Kuong (Macao Federation of Trade Unions), LAU Sut Man (Director of the Macau Deaf Association), etc.

MACA president Yan UNG, during his opening speech, explained the origin and mission of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). MACA, as a collective management organization (CMO), is striving for a similar goal like WIPO. MACA is to stand up for the right of MACA members, to encourage the legal use of music and to develop the local music industry.

The event was open to the public and was held in the form of informal talks among guest speakers, including band Soler composer and author Joe Lei, Vinyl records collector Norman Tam and MACA scholarship recipient Cheong Hip Sang. Each of them provided a unique perspective on how different music carriers, i.e. vinyl, Walkman, CD, etc. have had impacts on music itself, music creation, and music copyright. The talks highlighted the importance to respect music and its creators. Protecting copyright properly will be able to provide a more sustainable environment and suitable platform for music creation. The audience active partook in the Q&A sessions and voluntarily shared stories of their musical lives and their opinions on how music carriers have impacted on their personal life.

The discussion has provided the public with an opportunity to consider how music copyright contributes to the flourishing of music. The event ended in a big round of applause.

President Yan UNG with the guest speakers and the representatives

Soler sharing how the musical carriers have changed since their childhood

The audience listening attentively to the guest speakers