Appendix 6 - International Music Council

There is also a concerted effort to celebrate International Friendship Day in the schools and
again music performances form a major part of these celebrations.
• Can you cite instances where musical diversity has caused or been strongly
associated with social disharmony?
RESPONSE: No public records available on that issue.
23. The standards regulating musical diversity
• Cite examples of government or government-induced regulations intended to
promote musical diversity or freedom of musical
expressions OR to limit them. Refer
to t he fields
shown below. In each case, if possible, give briefly the rationale for the
regulation. In each case, are the regulations enforced?
- Broadcasting. For instance, are there examples of the use of regulations
to require the broadcast of local music, or regulations to require the
broadcast of some forms
of music but not others, or regulations to
prohibit the broadcast of some forms of music?
RESPONSE: No official government policy to regulate broadcast of some form of music
but not others, however, the lack of regulation means that broadcasters are driven by
market
forces to broadcast only music that appeals to the masses, ie, popular music, and the total
disregard to broadcast any traditional music of the country. A radio station formerly
run by
the National Arts Council was closed down due to low audience numbers and lack of
funding.
- New media. Are there parallel requirements in the regulation of new
media that would favour or disfavour some forms of music? (New
media: for instance, the internet.)
RESPONSE: No official
government policy on this either.
- E-commerce. Are there parallel requirements in the regulation
of e-
commerce that would favour or disfavour some forms of music? (E-
commerce in music: trade in music digitally embodied or delivered.
Overlaps with new media.)
RESPONSE: No official government policy.
- Education. Are there regulations requiring education in local music
traditions, or in a diversity of musical genres?
RESPONSE: About 4 years ago, there was a change in the music curriculum in schools to
include music of the main ethnic communities in Singapore – Chinese, Malay and Indian as
well as World Music, focusing on the music of China, Japan, Africa, Indonesia, Latin
America and India. As such, students in our schools have the opportunity
to be exposed to a
variety of music, when it the past, it was only western classical music.
- Subsidy. Are there regulations that require that government subsidy
should be given to, or withheld from specific musical genres, or to a
diversity of musical genres? Are there regulations that require that
government subsidy can only be given to citizens of the particular
country, or regulations along those lines? Are there
regulations that
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