'MTV' promotes foreign and local talents

'MTV' promotes foreign and local talents

Kenny Santana, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization

MTV is American? Think Again.

As MTV invades Southeast Asia, the faces of MTV are no longer
just Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake but also Indonesia's
Padi and Singapore's Stefanie Sun. These names may not sound
familiar to the average American, but their looks and voices have
reshaped MTV's global image.

MTV's tenure in Asia has been an exercise in evolution. MTV
first entered Asia in 1992, when it launched MTV Japan, but
didn't grab the attention of Southeast Asia until 1995 with the
introduction of the regional MTV Asia. When the station was born,
Southeast Asian youngsters were enthusiastic simply because they
had something they never had before: A 24-hour music channel.

To satisfy Asian audiences' cravings for international
programming, MTV Asia incorporates American/European music and
shows like MTV Becoming, from the U.S. and Singled Out from Europe.
However, Asia's fascination with American and European pop
culture doesn't mean that distinct local tastes have become
extinct.

The spotlight is on Asian musical artists at the MTV Asia
Awards.

Soon after MTV Asia's establishment, it became clear that
distinct cultural tastes across the region would require MTV Asia
to be more than a simple carbon copy of its Western divisions.
MTV has, in fact, consistently increased the number of programs
featuring Asian music in order to tap into these local tastes. In
some places, the station abandoned the "one size fits all"
regional broadcast altogether in favor of stations that can
better address the tastes of individual countries.

So, although much of Southeast Asia (including Malaysia and
Singapore) still watches the regional MTV Asia broadcasts, in
2001 and 2002 MTV Asia created three new subdivisions -- MTV
Philippines, MTV Thailand, and MTV Indonesia -- all of which have
proven extremely successful. Frank Brown, president of MTV
Networks Asia, said at the C21 World Marketing Conference in 2000
that, "It's very important that what we're going to market in
each country fits with the local culture."

Indeed, the express goal of MTV Asia has always been to
localize the global MTV image. "MTV is a global brand which
thinks and acts locally," said David Flack, Senior Vice President
of MTV Asia's Creative and Content Division.

Local shows generally comprise up to 80 percent of MTV Asia's
programming, depending on the relative popularity of current
programs from the U.S. or Europe. But the incorporation of these
local programs wasn't entirely smooth.

When MTV Asia aired its first reality show, It's My Life,
Asian audiences recognized it as a Real World rip-off, only far
less exciting. In the American Real World, seven strangers were
cramped into one house to see how they'd react to each other. In
the so-called Asian version, a camera followed seven people
picked from all over Asia and recorded their oh-so-exciting
lives. No conflicts, no surprises, just a dull idea with some
beautiful people. Yawn.

Yet these localized programs and stations have made MTV more
accessible to different audiences and have catapulted ratings.
Stations -- like MTV India -- that tanked when they aired
American music and programs were revitalized with an infusion of
local culture. When MTV India became "Indianized" and began
featuring more Indian videos and VJs, viewers finally began
tuning in.

Despite the success of MTV India and the incorporation of
local shows and music, MTV often received conflicting demands
from viewers. While some remained fascinated with Western music,
others demanded more music by domestic artists. In Thailand, a
survey dubbed "ROAR" (Right of Admission Reserved) revealed that
95 percent of Thai teenagers preferred local to foreign music.
Thus, when MTV Thailand was born shortly thereafter, in October
2001, it incorporated more local flavor than any of its
predecessors.

MTV's most recent effort to infuse regional and local elements
into its programming came with the launch of MTV Indonesia in
June 2002. With 13 million households within reach, Indonesia
represents one of MTV's largest potential markets in Asia. MTV
therefore took stock of lessons learned in other Asian countries
and drew inspiration for programming from local sources.

One of the audience's favorite shows is MTV Salam Dangdut,
which presents Indonesia's most popular traditional music. MTV
aired the show as a gesture of appreciation for local culture.
Ironically, Dangdut has long been unpopular in Indonesia's music
industry. It was only when MTV dared to air the program that
local audiences began to appreciate the music. Young people, who
had never been interested in music like dangdut before, suddenly
began seeing it as cool thanks to MTV's generation Y-friendly
approach.

This phenomenon is occurring throughout Asia. Wherever MTV
takes root, it provides local, previously obscure, musicians with
the publicity and venue to achieve mass popularity. Their
burgeoning popularity has, in turn, helped the domestic music
industry flourish. Robert Quebral, an award-winning Filipino
music video director, said, "Philippines' music video scenes are
looking rosy."

Even the budgets are starting to improve. Some labels are now
willing to spend more. There are several factors, one of which is
MTV Asia's renewed interest in local videos. If the labels are
happy with the videos produced, they'll produce more videos. And
the more videos they produce, the happier MTV Asia is because
they'll get more material."

MTV is not only bringing local music out of obscurity locally,
but globally as well. The station is responsible for growing
regional and global recognition of local music. Indeed, shows
like the MTV Asia Awards are providing Asian singers with the
chance to perform in front of the world. Padi, an Indonesian
band, received CNN coverage when it was voted Indonesia's
favorite band at this year's MTV Asia Awards.

And Jay Chou, a Taiwanese singer, was not only voted
everybody's favorite, but grabbed the attention of international
musicians, such as the Irish boyband, Blue. Blue voiced its
admiration for Jay Chou's singing style and rumors abound that a
collaboration is in the works between the two.

"Many local musicians get a chance to be heard by wider
audiences overseas, when their music is played on MTV. We have
put our local artists in the global music industry with events
like the MTV Asia Awards," said Kiki Rizki, Head of Marketing and
Communication, MTV Indonesia.

Ultimately, MTV is proving to be more than the home of "Beavis
and Butthead". Asian audiences may have conflicting demands, some
wanting to see local artists, others craving American videos, and
MTV certainly can't please them all. However, MTV is evolving
into more than a provider of music videos (American or Asian) and
employer of gorgeous VJs. It's a global brand that has turned
local and is helping local music turn global.

To be honest, that rocks.

The writer is a Jakarta-based journalist specializing in the
arts, lifestyle, and culture.