Malaysia


Jason Lo
Age: 32

My Job Title

Producer / Artist / Label Owner / CEO - Fat Boys Records Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
DJ / Announcer - Hitz FM Drive Time, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Host - TV's Latte@8 Talk Show, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
Organizer - Rock The World Music Festival, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

My Education

Brighton College (A levels), 1993-1995
Hull University (BSc Accounting), 1995-1998
Webster University UK (MBA Finance), 1998-1999

My Work

"I started out as an artist, with 3 commercially distributed albums by Unverisal/Sony and EMI in Malaysia and Singapore, I moved on to producing other bands and have produced albums fro Disagree, Naked Breed, SingleTrackMind, etc., having won several awards and spawned over 12 Number One hits on the Malaysian Top 10 Charts. I am the creator of Rock The World - Malaysia's largest music festival of any kind held each year, which atracts 25,000 people.

As the CEO of Fat Boys, I continuously try to develop ideas with a local entertainment focus and exploit gaps in the industry where there is not enough local exposure.

As the 'Letterman-Style' show - Latte@8 - host, I keep exposing a new local band n each show, thus creating another viable platform for local talent. I believe I am a music entrepreneur because everything I do revolves around music and evolves with the local music scene. Being an artist, producer, deejay, tv host, organizer etc., has allowed me access to a wider scope of involvement in the music industry and improved my knowledge base as I try to push new concepts and exciting ways to do things better."

Issues in the music industry in my country

The Malaysian music scene is unique. As a former British colony, the English language is widely used and hence, a main musical influence on youth comes from UK or US exports. Unlike countries such as Thailand, Japan and Indonesia, the Malaysian scene is obviously split into English and Malay music, with many bands or live acts opting to compose and perform in Engilsh ,as the potential is bigger than with Malay, marketable only in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. The result of this ist hat most developing and cutting-edge music is found in th eless comemrcially successful English language, which is not as supported by the Malay-dominated market. Malay songs remain in the pop genre and little development has been seen in terms of musical diversity over the last 20 years.

Add this to the western dominated MTV, Channel V and radio channels, add CD, VCD and DVD piracy, sprinkle a little online ripping and we are left with a shrinking pie. Sure there are avenues as the Internet offers more opportunity, but this is a completely different matter which in the long-term has its own problems which would require much more spacve to expalin.

Where I sit in all this - after a realization that music in Malaysia is a cost centre and not a viable option to build a career around. However, I have had certain successes which have allowed me to diversify and grow with related industries, hence my tv/radio and live event involvement. Though barriers to entry into the local music scene are very low in Malaysia, the ceiling is also incredibly low. Mos tof us here are continuously struggling to gain regional or world exposure - thiat is the name of the game here, it's just a question of how long one can hold out before you quit. I've always been a very bad quitter.

Innovative artists & music business trends from my country

Struggle breeds excellent songs. Historically, the greatest songs written here have been about struggle with love, war, relationships, poverty, politics, etc. There is plenty of struggle in Malaysia, in fact, I would go so far to say that angst in music around the world has become diluted by pop culture and is very much alive and healthy in the struggling artists of Malaysia, who have to constantly copete against the marketing goliaths o fthe world. The west has it all - great marketing exposure, superior production expertise and techniques, tertiary economies and Starbucks! In less developed nations there is slightly more pain, difficulty, exploitation and this creates a new breed of Artist, one who is looking for a revolution and this is reflected in their music. This music is whatI hope to expose.

The information above is taken from the application form completed by the finalist in early 2007. Things may have changed since this information was provided and we recommend that you should not rely upon this information as a definitive statement of current fact. Click here to contact the finalist.