Miro (fourth right) strums a guitar to officially launch the concert, witnessed by (from right) Mike, Sudin, Hipni and Edward.
KUCHING: Bidayuh musicians and artistes have been challenged to produce more quality songs and music in any genre to attract more listeners from all walks of life.
Serembu assemblyman Miro Simuh said while the standard of Bidayuh music and songs had improved a lot over the last decade, producers who achieved such success should not be complacent; rather, they should keep on improving.
He said this also applied to old and new bands and solo artistes who composed their own songs.
“Whatever song you write, arrange, produce and record, whether it is for yourself or whether you are shaping the sound of another artiste’s album or creating beats or songs for other people’s projects, you must not compromise on quality.
“Remember – your works represent the community and therefore, you all should keep producing the best to further elevate the standard of the Bidayuh music industry,” he said at the launch of ‘Konsert Anugerah Juara Carta Lagu WaiFM Bidayuh 2016’ at Bau Civic Centre near here on Sunday night.
Miro, who is also the patron of the programme, said the community should never underestimate the business potential of the music industry as successes in the industry did exist, especially in Europe and the United States.
He said it was also possible for one to succeed in the Bidayuh music industry.
He said for an artiste to ever truly succeed, he or she would at some point need to understand the moving parts of the music industry, which included knowing radio operations and how to work in studios with professionals.
“Bidayuh artistes are in fact lucky to have the WaiFM Bidayuh channel, which has been playing a very important role in promoting Bidayuh music and songs for so many years.
“I would like to commend WaiFM for all the initiatives and efforts it has taken in sustaining the survival of Bidayuh music,” he said.
Miro noted that other factors like passion, commitment, opportunity, networking and the ability to continue adapting and adjusting in the music industry were equally critical for an artiste to survive.
On his part as a patron of the programme, he said he would try to meet all the Bidayuh elected representatives to seek their assistance in terms of funding future events.
He thanked Youth and Sports and Solidarity Minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin, Assistant Minister for Public Utilities (Water Supply) Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn, Kedup assemblyman Martin Ben, Bukit Semuja assemblyman John Ilus and Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep for their support and financial assistance in this year’s programme.
He hoped that all the Bidayuh elected representatives would continue supporting the programme in terms of funding to enable WaiFM to make it an annual event.
Programme organiser Mike Raung, RTM assistant director (programme management) Hipni Sulaiman, RTM senior administrative officer Sudin Raki and political secretary to the chief minister Edward Kurik were also present that night.