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SCMP Reporter

APRIL 4 was an eerie day in Taiwan. Its airwaves, usually jam packed with rock and pop music, were calm and quiet. Instead, only old tunes and DJ chit-chat floated about.

At ground level it was a different scene.

Thousands of entertainment workers, including superstars A-mei, CoCo Lee and Jacky Cheung Hok-yau, took to the streets of Taipei to demand government action against the piracy that is eating away the island's entertainment industry.

Between 1997 and 2000, the Taiwanese, or Mando-pop, music market has seen its value plunge by almost half.

The reason? Piracy.

Pirated CDs have taken over half of the market, forcing the five major record labels on the island to lay off huge numbers of staff and make big budget cuts to fight the downturn in revenue.

The problem is a lot closer to home than you might think. The Hong Kong music market is also suffering, but to a lesser extent, said Ricky Fung Tim-chee, chief executive officer of industry group International Federation of Phonographic Industry in Hong Kong.

At its peak in 1998, pirated CDs occupied more than 70 per cent of the local music market. Following a similar protest in 1999 by more than 2,000 artists, about 90 per cent of illegal software outlets were wiped out by the Customs and Excise Department.

Those that remain are less blatant with their operations.

However, piracy has eroded the ethics of many and continues to eat away at the Chinese music industry, said Mr Fung.

'People have become used to enjoying free music and assessing the value of music with the prices of pirated CDs. Although street piracy has been brought under control, Internet piracy is getting more serious,' he said.

The figures speak for themselves. Hong Kong's music industry has plummeted from being worth $2.5 billion in 1990 to about $900 million in 2000.

The result? 'Fewer albums have been produced and there are fewer new artists [being signed]. More record companies are repackaging songs from the 80s for release,' Mr Fung said.

Even established artists can't escape the problem.

Many singers have had to spread themselves throughout the bigger regional market of southeast Asia, said RTHK DJ and committee member of its Chinese pop chart, Brian Chow Kwok-fung.

'Contracts signed with the pop kings and queens a few years ago were very expensive. Without moving into the bigger market the record labels would not be able to break even,' he said.

This means that you will see less of your idols in Hong Kong. At worst, you may not see any local idols at all, warned Mr Fung.

'If the industry does not generate enough revenue, it will fail to attract investment,' he said. 'Music production costs a lot and it will be difficult for the local music industry to sustain itself. When it cannot do so any more, local music culture will disappear.'

Is there any chance that legitimate CDs will come down in price? Why are 'teen idols' so popular now? - Page 5

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The pirates that robbed pop