12-04-20
One market leads to another. Doors are all locked when we cannot keep our own market.
Instagrammer Caleb Hsu made this point, “When aesthetic purpose precedes exposure and sales considerations, art wins over entertainment. It starts with artistic intention and results in audience response. Entertainment is more about artifice, whereas art has a strong hold in substance.” He quoted what an artist Makoto Fujimura had said, “Entertainment gives you a predictable pleasure. Art leads to transformation. It awakens you, rather than just satisfying a craving.”
The only one in Hong Kong, a venerable authority, who is qualified to comment the difference between entertainment and art market is Master Ng Yu.
When I worked part-time in TVB (Television Broadcasts Limited) in the 80s, he was my boss and taught me how to write television scripts. He was a quick-witted, discerning, helpful and ardent master. He joined TVB in 1975 as a playwright and climbed the corporate ladder incessantly. While being at senior level position, Ng left TVB to join the music industry i.e. Capital Artists in 1996. In 2001, Ng was persuaded to take up a top position in another powerful entertainment company Emperor Entertainment Group.
Ng is an eminent incubator of entertainment superstars in Hong Kong: they include Eason Chan, Miriam Yeung, Joey Yung, Twins and Raymond Lam Fung. Ng told me, “There is a moment of birth and a moment of success of a superstar, but between them there is a long period of marketing calculations and actions. Nothing comes out easily. Marketing is of vital importance to entertainment business. It is the painstaking process of discovering a gifted performer, shaping up him or her, promoting and selling their talents to the target audience market. Along the way, creating the right product to complement a star is also a very absorbing job.”
In 2017, Ng was appointed by the Government to be a member of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. B.B.S. honour was also bestowed upon him for his great contributions.
I asked him, “Having served art sectors for some years, how would you compare art and entertainment, or perhaps pop cultures?” Ng grinned, “Art is ‘artist-and-supply’ driven. Entertainment is ‘hit-and-demand’ driven. Art is the expression of wonderful creative skills and imaginations by an artist. There is something inside an artist that needs to get out naturally to other people. They do art for the pure reason of it, instead of a desire to make more money. In art market, supply is bigger than demand. On the other hand, entertainment is commercially designed to please, amuse or stir up demands which will stimulate people to spend money on products such as pop concert, TV drama or song album. However, both art and entertainment do need a market to survive, although art may need a smaller market but entertainment needs a bigger market.”
I questioned, “What are the key performance indicators of a sustainable market for both?” Ng was determined, “Whether it is a smaller art market or bigger entertainment market, the size does not matter and may not be directly relevant to its sustainability. We should look at 3 factors. Irrespective of the percentage, does the market of the art or entertainment form in question grow by a certain desired rate every year? Does the growth generate a rise in the real revenue of the trade? Some governments simply send away free tickets of art performances to the public. This is not conducive to the development of a sustainable market. We must also examine whether there is any new blood attracted to the field bringing in fresh ideas and new market. If the entertainment or art form is dull and inactive, like a pond of stagnant water, it shall be a sign that the market is degenerating, if not disintegrating.”
I queried, “Is the problem serious in Hong Kong?” Ng sighed, “Yes, very serious. We cannot just put the blame on the government and condemn it to do more. Investors, administrators, practitioners and artists all have their share of responsibility and a part to play.” I followed up, “How to solve the problem?” Ng clenched his fist, “While we talk too much about gimmicks of getting more audience, we must fundamentally change our mindset of mediocracy and complacency. We must be very critical of the high quality and creativity of our ‘content products’. Why do we naively assume the audience will waste their money and time on a bad or immature product? When we have irresistible products, we should export them to other places to excavate a new market. The lack of a new market means death of the existing one in the long-term future. This is an applicable rule both for the entertainment and art world.”
In the performing industries of art and entertainment, there are 2 falsehoods. The art people put too much emphasis on self-assurance and the entertainment folks care too much about money-making. Perhaps, the significance of ‘value creation’ from the target audience’s point of view shall be their most important objective on their path to compete for a market which can feed Hong Kong.
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