Pinoy Music Summit 2014: Collaborating with Key Music Industry Stakeholders to Revive OPM Greatness

Wazzup Pilipinas!

OPM is dead.

So many of us would think that is the harsh and very unfortunate reality. FILSCAP President and Conference Director Noel Cabangon, during his introductory talk at the Pinoy Music Summit 2014 held at the Landbank Plaza in Manila last March 19, 2014, may be treading on realistic and undeniable facts that we have earlier predicted to eventually happen when the Internet boomed into a massive source of information that is easily accessible to everyone. There was information overload coming from all over the world, including access to information and content that should have been private or not intended for public consumption.

We could have won in the battle against bootleg copies because there is nothing better than the original album especially when signed by the artist himself, but when downloadable MP3s began proliferating among music lovers, it became a nightmare too hard to wake up from.

Aside from libraries going extinct and is now more like a museum for the new generation belonging to the digital tribe, video shops and record bars have tremendously suffered as well. The pirates boasts "Why buy original when you can easily download for free your favorite songs and videos on your computers, music players and smartphones?"

We did try to embrace technology by offering digital distributions, but the pirates are just too smart, creative, and able to outwit us again. Digital distribution could not fairly compete with the ingenuity of determined pirates.

But would you agree that OPM is dead?

My Fun Interview with the ADDLIB Dance Crew: Featuring L.A. Bagtas

Wazzup Pilipinas!

To continue with our interviews with the ADDLIB Dance Crew, we now feature L.A. Bagtas, another ADDLIB member who will be acting as instructor for the upcoming 2014 ADDLIB Summer Dance Workshops scheduled on March 27 up to April 25, 2014.

Last time we interviewed Elgin Bez, described as the Soul Master of The LAB 3, and learned a lot about the history of the ADDLIB Dance Crew from him, among many other information he shared with us.

The two, along with a few more instructors coming from the dance crew, will be conducting the workshops at the Blue Light Dance Studio located at the 4th level of the Forab Building along Kamuning Road in Quezon City. The students will finalize with a grand recital and a dance concert at the SM Skydome on May 9, 2014.

Below are my questions to L.A. Bagtas and his quite short but surprisingly awesome answers:

DOTC: 100 Transport Sector Projects Awarded In 2013

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Reporting on its procurement performance last year, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) says that it awarded one hundred (100) projects through competitive bidding last year.

“The DOTC awarded no less than 100 projects in 2013 alone: from the rehabilitation and improvement of numerous ports and airports across the country, to the supply of Coast Guard rescue equipment, to the master planning of Metro Manila transport systems. These projects are now in various stages of implementation and completion,” said DOTC Secretary Joseph “Jun” Abaya.

“While we are still rolling out our big ticket projects, we have been mindful of the plight of the majority of Filipinos who rely on these infrastructure facilities for their livelihood. Fisherfolk who depend on functioning ports and wharves, agribusiness and commercial traders whose businesses count on air cargo transportation – they are already starting to benefit from these crucial projects,” he added.