Global Policy Forum

By Kenny Santana

MTV is American? Think Again.

As MTV invades Southeast Asia, the faces of MTV are no longer just Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake but also Indonesia's Padi and Singapore's Stefanie Sun. These names may not sound familiar to the average American, but their looks and voices have reshaped MTV's global image.

MTV's tenure in Asia has been an exercise in evolution. MTV first entered Asia in 1992, when it launched MTV Japan, but didn't grab the attention of Southeast Asia until 1995 with the introduction of the regional MTV Asia. When the station was born, Southeast Asian youngsters were enthusiastic simply because they had something they never had before: a 24-hour music channel.

To satisfy Asian audiences' cravings for international programming, MTV Asia incorporates American/European music and shows like I Bet You Will, Road Rules, MTV Becoming, Punk'd from the US, and Singled Out from Europe. However, Asia's fascination with American and European pop culture doesn't mean that distinct local tastes have become extinct.

Soon after MTV Asia's establishment, it became clear that distinct cultural tastes across the region would require MTV Asia to be more than a simple carbon copy of its Western divisions. MTV has, in fact, consistently increased the number of programs featuring Asian music in order to tap into these local tastes. In some places, the station abandoned the 'one size fits all' regional broadcast altogether in favor of stations that can better address the tastes of individual countries.

So, although much of Southeast Asia (including Malaysia and Singapore) still watches the regional MTV Asia broadcasts, in 2001 and 2002 MTV Asia created three new subdivisions – MTV Philippines, MTV Thailand, and MTV Indonesia – all of which have proven extremely successful. Frank Brown, president of MTV networks Asia, said at the C21 World Marketing Conference in 2000 that, "It's very important that what we're going to market in each country fits with the local culture."

Indeed, the express goal of MTV Asia has always been to localize the global MTV image. "MTV is a global brand which thinks and acts locally," said David Flack, Senior Vice President of MTV Asia's Creative and Content Division. "Despite MTV being a global brand, we are local in approach. We reflect the taste and demands of our viewers and this differs in each market. Thus the need to create specific channels (in each country) that meet the needs of our target audience," explained Flack.

Therefore, in addition to running music videos and programs from the US and Europe, MTV has put great energy into developing local programs. These local shows generally comprise up to 80 percent of MTV Asia's programming, depending on the relative popularity of current programs from the US or Europe. It's an impressive figure, indeed. But the incorporation of these local programs wasn't entirely smooth.

When MTV Asia aired its first reality show, It's My Life, Asian audiences recognized it as a Real World rip-off, only far less exciting. In the American Real World, seven strangers were cramped into one house to see how they'd react to each other. In the so-called Asian version, a camera followed seven people picked from all over Asia and recorded their oh-so-exciting lives. No conflicts, no surprises, just a dull idea with some beautiful people. Yawn.

Despite the questionable quality, these localized programs and stations have made MTV more accessible to different audiences and have catapulted ratings. Stations – like MTV India – that tanked when they aired American music and programs were revitalized with an infusion of local culture. When MTV India became 'Indianized' and began featuring more Indian videos and VJs, viewers finally began tuning in.

Despite the success of MTV India and the incorporation of local shows and music, MTV often received conflicting demands from viewers. While some remained fascinated with Western music, others demanded more music by domestic artists. In Thailand, a survey dubbed "ROAR" (Right of Admission Reserved) clarified the tastes of Thai viewers when it revealed that 95 percent of Thai teenagers preferred local to foreign music. Thus, when MTV Thailand was born shortly thereafter, in October 2001, it incorporated more local flavor than any of its predecessors.

MTV's most recent effort to infuse regional and local elements into its programming came with the launch of MTV Indonesia in June 2002. With 13 million households within reach, Indonesia represents one of MTV's largest potential markets in Asia. MTV therefore took stock of lessons learned in other Asian countries and drew inspiration for programming from local sources.

One of the audience's favorite shows is MTV Salam Dangdut, which presents Indonesia's most popular traditional music. MTV aired the show as a gesture of appreciation for local culture. Ironically, Dangdut has long been unpopular in Indonesia's music industry. It was only when MTV dared to air the program that local audiences began to appreciate the music. Young people, who had never been interested in music like dangdut before, suddenly began seeing it as cool thanks to MTV's generation Y-friendly approach.

This phenomenon is occurring throughout Asia. Wherever MTV takes root, it provides local, previously obscure, musicians with the publicity and venue to achieve mass popularity. Their burgeoning popularity has, in turn, helped the domestic music industry flourish. Robert Quebral, an award-winning Filipino music video director, said, "Philippines' music video scenes are looking rosy. Even the budgets are starting to improve. Some labels are now willing to spend more. There are several factors, one of which is MTV Asia's renewed interest in local videos. They have started to give a lot more airtime for the videos…It's a relationship. If the labels are happy with the videos produced, they'll produce more videos. And the more videos they produce, the happier MTV Asia is because they'll get more material."

MTV is not only bringing local music out of obscurity locally, but globally as well. The station is responsible for growing regional and global recognition of local music. Indeed, shows like the MTV Asia Awards are providing Asian singers with the chance to perform in front of the world. Padi, an Indonesian band, received CNN coverage when it was voted Indonesia's favorite band at this year's MTV Asia Awards. And Jay Chou, a Taiwanese singer, was not only voted everybody's favorite, but grabbed the attention of international musicians, such as the Irish boyband, Blue. Blue voiced its admiration for Jay Chou's singing style and rumors abound that a collaboration is in the works between the two.

"Many local musicians get a chance to be heard by wider audiences overseas, when their music is played on MTV. We have put our local artists in the global music industry with events like the MTV Asia Awards," said Kiki Rizki, Head of Marketing and Communication, MTV Indonesia. Music critic Hasief Ardiasyah from Djakarta, a Jakarta lifestyle magazine, added, "Ideally, MTV Asia would make Asian artists more popular outside their own country."

Ultimately, MTV is proving to be more than the home of "Beavis and Butthead". Asian audiences may have conflicting demands, some wanting to see local artists, others craving American videos, and MTV certainly can't please them all. However, MTV is evolving into more than a provider of music videos (American or Asian) and employer of gorgeous VJs. It's a global brand that has turned local and is helping local music turn global.

To be honest, that rocks.

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