This year, marked by the unprecedented situation, PhilPop, the country’s premier songwriting competition, sets its sights in penetrating the music landscape of the Asia Pacific Region and beyond with a new tagline, #MusicBreakingBorders.
PhilPop Songwriting Festival 2020 then partners with top music production company, Warner Music Philippines in its mission to promote quality Filipino music on a bigger, global scale.
Managing Director of Warner Music Philippines Ian Monsod took the opportunity to talk about the record label’s role in providing sustainable recording, production, marketing and promotional support needed to ensure breakthrough of world-class homegrown talents in the international market.
“The value that we bring to this equation, especially connected to the fact that it’s about #MusicBreakingBorders, is that we are international major record label. We do have a network of A&R and marketing people all around the world. In terms of judging and production process, we’ll bring that unique value of this presence to the project. We share this ambition to elevate the Filipino artist to a global stage. It’s a difficult path, but I think with our partnership, we can improve the odds.”
National Artist and PhilPop Music Fest Foundation Board Member and Bootcamp Master Ryan Cayabyab, in an online press conference, shared an important message highlighting PhilPop’s duty to harness the talents of Filipino singer-songwriters and composers to create music that can inspire and motivate a nation.
He notes, “From mounting songwriting festivals every two years, PhilPop Foundation has expanded its influence and range of activities by including boot camps across the country and now publisher of original content for use in albums, commercials and movies. Through PhilPop, the MVP Group has positioned itself as the primary champion of Filipino songwriters.”
PhilPop Music Fest Foundation Executive Director Dinah Remolacio also brought to light the importance of decentralizing the monopoly of support to Metro Manila fellows by giving equal opportunity to the next generation of singer-songwriters based in other cities and provinces, regardless of their identity, language and cultural affiliation. Remolacio shared that the move will bolster a positive impact in the music industry and dispel the notion of bias in the selection process.
Remolacio added, “When we had major pivot in 2018, the first thing that we did is to make the festival biennial. In between those years, we mounted all these songwriting workshops in different parts of the country to empower other songwriters in the region, so that they could submit entries to PhilPop. We want to diversify the winning entries in every festival.”
PhilPop Boot Camp coach and folk icon Noel Cabangon, on the other hand, assured that the prestigious songwriting festival’s commitment in opening doors to a more diverse and distinct music from the different regions in the country, and upholding its vision to produce the next wave of global hitmakers and superstars. “Despite the pandemic, and the challenges brought about by uncertainty of time, we are proud to announce that we, in PhilPop, continue to push our music forward, now more than ever— we are ready to break borders.”
PhilPop. as it continues with its mission of looking for the next generation of songwriting champs through its 2020 Songwriting Festival, greatly encourages would-be participants to submit their entries based on their origin or residence namely—Metro Manila, South Luzon, North Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
From thousands of songs submitted, only three (3) songwriters will eventually represent each cluster through rigorous adjudication process spearheaded by Warner Music Philippines and PhilPop. The top 15 songs will have the chance to work with Warner Music Philippines and compete in the final rounds.
Standout entries (Top 3) will be getting cash prizes from the MVP Group of Companies:
P1,000,000 for the Grand Champion
P500,000 for the 1st runner up
P250,000 for the 2nd runner up
The finals night is slated to be held on November 14, 2020. According to Remolacio, as safety measures and logistics continue to be under discussion, this year, a virtual event is looking to be the most feasible option.
Philpop has since built an inimitable tradition of finding talent from across the land, producing winning entries from now-renowned songwriters from Yumi Lacsamana, Thyro Alfaro, Johnoy Danao, Jazz Nicolas, down to Miguel and Paolo Guico of the celebrated folk collective, Ben & Ben.
Submission of entries is still ongoing until July 4, 2020. For more details on how to join, feel free to register online via their official website.
PhilPop Songwriting Festival 2020 is an initiative of the PhilPop Music Foundation, chaired by Mr. Manny V. Pangilinan. This year’s PhilPop is co-presented by SMART, MERALCO, MAYNILAD and Warner Music Philippines.