THE SOUND OF SUCCESS
After learning a few guitar chords at 15, I became a band boy in the 80s and 90s, performing numerous gigs at weddings, condo function halls, and the infamous Four Floors of Whores (aka Orchard Towers).
I would also keep tabs (pun intended) on the competition, finding out which bands were a threat because they were so damn good. We would eventually become friends and form incestuous relationships by being in multiple bands at the same time. I played guitar for my band, drums for another, and bass for a third one because they had a cute singer. It was a fabulous time of my life!
What made the music scene incredibly vibrant then was the camaraderie of the musicians. We would flock to one another’s gigs, swap self-produced CDs, and trade gossip like currency.
Over in Sweden — a frosty expanse inhabited by a mere 10 million people — collaboration was the name of the game. Every Swedish musician had only two degrees of separation with another since the days of ABBA.
And the result: Sweden has exported music compositions far more than any other country. You may not know who these Swedish artistes are, but the hits you hear on the radio are from Scandinavian songwriters.
In 2014, 25 percent of the Top 10 hits were written or co-written by Swedish songwriters. They conjure up hits for Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Nicky Minaj, The Weekend, and even Ed Sheeran. Today, that figure still hovers between 10 to 20 percent — an impressive feat no doubt (oh, a Swedish songwriter wrote for No Doubt).
But my story isn’t about songwriting. It’s about the culture of collaboration that permeates the music scene but is sorely lacking in other industries.
The retail, automobile, finance, manufacturing, tech, and F&B industries are incessantly undermining each other for competitive advantage. Over at North Bridge Road, two biryani stalls resort to kill each other (with what else but a chef’s knife). All so to gain a lion’s share, build a bigger brand, and monopolise the market.
And when monopoly does strike (like a knife *groan*), prices skyrocket, innovation suffers, and inefficiencies arise. Look what happened to AT&T, Standard Oil, and Kodak.
Fortunately, there are shining examples where collaboration between businesses has led to win-win outcomes. Look at Star Alliance (the global airline network); Linux (the open-source operating system that includes IBM, Intel, Red Hat, etc); and pharmaceutical companies such as Merck and AstraZeneca partnering to develop a cancer drug.
So today, to celebrate cooperation, I’m devoting space to these brands who are doing excellent work and deserving of recognition.
1. CITYHUB
Run by the inimitable, serial entrepreneur, Cecilia! CityHub offers serviced and virtual offices, as well as secretarial support in Singapore, Vietnam and other regions.
2. SAFETYMAX
This company saves lives! Jaidip’s the man that offers customised training videos and Netflix-like subscriptions for safety videos.
3. CCD
No one but Felicia can create customised arts programmes for specific audiences like youth, seniors, and people with special needs.
4. ELEPHANT & CORAL
The only place you need to go for luxury writing instruments. Ask for Herman and Juliet.
5. CHECKPOINT THEATRE
Arguably, Singapore’s best theatre company. Go watch Claire and Huzir’s next play, Tender Submission.
6. LINTREX
Any automotive part you need, the world’s coolest guy, Timothy, will deliver.
7. MEDIA VILLAGE
If you need any media production and post-production solutions, call my old bassist, Pat. He and I were in the second best band in the world.
8. AV8 MEDIA
Ketan’s got your back when it comes to production and post-production training and RED cameras.
9. PUBLIC RELATIONS
For PR stuff that works, talk to Noelle. You can’t go wrong with a person named like that.
10. EVENT MANAGEMENT
Need to organise corporate events, concerts or art festivals? Give my buddies, Shawn of DMR, and Yen Miin of Function M, a shout.
BONUS: Shout out to these freelancers too because their work is brilliant.
11. NG SWEE SAN
Swee San is a multi-hyphenated talent that you’d love to hate because she’s so damn accomplished — screenwriter, author, teacher, etc.
12. DEREK JUDGE
If you’re into sci-fi, you’ve got to get Derek’s book.
Until next week, let’s strike a chord for collaboration and harmonise our way to success. In G#maj, everybody!
