Monday November 12, 2007
Limited Showtime for Karen
By MICHAEL CHEANG
KUALA LUMPUR: Nine months after releasing a full-fledged Malay-language album, young singer Karen (full name Karen Kong) took another giant step into the unknown yesterday with her debut Mandarin album Showtime.
In what is probably the most daring career move for a Malaysian singer yet, the singer's label Prodigee Media Sdn Bhd has decided to forsake all conventional record distribution channels in a bid to create awareness on the negative impact that piracy has on the local music industry.
Instead, the album will only be available for purchase during Karen's 50-stop promotional tour around Malaysia. Those who purchase the album during the road shows will also be able to get it personally autographed by the artiste, along with an autographed poster.
The unprecedented move was announced by Prodigee director Fred Chong at the official launch of Showtime at KL Performing Arts Centre in Sentul here on Friday.
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Dazzling performance: Karen and her dancers performing during the launch of Showtime in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. |
“We tried for a very long time to get the retailers to carry the album, but with little success. We believe that the current retail music distribution environment is not favourable to small independent music labels or newcomers like Karen,” said Chong, who is also the producer of Karen's albums.
“With more and more young music consumers resorting to buying illegal music CDs
and downloading them for free online, someone needs to stand up and make a statement that Malaysians should support our own music industry, and not buy into piracy.”
A visibly downcast Karen put on a brave front after the announcement, expressing disappointment at her label's decision to not sell Showtime in retail stores. However, she also thinks that it is a cause worth fighting for.
“Many of my online supporters have written to me asking me where they can download my songs for free. I hope through this move, we can send out a message that if everyone just buys pirated music or downloads it for free, singers like me may not be able to put out another album,” said the 23-year-old Sabahan.
“Of course it was a disappointment when I found out it would not be available at retail outlets. But I'm prepared to work even harder to make sure that we can make this album successful,” she said.
Karen burst into the limelight with her debut Malay album Mulakan, which spawned successful hits like Cinta Hello Kitty, Na Na Na Na Nada Cinta and Bahasa Sayu. She then became the first Malaysian artiste to hold a full-fledged online mini concert, which has garnered more than two million views to date.
The Mandarin album is supported by Samsung Malaysia Electronics, and features contributions by some of Malaysia's finest musicians, including Mac Chew, M. Nasir, Lee Chee Cheng, Jamie Wilson, and so on.
The next road show will be held at 10pm this Sunday at Wings Music Cafe in KL (located behind Berjaya Times Square).
For more information on tour schedules, visit www.friendster.com/karenkong or www.prodigeekaren.com.
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