Taiwan takes its content creators seriously. The island nation has become one of Asia’s vital creative nodes, with digitally savvy creatives making everything from viral social media videos to groundbreaking immersive experiences. Crucially, the Taiwanese government has also created a professional organization to support those creators, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA). TAICCA is an office supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, and is fully dedicated to supporting the creative content industries flourishing in the country and abroad, including film, publishing, fashion, and of course, music.
Recently, TAICCA partnered with one of the leading international music forums, Marché International du Disque et de l’Edition Musicale (Midem), to promote the thriving Taiwanese music scene.
Artists in Taiwan have been pushing the boundaries of sounds across the spectrum from hip hop to bedroom pop since the early 90s when the island nation was the beating heart of Mandopop. Since then, the musical landscape of Taiwan has evolved to become a global influence across genres—and the artists participating in this year’s Midem Digital Edition show just how much of a sonic powerhouse the country has become.
Five artists participated in this year’s Midem Songwriting Camp, where they worked with an international community of producers, songwriters, and musicians to collaborate and create a brand new track in four days. Shi Shi Sun, Trout Fresh, Chih Siou, Starr Chen, and ØZI all thrived in the creative pressure cooker, and recently shared their new records with a select group of industry tastemakers during the exclusive listening session.
Check out a behind-the-scene video of Midem Songwriting Camp:
The Midem Songwriting Camp listening session was a golden chance for Taiwanese artists to boost their international profile and advance their careers as well as get indispensable input from a global community of music industry leaders. It was hosted by Midem Director Alexandre Deniot and featured each artist introducing a bit about their track before hitting play. The songs displayed the range and creativity of the Taiwanese music scene, from Shi Shi Sun’s kaleidoscopic pop sensibilities to ØZI’s silky smooth neo R&B. There was also the refreshingly original hip hop sounds of Trout Fresh, Chih Siou’s exquisite vocal range, and a new work from one of Taiwan’s most exciting producers, Starr Chen.
Taiwanese phenom Howard Lee was also featured in this year’s Midem Talent Exporter, where the rising star performed for some of world’s most influential talent buyers to promote his work and deepen his network with the international music industry. Lee burst on to the scene in 2020, garnering a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2021 Golden Melody Awards, Mandarin-speaking markets’ leading awards.
Here’s the exclusive showcase of Howard Lee of this year’s Midem Digital Edition:
TAICCA is helping raise the profile of Taiwanese music industry by putting artists like Howard Lee, Shi Shi Sun, Trout Fresh, Chih Siou, Starr Chen, and ØZI in front of some of the most influential people in the global music community—and these artists are showing that Taiwan is a musical force to be reckoned with, and one that is increasingly looking to collaborate with an international set of musical influencers.
