Fiona Tan
March 01, 2024
"Sour grapes," Bilahari Kausikan said in a Facebook post on Mar. 1, 2024.
The former Ministry of Foreign Affairs permanent secretary and current Middle East Institute chairman was seemingly responding to other Southeast Asian countries and their public outcries to Singapore's deal with American pop star Taylor Swift.
Southeast Asia tour (Taylor's version)
In case you did not know, Singapore is the only Southeast Asian country where Swift will be performing during her global Eras Tour.
The Singapore government said it is supporting Swift's six shows in Singapore through a grant, but did not go into the specifics.
In a media statement on Feb. 28, Joey Salceda, a representative of Albay province in the Philippine House of Representatives, criticised Singapore over a supposed deal preventing Swift from performing elsewhere in Southeast Asia, saying that's not "what good neighbours do" and claimed that Singapore "hurt" the Philippines.
The Singapore government said it is supporting Swift's six shows in Singapore through a grant, but did not go into the specifics.
In a media statement on Feb. 28, Joey Salceda, a representative of Albay province in the Philippine House of Representatives, criticised Singapore over a supposed deal preventing Swift from performing elsewhere in Southeast Asia, saying that's not "what good neighbours do" and claimed that Singapore "hurt" the Philippines.
Bilahari: Other Southeast Asian countries "slow" and "inefficient"
"Whenever I hear calls for Singapore to be more 'sensitive' to others in Southeast Asia, it really means be as inefficient as they are."
Noting that Singapore is a small city-state, Bilahari said we cannot afford to be inefficient, but have to be better, faster and more creative than the competition instead.
He added: "What’s to have stopped any Southeast Asian country from negotiating an exclusivity deal with her if they had thought of it?"
Bilahari further lambasted the detractors, "The point is they did not think of even inviting her to perform in their countries until they found out she was performing in Singapore."
"So are we supposed to hold ourselves back just because some of our neighbours are slow? And do you think she would have agreed to even perform in Singapore if our infrastructure, connectivity and security was not world-class?"
Since Swift has many fans in Southeast Asia, Bilahari said Singapore's deal with Swift "will be worth millions more than what was paid to secure exclusive rights" and commended the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) for securing the deal quickly and creatively.
Salceda: Singapore's grants at the "expense of neighboring countries"
Salceda referred to Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's claim that the Singapore government "financially supported" Swift's concerts.
What the Thai PM said
Srettha said on Feb. 16 that the global concert promoter Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) told him on Feb. 12 that the Singapore government is offering up to S$4 million (US$3 million) in subsidies for each of Swift's concerts, if she agreed not to perform elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
STB and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) cleared the air on Feb. 20 and said in a joint statement that they worked with the producer of Swift’s concert, AEG Presents, for Swift to perform in Singapore and the shows are supported through a grant.
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong revealed to Mothership how Singapore closed the deal with Swift.
He said he and a team from MCCY, SportsSG and Kallang Alive Sports Management (KASM) met with Swift's promoter in Los Angeles in Feb. 2023, before Swift announced any international dates.
"We saw an opportunity, we negotiated quickly with them, and we closed the deal quite quickly."
Salceda claimed that Singapore's actions were at the "expense of neighbouring countries" and that the Philippines "should not just let things like this pass".
He asked the DFA to formally protest against the supposed grants given by the Singapore government in exchange for Swift not to perform anywhere else in Southeast Asia.
[The Thai's PM statement is second hand information, and is based on what he heard, was interpreted(?), and on what he understood. However, STB and MCCY was asked directly if they gave a grant for exclusivity. The simplest way to answer this is a "yes" or a "no". They answered indirectly. Which hints that there is perhaps some truth to this "exclusivity" clause.
BUT... from other news story (below), it would seem that Singapore pro-actively approach Swift's team about performing in Singapore, sold what Singapore could do for the tour, and offered a whole package to make Swift's Team bringing the show to Singapore easier, and probably less logistically onerous?
Maybe Swift was only going to Japan and Australia, skipping SE Asia. Until Singapore approached the team, showed them that Singapore was a world class venue, and would not be logistically onerous. The Singapore delegation sold Singapore as a viable tour stop and the Swift team seized the opportunity. And then they decided that Singapore would be the only stop in SE Asia.
I look forward to Edwin Tong's reply in Parliament on Monday.]
Govt subsidies for Taylor Swift's exclusive Singapore deal 'nowhere as high' as speculated: Edwin Tong
CNA understands the figure Singapore paid is closer to US$2 million to US$3 million for all six shows, instead of per concert as reports suggest. |
| Pop star Taylor Swift and Singapore's Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong. (Photos: AFP, CNA/Marcus Mark Ramos) |
Abigail Ng
01 Mar 2024
SINGAPORE: How much did Singapore pay to be the only regional stop for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour?
It is "nowhere as high" as reports have suggested, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong told CNA in an interview on Friday (Mar 1).
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was quoted as saying last month that Singapore had brokered a deal to pay the pop star up to US$3 million for each of her six concerts – in exchange for keeping the shows exclusive to Singapore in Southeast Asia.
CNA understands the figure is closer to US$2 million to US$3 million in total for all six shows.
Mr Srettha said he had heard about the arrangement from concert promoter AEG. The company has not responded to CNA's repeated requests for comment.
On Feb 20, the Singapore Tourism Board said it "supported the event through a grant", but did not reveal the size of the grant or any conditions attached to it.
Mr Tong said on Friday that concert promoters know "exactly what they're doing" when they choose where to hold shows and where not to.
"What I'll say is this: The numbers that you see online – it is nowhere as high as what is being speculated."
He added that he will speak more about this in parliament next Monday.
"NOT JUST ABOUT A GRANT"
"With every promoter, they make their own calculations," Mr Tong said. "They decide whether they want to come, how many nights they want to come, where else they want to go.
"The truth of the matter is (it's) not just about a grant or a deal, but the overall package."
He added that the promoters are experienced and know exactly what they want out of a venue, and there are factors that Singapore cannot control.
"They have to assess whether or not the overall package in Singapore is good enough for them to want to play here, and for how many nights," the minister said.
Swift will be playing six sold-out shows in Singapore, her only stop in Asia, aside from Japan. More than 300,000 tickets have been sold, with many fans travelling from other countries to watch the concerts.
Mr Tong said he requested that Swift's Singapore shows be at the end of any particular segment of her tour.
[This request does not suggest an exclusivity clause.]
"I felt that if there was a real demand, and it was popular, then I wanted to see whether we could extend the number of nights. And in the end, it turned out well.
"We had three nights to start with and when we opened up the ticket sales, it was obviously very popular and so we had the option of a further three nights. So that's why, six nights in Singapore," he said.
CNA previously reported that demand for flights and accommodation around her concert dates increased by up to 30 per cent. One analyst said her shows could generate as much as A$1.2 billion (US$779 million) – the estimated economic value that she brought to Melbourne.
A COMMERCIAL DECISION
Fans in Southeast Asia were disappointed when the singer-songwriter announced that Singapore would be her only stop in the region. After news about a deal emerged, a lawmaker in the Philippines also expressed disappointment.
Representative Joey Salceda reportedly said "this isn't what good neighbours do" and called for his country to register its opposition with Singapore's embassy.
Other countries in the region are also said to be stepping up their game when it comes to attracting international performers to their shores.
Mr Tong said the bottom line is that Singapore hustled a deal that works for the country. He said he had not spoken to authorities from neighbouring countries, but stressed that the Taylor Swift decision was a commercial one.
"We have to look at this as – what's in the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans. In our calculations, it is important for us to anchor the show here."
["Anchoring the show here" would suggest that there was no exclusivity clause.]
Neighbouring countries could pursue deals as well, he added. “Who’s to say that they have not or had not, or will not in the future?”
If international acts such as Taylor Swift or Coldplay chose not to perform in Singapore, the questions would then be on why they did not come and whether the country was losing its attractiveness.
"I did ask myself that question too, when the opportunity came up for Taylor Swift and the others," he said.
"And so we work hard to ensure that that question ... won't be asked of us, at least for now."
The questions could also come from his three daughters who are big fans of the singer.
Mr Tong described himself as an “accidental Swiftie” who became interested in her music because it was always playing in their home.
“The songs really grew on me. Lyrics were great, melodies were good and they all told a story,” he said.
“And yes, I’ll be going to the concert with my girls.”
"With every promoter, they make their own calculations," Mr Tong said. "They decide whether they want to come, how many nights they want to come, where else they want to go.
"The truth of the matter is (it's) not just about a grant or a deal, but the overall package."
He added that the promoters are experienced and know exactly what they want out of a venue, and there are factors that Singapore cannot control.
"They have to assess whether or not the overall package in Singapore is good enough for them to want to play here, and for how many nights," the minister said.
Swift will be playing six sold-out shows in Singapore, her only stop in Asia, aside from Japan. More than 300,000 tickets have been sold, with many fans travelling from other countries to watch the concerts.
Mr Tong said he requested that Swift's Singapore shows be at the end of any particular segment of her tour.
[This request does not suggest an exclusivity clause.]
"I felt that if there was a real demand, and it was popular, then I wanted to see whether we could extend the number of nights. And in the end, it turned out well.
"We had three nights to start with and when we opened up the ticket sales, it was obviously very popular and so we had the option of a further three nights. So that's why, six nights in Singapore," he said.
CNA previously reported that demand for flights and accommodation around her concert dates increased by up to 30 per cent. One analyst said her shows could generate as much as A$1.2 billion (US$779 million) – the estimated economic value that she brought to Melbourne.
A COMMERCIAL DECISION
Fans in Southeast Asia were disappointed when the singer-songwriter announced that Singapore would be her only stop in the region. After news about a deal emerged, a lawmaker in the Philippines also expressed disappointment.
Representative Joey Salceda reportedly said "this isn't what good neighbours do" and called for his country to register its opposition with Singapore's embassy.
Other countries in the region are also said to be stepping up their game when it comes to attracting international performers to their shores.
Mr Tong said the bottom line is that Singapore hustled a deal that works for the country. He said he had not spoken to authorities from neighbouring countries, but stressed that the Taylor Swift decision was a commercial one.
"We have to look at this as – what's in the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans. In our calculations, it is important for us to anchor the show here."
["Anchoring the show here" would suggest that there was no exclusivity clause.]
Neighbouring countries could pursue deals as well, he added. “Who’s to say that they have not or had not, or will not in the future?”
If international acts such as Taylor Swift or Coldplay chose not to perform in Singapore, the questions would then be on why they did not come and whether the country was losing its attractiveness.
"I did ask myself that question too, when the opportunity came up for Taylor Swift and the others," he said.
"And so we work hard to ensure that that question ... won't be asked of us, at least for now."
The questions could also come from his three daughters who are big fans of the singer.
Mr Tong described himself as an “accidental Swiftie” who became interested in her music because it was always playing in their home.
“The songs really grew on me. Lyrics were great, melodies were good and they all told a story,” he said.
“And yes, I’ll be going to the concert with my girls.”
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