MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Following its inaugural success last year, Sonik 2020: New Ground, New Sound is happening online on Thursday to Saturday, October 15-17, 2020.
The country’s official music conference & festival continues its mission to equip the music community with knowledge on elevating its craft and navigating the industry, especially in this time of pandemic. In its second edition, Sonik sheds light on the history and the truths in the music industry, in hopes that music artists, labels, agencies, and fans would find inspiration and hope to change the game and innovate the music landscape.
“Now more than ever, we need something to get us all together so we can inspire each other, cheer everyone on and show that there is a bright future for contemporary Philippine music – there is so much hope for our music industry and everyone in it” shares Mike Constantino, visionary founder and CEO of HOMONYM, the music solutions agency and driving force behind Sonik Philippines.
New Ground, New Sound
In 2019, Sonik Philippines provided a platform for the local music community to connect to the world. This year, Sonik 2020 focuses on elevating the Philippine music industry by urging it to keep moving forward amidst the onslaught of the pandemic. The event aims to provide a venue for conversations on how the industry can survive and eventually thrive despite the circumstances, as well as a safe space to let go and connect with friends and new faces in the music industry here and abroad.
“Last year’s success showed us that there is a hunger to learn and connect among the many sectors of our modern music industry. It also showed us that there is a great opportunity to learn from and learn with the music industries of international markets – as we have learned from our years-long Posporos partnership with Spain – and now, with markets like Taiwan, Canada and many more through Sonik” says Anne Luis, Head of the International Affairs Office of the National Commission for Culture & The Arts (NCCA).
The NCCA has been the founding partner of Sonik Philippines since its conception. Sonik 2020: New Ground New Sound is hosting up to six talks per day for three days. Each day will cover an array of topics relevant to the music industry, delivered by industry leaders from the Philippines and around the world:
● SPOTIFY X THE PHILIPPINES – How the World’s Most Popular Audio Streaming Service is Championing Filipino Artists and Culture
● TIKTOK: The State of Music in the New Normal and Moving Forward
● WAIT, BRB: How Live Events, Bars and Clubs are Coping with the Current Situation
● GLOBAL GLOW-UP: Producing Music for the International Audience
● EXPORT QUALITY: How the Government Can Help Advance Local Music
● BREAK ON THROUGH: How Artists and Creators Stay Active and Relevant Amid COVID 19
● RESHAPING ADVERTISING AND MARKETING: The Role of Music in the Changing Landscape
● MAKE MUSIC, MAKE MONEY: Monetizing Your Music Through Sync Licensing
● FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL: How Paradise Rising is Bringing Philippine Music to the Global Stage
In addition to these, KUMU, one of the event’s official co-presentors, will also be hosting both an opening and closing mixer for Sonik Philippines where attendees will be able to network and learn more about the platform.
Starting Important Conversations
The importance of discussing the topics covered during the event is highlighted by the notable speakers, panelists and guests participating in this year’s music conference. Similar to last year, Sonik Philippines 2020 presents a mix of over 40 influential names in the country and across the globe.
Some of these individuals include Alan Tang, Southeast Asia Content Partnership Head of Tiktok, Kossy Ng, Head of Artist & Label Partnerships of Spotify, Priya Dewan, Director for The Orchard in Asia, Marine de Bruyn, project manager of Le Bureau Export (France), Nur Al Habash, founder of Italia Music Export (Italy), and many more.
Also participating in the conference are IMMAP President and Media Director, Unilever Philippines & E-Commerce Media for SEAA – Dennis Perez, Joe Caliro, Head of Globe Entertainment Group, Cong. Toff De Venecia (Chairperson, Special Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts / Convenor of the Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Bloc of the 18th Congress), Rico Blanco (FILSCAP, Balcony Entertainment), Boom Dayupay, Herbert Hernandez (GIGIL, Moonstar88, 6cyclemind), KZ Tandingan (NCCA Ambassador for Music), and Ms. Universe 2018 and NCAA Ambassador for the Arts Catriona Gray.
Global Music on the Digital Stage
The music festival component of Sonik 2020 does not only boast performances from select local artists, but country showcases as well, mini-festivals featuring various artists from different countries around the world.
Taiwan is first to showcase their talents, with Our Shame, Non Confined Space, The WAiiT, Tokyo Chuo-Line, Inhuman, Heat Sketch and The Chairs in the lineup. Singapore showcases M1LDL1FE, Inch Chua and Lew Loh while Indonesia features Prince Husein, Lightcraft and Pretty Rico. Global showcases highlight multiple countries: Emma Volard and Paige Valentine (Australia), Tuan SS (Vietnam), Birthh and Vanarin (Italy), The Prussians (Mallorca), Hyangni (South Korea) plus a few more artists to be lined up.
Artists presented in the Philippine showcases include Leanne & Naara, Flu, Assembly Generals, Jason Dhakal and One Click Straight. The important non-Manila representation is covered by sets from Shades of Native (Bukidnon), Y Ara (Davao) and Peregerine (Zamboanga).
Other performers include Lourdes (22Tango, Cebu) on Day 1, Pamphleteer (Offshore Music) on Day 2, and local legends The Itchyworms on Day 3.
In the Comfort of Your Home
Attendees of Sonik Philippines 2020 get to experience the conference and festival digitally through Run the World, an online events platform that enables cocktail parties, live group photos, interactive polls, video handshakes, and more real-time engagements during the events.
Run the World has brought over 5000 online events hosted across more than 110 countries, and this is the first time they have officially collaborated with an event in the Philippines.
Get your tickets to Sonik Philippines 2020 now at: http://sonikphilippines.com/tickets!
