IF there is one advice he can give to the youth, particularly to the aspiring songwriters, Rico Blanco, former lead vocalist and chief songwriter of pop-rock band Rivermaya, would tell them to finish school first before pursuing their dream.
“Tapusin ang pag-aaral. The sooner you graduate, the more time you’ll have to do whatever you want,” Blanco said during the launch of the 2016 Campus Caravan of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Inc. (Filscap) in cooperation with Pioneer Group of Insurance Cos., one of the top life- and nonlife-insurance companies in the country.
Blanco is the president of Filscap, the country’s sole and official music-copyright society.
For those aspiring songwriter, Blanco shared that all they have to do is just “enjoy. Learn to have fun—even with deadlines. If you do, you’ll end up being better at what you do.” He added this is “exciting time for Filipino music.”
The Filscap Campus Caravan is a college songwriting talk that aims to guide aspiring musicians in the different aspects of songwriting. Blanco has been a member of Filscap since 1996, and he was elected president in June.
The Campus Caravan has visited University of the Philippines Diliman and University of Santo Tomas, and is set to visit De La Salle University-Manila, San Beda College Alabang and University of Makati.
Each visit features a songwriting talk by Filscap, a face-to-face session with a well-known Filipino songwriter, and an introduction to the #MoveOnLang Songwriting Competition.
The competition aims to give musically inclined college students a venue to showcase their songwriting skills exploring the Filipino trait of resiliency and bouncing back from setbacks. Interested applicants can visit www.moveonlang.ph to register and submit their entries until October 21.
Over P260,000 in cash will be given away, with P100,000 being the grand prize.
Winners will also receive insurance coverage from Pioneer, while a special prize will also be awarded to the online favorite.
A staunch supporter of the arts, Pioneer constantly finds fresh ways to reach out to the Filipino with insurance that covers what they value most. Finding inspiration in the media, such as visual arts, film, music and theater, the company gives back by sponsoring, covering and promoting events and concerts, including The Beyoncé Experience: Live in Taguig, Eraserheads’s The Final Set, Aerosmith’s The Global Warming Tour, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball, Jennifer Lopez’s Dance Again World Tour and Madonna’s best-selling Rebel Heart Tour, as well as music festivals, such as Good Vybes, Wanderland, Paradise International Music Festival and MTV Music Evolution 2016.
Established in 1965, Filscap is a nonstock, nonprofit association of composers, lyric-writers and music publishers, with currently over a thousand members, including Ryan Cayabyab, Jose Mari Chan, Jim Paredes, Danny Javier, Rey Valera, Noel Cabangon, Rico Blanco, Yael Yuzon and Ebe Dancel. n