MORE songwriters have come out to question the new Visayas pop (Vispop) project for violating a colleague’s intellectual property, but organizers said they will continue the legacy of those who started the music genre and professionalize compensation schemes.
Songwriter and music producer Jude Gitamondoc (of the “HAHAHAHasula,” “Pero Atik Ra” songs) published a Facebook note sharing his experience with Artist Ko, organizers of the Vispop 2019, that eventually led to his departure from the group in November 2017. He was reacting to the launch of the Vispop 2019 songwriting contest last Feb. 27.
“I wrote to explain to the general public the anger of the artists, especially those who were part of the Vispop community,” said Gitamondoc, Vispop’s main proponent and organizer from 2013 to 2017, in an online interview with SunStar Cebu.
Vispop is a songwriting campaign that encourages songwriters from all over the Philippines to submit their songs, written in Bisaya, for an annual contest. The campaign went on every year since 2013, except in 2018. Vispop is organized by the Artist Ko Multipurpose Cooperative, a Cebu-based cooperative for artists, musicians and entrepreneurs.
The new Vispop launched last Feb. 27 has as partner, the Sacred Heart School-Batch ‘85 (SHS-Batch ‘85) that organized the Binibining Cebu.
“Vispop is important because we need to give this new generation of songwriters an avenue where they can express their sentiments, experiences, longings and pains,” said Vispop screening committee head Insoy Niñal during the launch. Niñal is a member of Artist Ko.
“With our advocacy, it allows us to target Cebuano culture and raise it up for all to see and enjoy,” said Vispop 2019 creative director Kenneth Cobonpue who is part of SHS-Batch ‘85.
While some lauded the launch, several musicians, artists and songwriters — mostly those involved with Vispop themselves — expressed their disapproval at the new project.
“Vispop is an intellectual property owned and conceived by Jude Gitamondoc that he selflessly pitched to Artist Ko, which Artist Ko registered as a trademark behind Jude’s back and without his consent,” posted Cattski Espina, 22 Tango Records chief executive officer, on her Facebook account.
“Technically, Artist Ko became the ‘owner’ of Vispop and, by technicality, sold the rights to Batch ‘85... Vispop without (Gitamondoc) in the equation has lost its meaning, its essence, its truth,” she said.
Some songwriters of Vispop tracks, like Kurt Fick and Therese Villarante (“Bok Love”) and Jerika Teodorico (“Labyu Langga”), also released a joint statement with other songwriters, clarifying their non-involvement with this year’s version of Vispop.
Vispop 5.0 grand prize winner Chai Fonacier (“Kung Di Pa Lang Ko Buang”) told SunStar Cebu, “As far as I have experienced, the word Vispop has been used by the public to pertain to a genre, and keeping its use off-limits to the public is counterproductive to the culture that the community and the Vispop campaign has been shaping throughout the last few years.”
For his part, Vispop 2019 project chairperson Barney Borja said on the official VisayanPop Facebook page, “Rather than starting our (SHS-Batch ‘85) own competition from scratch, which we did successfully as producers of one of the country’s biggest pageants, we decided to respect and continue the legacy that Jude, Insoy, Ian (Zafra) and Cattski started. We all love Vispop and it was disheartening that the competition was shelved because of many issues.”
“(My batchmates) are excited to manage Vispop with a grander production, a wider audience and a more professional compensation scheme for songwriters,” Borja said.
But Gitamondoc’s online note, which was posted after Borja’s, chronicled his issues with Artist Ko, including the multipurpose cooperative’s handling of revenue and distribution, and the registering of Vispop as a trademark without his knowledge. Gitamondoc felt that Vispop’s strength was allowing people to use the brand, whether it is referred to as a genre or an initiative, rather than having it exclusively licensed as a corporate trademark.