Ever since 2022, international artists and K-pop artists have been touring all around the world to meet their beloved fans after two years of the pandemic. However, it seems that Malaysians fans always get disappointed when their favorite acts announce their tour dates without including Malaysia. From Coldplay having only one show in Malaysia but six shows in Singapore and Taylor Swift skipping Malaysia for her Asia Tour. There’s no doubt they have a lot of fans in Malaysia too! But why are they skipping Malaysia?
During an interview with Mr. Elmiel from Hashtag Media, he claimed that Malaysia’s 25% entertainment tax is so high that all the international acts are skipping Malaysia for tours. All the concert organizers have been struggling to pay for the HIGH entertainment tax and have urged the government to repeal it since 2020. Three governments have been changed since then, and finally, the wait is over! According to the latest Budget 2024, the government has finally decided to reduce the entertainment tax to 10% for international entertainment events and full tax exemption for local artists.
Moreover, if you don’t already know, applying for a concert in Malaysia is a complex and complicated process too. Organizers must go through numerous steps—interviews, license applications, and so on—just to put on a one-day concert. And the license applied for is only valid for two days at most. Imagine if Coldplay were to do a six-day concert in Malaysia, just like in Singapore, how many times would they have to go through the same process to organize the concerts?
How about our local fans' thoughts? Aside from the entertainment tax, there are actually many local fans who are unaware of Malaysia’s concert guidelines. And apparently, it seems that our strict guidelines could be one of the reasons why artists are skipping Malaysia for tours. However, as artists, if they are invited to Malaysia, it is certainly because they have lots of fans here! Thus, isn’t it their responsibility for them to respect our culture, guidelines, and also their beloved fans who paid to see them? According to Mr. Elmiel, “Artists are well-aware of the concert guidelines before agreeing to perform in Malaysia; they have to sign a contract with the local organizer too.” Undoubtedly, breaking the rules doesn’t bring any benefits to either party.
However, some of the fans think that artists can be “whatever they want,” as Malaysia is well-known for having strict guidelines, which some may find unreasonable, causing them to break the rules. Just like The 1975 controversy at the Good Vibes Festival, the frontman Matt Healy kissed his bassist Ross McDonald on stage, causing the cancellation of the music festival. They’re not only banned from entering Malaysia, but they also left the fans dumbfounded and disappointed as they didn’t receive what they'd paid for the music festival. Imagine all the money, time, and effort fans invested just to attend a concert, and it was all ruined in one night. How unfair it is for the other fans who have been looking forward to this festival for months. Some didn’t even get to attend the remaining days of the shows.
When I asked about their first thought when they found out their faves were skipping Malaysia for a tour, many of them expressed they were sad and disappointed but expected. Some complained that they would have had to spend more money to attend concerts overseas, like in Singapore or Bangkok. It’s undoubtedly true that local fans are already used to this helplessness.
All of these prove how local fans are extremely disappointed with the previous high entertainment tax and severe limitations, causing lots of economic losses to our country. All we want is just a safe environment to enjoy the entertainment happily, is all we want too much to ask? Let's hope that Malaysia's entertainment industry will turn better starting next year, and most importantly, more international and famous acts will come to Malaysia for concerts!
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