The Taipei Music Center (TMC) in Nangang District, Taiwan's first hub dedicated to the production and reception of pop music to drive the development of the nation's music industry was inaugurated on Aug. 27.
Speaking at the center's opening ceremony, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan has been a powerhouse of Mandarin pop music for decades, and a fair amount of well-known tunes were originally from Taiwan because "we are a society of democracy and freedom, enabling a diverse array of expressions."
The medium-size center will also fill the need of a venue with a capacity between live houses and the 15,000-seat Taipei Arena, Tsai noted.
Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te, on the other hand, thanked his predecessors and many others who have made the establishment of TMC possible, while expressing his hope that the center, which took 17 years to build, will bring Taiwan's pop music to a new height.
Together with Kaohsiung Music Center , which is still under construction, the Taipei Music Center is part of government's 2003 flagship program aimed to boost the nation's pop music industry from Taiwan's two main cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung.
The newly inaugurated center will also play a vital role in nurturing music talents, promoting performances, boosting local tourism, and also giving Taiwan's pop music industry greater exposure to the world.
The center has applied international standards in terms of sound proofing equipment and earthquake resistance capacity. It features a concert hall with the capacity of 6,000 people, an exhibition hall to showcase the history of Taiwan's pop music development, and the creative area that will serve as an incubation center for future musicians.
Located between the exhibition hall and the creative area is the outdoor plaza, which can accommodate up to 3,000 people. The open air area will serve as a venue for music festivals and performances, or other functions such as bazaars.
A live concert to mark the TMC opening will take place at the center on Sept. 5, and, on Oct. 3, the award ceremony of the Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan's equivalent of the Grammy Awards, will also be held at the newly inaugurated center.