MIRI: Two academicians from Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) will carry out research on the Miri Country Music Fest 2022 in an effort aimed at advancing knowledge in the events management field.
The project, which will be funded by the fest organiser Place Borneo Sdn Bhd, had appointed Dr Adriel Sim and Dr Ho Jie Min to the research committee in a collaboration with Dr Tan Kim-Lim of James Cook University in Singapore
“To help the MCMF stay ahead of competition in the events industry, the research committee will explore opportunities for improvements in the planning and staging of future editions of the MCMF, as well as enhancing its marketability and attractiveness among music festival-goers domestically and internationally.
According to Dr Ho, the research committee will formulate the scope of the research before collecting and analysing relevant data.
“On completion of the study, we will be reporting the findings to Place Borneo and the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts, as well as Tourism Malaysia,” he said.
The study will be carried out in two phases, the first involves gathering input from MCMF attendees for the organisers to gain insights into feedback from the event. On-site data collection took place at the MCMF on Nov 25 and 26, with the help of 10 Curtin Malaysia student research assistants.
Meanwhile, the research committee will strive to understand the perspectives of host communities on the implications associated with organising international festivals such as the MCMF in the second phase of the study.
“After a successful inaugural event in 2014, the Miri Country Music Fest has continued to attract thousands of country music lovers from all over the region since.
“It has featured country music artists from all over the world and served as a platform for local artists to showcase their talents in country music.”
The festival was revived this year after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, with an impressive line-up of international and local performers.
Tantowi Yahya, Indonesia’s most popular country singer, and Malaysia’s own international multi-award-winning singer, songwriter, and visual artist Lyia Meta were among them.
International groups included the Johnny Loda Trio and Cambodia Country Band with multinational performers from Italy, the United Kingdom, Thailand, the United States and Cambodia as well as Ramon Cedillo of Singapore.
Data collection is ongoing and residents of Miri are welcome to complete the research committee’s survey questionnaire at: https://survey.sogolytics.com/r/ck3Z5I.
The public may get more information on Curtin Malaysia at its website at www.curtin.edu.my, or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or TikTok.
