Hong Kong – The third annual MTV Music Matters survey released at the Music Matters Forum in Hong Kong shows that young people in India, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines have the highest passion for music; it is being consumed by nearly everyone across TV, computer and mobile screens. Commissioned by MTV Networks Asia and partnered with TNS, the fieldwork was completed in March this year which encompassed 5,741 online interviews with urban individuals aged between 15-34 year-olds in 12 markets in Asia Pacific including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia. Ian Stewart, senior vice president of Viacom Brand Solutions & Research, MTV Networks Asia, said, “We continue to see the dominance of Asian music across the region, with over 80% of preference being for artists in local language. A handful of global celebrities make the top list of favored singers, though very few regional artists that cross many borders.” The study also found that mobile phones are commonly used for listening to music. One in four young Asians paid to download digital music recently, while twice as many added to their music library without paying. U2 Manager Paul McGuinness and pop star Karen Mok headlined the first day of Music Matters Asia-Pacific Forum. “We need a fair partnership between those who make the content and those who distribute it,” said McGuinness during a lengthy speech that headlined a day filled with panels and forums by many of the key figures in the regional recording and telecommunications industries. He was largely positive about the state of music in general and conveyed his belief that artists on an international scale will be created and thrive in the future. He also predicted that companies like Apple will create devices and subscription services that will be met with widescale acceptance by the general public. McGuinness lay much of the blame for today’s widespread piracy of music through the internet at the feet of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs). “If the ISPs carry on the way they are, they will have to explain to future generations why there is nothing to listen to and nothing to watch except reality TV shows,” he said. A survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers revealed that the Asia-Pacific region is leading the world in digital music consumption with 40 percent of global revenues and is expected to account for 33 percent of the global music market by 2011. The results of a MTV/TNS survey showed that 75 percent of youths surveyed across the region want their mobile phones to be their main gadget when it comes to playing music. The day was capped by an appearance by Hong Kong pop star and UNICEF ambassador Karen Mok, who emphasized issues pertaining to problems that are currently being faced by people in Myanmar and Sichuan