The recent Manulife ad insulted a lot of musicians, and their only response to that was that it was a typo. They then hastily took the ad down.

Manulife Singapore thank you for your response. It's really not up to me to say whether it's insincere or too politically correct or whatever..

But as I've stated before, though many of us were triggered by the "5k" label, the underlying issue isn't the money. If it's a typo of a "zero" that's the problem, I believe we aren't on the same page.

We musicians have put in a lot (financially or otherwise), and to have our craft used as a yardstick or some sort of click bait in an advertisement is not only insulting, but also betrays a lack of understanding and respect in our culture for the profession that is music.

If and when you rectify this, it is my sincere hope that you don't simply tack on some zeroes and call that crisis management, but instead please do right by us - I can't tell you how tired we artists are of the assumptions of office workers that we are living some gritty, decadent life amidst either fancy suits or go go girls.

We are human beings, contributing to society with an honest living, and we are tired of stereotypes perpetuated all so subtly.

So I won't, and indeed, cannot tell you how to do your job. I can only implore that we all stop acting on assumptions because these create waves of momentum in society - some of these criminally untrue, useful only for Hollywood-esque glitz and glamour. As a corporate entity with pull, please exercise social responsibility and help represent artists fairly.

Thank you.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157539081327269&set=a.10150324636162269&type=3&theater