In the Engaging Cities: The Growing Relevance Of Soft Power To City Reputations In Asia-Pacific report released last December, Singapore performed well against all but two soft power metrics: arts and literature, and music. The report found that "Singapore's contribution to the arts, literature, and music scenes have yet to capture the imagination of those who live outside the city", that the arts, literature and music scenes are key dimensions of "soft power", and that soft power is of "particular importance" to cities as it reflects the ability to "gain competitive advantage by projecting influence at home and abroad".

http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/boost-republics-soft-power-by-relaxing-arts-regulation