JP\/14\/YEAREND<\/p>\n
No place to go but up for RI music in 2005<\/p>\n
Hera Diani
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Little, if anything, very exciting emerged on the local popular
\nmusic scene in 2004.<\/p>\n
It was so lame and dull that perhaps the \"highlight\" of the
\nwhole year was when then presidential candidate Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono sang rock group Jamrud's old hit Pelangi Di Matamu (The
\nRainbow in Your Eyes) on every possible occasion.<\/p>\n
Another highlight that did not come directly from the music
\nindustry, either, was the idol search frenzy.<\/p>\n
Despite the emergence of a few names with some degree of
\ntalent, the commercialization of the process and those so-called
\nnew idols was just sickening.<\/p>\n
Few good releases<\/p>\n
The star search show's contribution to the music industry is
\nstill questionable, too, given the poor quality of the albums
\nreleased by the winners.<\/p>\n
During 2004, only a few releases were good or refreshing.<\/p>\n
Pop group Sheila on 7's fourth album Pejantan Tangguh (Tough
\nStud) is a solid work and original, testament to the band's
\ntalent and improving craft.<\/p>\n
Too bad, the album sold only around 300,000 copies, many fewer
\nthan their previous ones, which exceeded one million sales each.<\/p>\n
It may have been because it was released only a couple of
\nmonths after the release of the band's original soundtrack album
\nfor the 2004 teen flick 30 Hari Mencari Cinta (30 Days of Looking
\nfor Love).<\/p>\n
Some other fresh releases came courtesy of Ten2five, whose
\nbilingual debut album, I Will Fly is surprisingly good with songs
\nwrapped in breezy pop, with a touch of light jazz.<\/p>\n
Other good releases came from the indie scene: JKT:SKRG, a
\ncompilation of excellent, original songs from 12 local indie
\nbands, and the High Octane Rock EP from Seringai, which displays
\nincendiary rock songs celebrating the heyday of rock 'n roll.<\/p>\n
Copycat acts, little of memorable quality<\/p>\n
Otherwise, the same, ugly scenario played itself out on the
\n2004 music scene: A legion of copycat acts that had a similar
\nsound, no strong or memorable works from established artists, and
\na staggering decline in record sales.<\/p>\n
As this situation has persisted for the past three or four
\nyears, the problems clearly indicate that there is something
\nwrong with the local music industry and its supporting
\ninfrastructure.<\/p>\n
This is well put by writer\/poet Remy Sylado who, in his heyday
\nin the 1970s was a well-known music journalist.<\/p>\n
\"It's not a matter of a lack of talent, because quality
\nmusicians are always available. But people in the music industry
\nact like retail businessmen, selling music like pins!\" he said,
\nas quoted by MTV Trax magazine.<\/p>\n
\"They sell one or two artists who sell a couple of million
\ncopies of albums and they think they know everything about the
\nmusic market. They become this institution that determines the
\ntaste of many people. That's what has made Indonesian music
\nstagnant.\"<\/p>\n
The record companies do not wish to take any risks, only
\nreleasing the work of artists who produce the same kind of music
\nas their predecessors.<\/p>\n
Bands like Sheila on 7 and Padi were able to sell millions of
\ncopies of their albums; the subsequent acts are merely their
\nfollowers.<\/p>\n
The companies also interfered so much with the creativity of
\ntheir artists that a few established artists, interestingly,
\nchose to part company with their previous (major) labels and went
\nindie to obtain more freedom.<\/p>\n
The artists include bands BIP, Naif and Netral, each of which
\nhas its own solid fan base.<\/p>\n
As a result, the market is saturated with the same product so
\nmuch that people are getting bored with it, which has caused the
\ndecline in sales.<\/p>\n
The only band that could still sell over one million copies
\nwas Peterpan, with Bintang di Surga (Star in Heaven). The songs
\nare indeed catchy, but not that strong, and, with the same
\nformula as their first album, it has started to lose its
\nfreshness.<\/p>\n
Piracy and technology<\/p>\n
True, piracy is still a major concern and has contributed a
\ngreat deal to the decline in sales. In this respect, some accuse
\nthe record companies of pirating their own products to avoid
\ntaxes, something that has yet to be proven.<\/p>\n
The world is also changing today; the boost in information
\ntechnology means that music no longer has the largest slice of
\nthe pie. Consumer expenditures are divided into buying cell
\nphones, cell phone credit and other paraphernalia, such that only
\nhard core fans buy records.<\/p>\n
The rest opt for MP3 and, again, pirated products.<\/p>\n
In order to attract customers, it requires strong, memorable
\nmusic with high quality.<\/p>\n
Therefore, it will require people in the music industry to be
\nwilling to take a risk, to be open to all types of music, to go
\nout there and find out what people like and what the trends are.<\/p>\n
The industry needs to revamp itself by recruiting fresh, young
\nA&R (Artist and Repertoire) people to replace the old players who
\nno longer have the sharp intuition to sense a marketable, new
\nsound that can dominate the scene today.<\/p>\n
Another essential thing is to establish good music media,
\nwhich is currently still absent, although it purportedly
\nprovides critical feedback for musicians.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, it mostly gives information written seemingly in a
\nreciprocal relationship with record companies and promoters.<\/p>\n
\"The lack of real criticism has resulted in half-baked
\nmusicians and copycat acts in the music industry. Songs now sound
\nthe same because of that, among other things, because there is no
\nconstructive criticism from music critics,\" said seasoned music
\njournalist Denny Sakrie.<\/p>\n
Maybe all of this sounds like a monumental task, but
\novercoming it is not impossible.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, next year, we shall see some improvement.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp14yearend-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }