Piracy still haunts local music industry<\/p>\n
Hera Diani
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Many consider the 1980s the best period for the local
\ncontemporary music scene. Come to think of it, the opinion is
\nquite valid as among the best collections of Indonesian popular
\nmusic emerged during that particular decade.<\/p>\n
Back then, the genre was varied, and included jazz, fusion,
\npop and rock, and each had its own musicians and singers who,
\nalthough many are now on a permanent hiatus, remain respected and
\nirreplaceable figures in the popular music scene until now.<\/p>\n
To name a few, there were the likes of Fariz RM and Vina
\nPanduwinata and groups like Karimata, Krakatau and Chaseiro which
\nhave produced albums that many of us still play.<\/p>\n
Another great thing about the decade was that the sound
\nappeared were pretty much original. The songwriters also managed
\nto come up with lyrics that were not cliches, and often witty and
\nintelligent.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to two decades later, in the big picture, nothing
\nmuch can be said for the local music scene, as we look back on
\nwhat happened in 2002.<\/p>\n
Quantity-wise, there were dozens of newcomers, and their
\nalbums sell quite well. But as we sit and listen to them, can you
\nreally distinguish which one is Shiva, which one is Peter Pan, or
\nElement? They all play the same kind of music, with the same
\nlyrics, and without any distinguishable style. Worse they are
\njust a rip-off.<\/p>\n
Even the reportedly highest paid band, Dewa, could only come
\nup with a highly pretentious sixth album entitled Cintailah Cinta
\n(Loving Love), which lacks in any defining character.<\/p>\n
According to noted musician Erwin Gutawa, 40, today's local
\nmusic industry is stagnant.<\/p>\n
"I see that record companies are being more transparent now,
\nwhich is good. We know how several groups can sell over one
\nmillion copies. That's not a new thing, though, it's just that
\nthe companies are now willing to be more transparent," he said
\nearlier in an interview with The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Regarding the system and creativity, it is not getting better
\n-- and perhaps is getting worse.<\/p>\n
Royalties and piracy are still major problems, and promotion
\nof Western artists is still preferred by the people, perhaps due
\nin part to MTV and fast marketing and distribution.<\/p>\n
"Concerning creativity, there are not too many variations. Too
\ntypical. Indonesians are indeed copycats," said Erwin who once
\nwas a bass player in the jazz band Karimata, before the group
\ndisbanded in 1991.<\/p>\n
Sharing the same opinion with Erwin is jazz singer Syaharani
\nwho said the development of the local music industry in the past
\nthree or four years had been static.<\/p>\n
"The newcomers are great in some senses, though. They work
\nhard, their physical condition and their stage acts are great.
\nHowever, (musically), the pattern is similar and the material
\nsounds the same. The same kind of pop, the same kind of R&B..,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Erwin said record companies were responsible for the stagnancy
\nand lack of creativity. He discovered that record companies only
\nwant profit, without such things as dedication or loyalty to the
\nmusic itself -- killing certain genre, like jazz, in the process.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, however, it is probably understandable from
\nan economic perspective, as the record company does not want to
\ntake much risk, because trends show that the album sales have
\ncontinued to decline in the past three years.<\/p>\n
As Sony Music Indonesia managing director Sutanto Hartono put
\nit, "we used to be able to sell up to 30,000 albums from new
\nartists. But now selling 10,000 copies is considered good".<\/p>\n
Besides the prolonged economic crisis, another thing that
\ncontributes to the decline is the soaring rate of piracy. Though
\nit's not a new thing in this country, piracy this year re-
\nemerged, reaching a whole new level with counterfeit products
\nfinding their way onto record store shelves.<\/p>\n
Unlike the existing pirated products which were clearly
\ndistinguished -- bad quality cover and all -- today's counterfeit
\nitems look identical to the original, even have tax stickers on
\nthem.<\/p>\n
While the police have arrested a few of the usual suspects and
\ninvestigated the case, nothing seems to get done to curb the
\nworsening trend.<\/p>\n
Data from the Anti Piracy Communication Forum (FOKAP) shows
\nthat piracy is currently 650 percent larger than the legal sales
\nof three million copies each month. The number took a great leap
\nfrom the 558 percent figure last year. The financial losses
\ncaused by piracy to musicians and record companies is estimated
\nat Rp 11 trillion (US$1.196 billion) annually.<\/p>\n
The Forum and other associations and the members of the music
\nindustry also launched a campaign to combat piracy. But given the
\ncomplicated problems, many doubt the effectiveness of the
\ncampaign.<\/p>\n
With such obstacles, what is left to be said then for the
\ndomestic music industry?<\/p>\n
As they say, there is a silver lining behind every cloud, the
\nyear 2002 actually had some good news on the music front.<\/p>\n
Yogyakarta-based pop band, Sheila On 7, for example, have
\nproven themselves to be a talented group of quality musicians
\nwith their third outing 07 Des. The catchy, crisp and
\nunpretentious songs showed they were not just a flash in the pan.<\/p>\n
Other highlights of 2002 included the soundtrack from the teen
\nmega-hit movie Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? (What's Up With Love?)
\nproduced by Melly Goeslaw and Anto Hoed. The two managed to
\nproduce an album which is not only suitable for teen flicks --
\nwith catchy, funky and lovey-dovey songs, but also good enough to
\nstand by itself as an individual work.<\/p>\n
The year also was marked by the appearance of some fresh new
\nfemale artists who fill a void that has long been vacant as the
\nexisting female artists are just too typical of all the other
\npre-fab pop artists here, and they usually just occupy the same
\nold genre -- if not pop, R&B.<\/p>\n
The first to emerge was Tere, 23, who came up with a slightly
\nalternative pop sound with her debut album Awal Yang Indah (A
\nBeautiful Start). And then there was 25-year-old Cindy with Kala
\nKunanti (When I Wait), a pack of varied sound -- from sequencer-
\nlaced pop, Britpop, to rock and trip hop (ala Portishead), which
\nsurprisingly sounds decent.<\/p>\n
Surpassing both girls was singer\/songwriter Sarah, 26, whose
\ndebut Akhirnya.. (At Last) is a simple, yet catchy pop album,
\nwith piano-based sound in the Vanessa Carlton mode, which is
\nquite powerful.<\/p>\n
There were also some old-timers, like Chrisye who came up with
\na good tribute-to-old-musicians album, and Asian idol Iwan Fals
\nwho became more contemplative and introspective with Suara Hati
\n(Conscience), his first studio album in years.<\/p>\n
There were also nice attempts from artists to come up with
\nless mainstream acts, such as Naif who stayed consistent with the
\nretro sound and former grunge vocalist Ipang who turned to trip
\nhop and succeeded both commercially and critically.<\/p>\n
Singer Syaharani who is known as a jazz singer, also veered
\nheavily toward trip hop with her sophomore effort.<\/p>\n
"The market has potential. So, I want to get a piece of the
\nsegment that is still vacant. I'm pretty sure that there are
\npeople who'd like to listen to it," Rani said.<\/p>\n
Potential market, indeed. It only takes more courage and and
\nopen minded record companies to produce "less mainstream" and
\nmore varied products, rather than being uniform and just ripping
\noff other styles.<\/p>",
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