Indie music, released by a major label?

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Want your songs to be recorded and still sound like your songs?

Less than a decade ago this was rarely an option for bands. The reality was that in order to be recorded musicians had to tailor their music to fit the mainstream. In other words, they were recorded if their music sounded like it would sell.

But independent labels today are giving musicians and singers new doors to knock on. Better still, they can make their own doors.

Around 1993 in Bandung, the Pas band were making music that didn't seem to fit into any marketable category. So, frustrated at their chances of being signed with a major record label they decided to record independently.

By selling their music door-to-door and at events, 5,000 cassettes reached those that were later to become their fan-base.

Independent labels, known as indie labels, became so popular within Bandung that this trend spread to other big cities.

Independent, is defined by the Oxford dictionary as "not controlled by people or things." Thus, the spirit of indie music is its determination to be original and not watered down by the influence of public opinion (what is hot or otherwise). No matter the pluck and stamina that is required to persevere against such a steady current.

Over the years, indie labels have flourished and developed, not only in numbers but also in working methods. As a producer of indie label Fast Forward Records (Ffwd), Achmad Marin, sums this up as, "thinking the indie way, working the major way".

His remark refers to the way in which indie labels have appropriated the production values and promotion methods of major labels such as BMG, Warner, or Sony, to ensure their bands' are successful. Although funds are limited and in some areas the big labels are impossible to mimic, promotion and distribution are now being taken care of in a much more professional way.

Mocca, one of the most popular newcomers to the Indonesian music scene can vouch for how professional indie labels can be. Ffwd produces the cassettes and CDs of Mocca, because, as Indra, the bands drummer said "We knew it would be difficult to go to a major label because our lyrics are in English."

The Bandung-based label decided to produce Mocca's debut album simply because they liked the music. They set a modest target of 1,500 copies. But, "Passing the breakeven point would have been good enough," said Marin.

"I was not even confident for that many," added Arina, Mocca's vocalist, grinning. She confided that a band she knew had trouble even selling 500 copies.

Naturally, it came as a big surprise for everybody when the album, titled My Diary, hit 10,000 copies.

"We were in heaven," said Rico, the guitarist, excitedly. The number climbed steadily up; 10 months since its release in December 2002, 65,000 copies of My Diary have been sold. This number is phenomenal considering the albums limited promotion.

The usual approach in promoting underground music to do paste- ups, printing posters and dispersing them around the city, but Ffwd and the band put in more effort. They were interviewed on radio and TV and made a promotional tour; they even produced a video clip (which was only played only on MTV since it was free).

"Lots of indie labels just put up posters and put records in distro and that's it," said Marin. Distro are small shops selling clothing, accessories and other items.

"They don't go to radio stations either, because they don't know, don't want to, or don't do the follow up." He added that contacts in the media took years to develop.

"The most important thing is performing," said Marin, either paid or for free. It is not unheard of that a promotional tour is canceled because there is no money to pay for transportation nor accommodation for the band.

The lines of distribution have also developed considerably, as indie labels have wriggled their way into the bigger record shops. One of the reasons why indie music blossomed in Bandung, said Marin, was because the cassette distributor in West Java, Tropik, would produce and distribute cassettes to its established network of shops, even if the copies were as few as 100. About 30 indie labels now exist in Bandung.

In other places, unfortunately, that may not be the case. Surgery Records, a Jakarta-based indie label, distributed the cassettes of Badmono, (the first band it signed) only through distro and three big record stores in Bandung and Jakarta. Sales have reached around 2,000 copies.

"A major label has offered to distribute the cassettes, but we still have problems with capital, since they asked for 10,000 copies," Ricco, of Surgery Records, said.

Although they were initially hesitant to sign up such bands, major labels have now welcomed indie labels in terms of distributing their music. BMG Indonesia, for example, is planning to distribute the music of The Super Glad, an Indonesian indie label band.

"Since we have been here longer, we have a wider network," said the domestic product manager, Shatria Dharma. BMG Indonesia will distribute and help promote the music of bands they deem commercial enough, he said.

Although marketability is still a factor, this could be the answer for independent vocalists and bands. As Shatria put it, the creative process would stay in the hands of the indie label and its band -- however idealistic that might seem -- and the distribution would be managed by the major label via their far- reaching network.

So... are you going to make a record now?