Indonesian recording industry at crisis point

Indonesian recording industry at crisis point

Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Oka claims that he sells every kind of music available, and has
all his wares stacked neatly on a blanket spread on the street in
front of West Jakarta's Glodok retail center, the city's largest
market for pirated CDs and cassettes.

"Asereje (Las Ketchup) is the hottest thing lately, and I have
it combined with some other artists you may like," said the
Medan-born youth.

Oka sells one CD for Rp 5,000 (56 U.S. cent) and three for Rp
10,000, much less than the official retail prices of Rp 20,000
and Rp 50,000 for cassettes and CDs respectively.

"Business is very good. It's as easy as selling peanuts," he
remarked.

Oka also offers music from local groups such as Dewa, Padi or
Sheila on 7, complete with unofficial versions of their greatest
hits.

"On one CD, you can get every song from all of Dewa's albums.
It's the same price as any of the others, only Rp 10,000," he
said.

Riza Arsyad of jazz group Simak Dialog told The Jakarta Post
on Friday that the Indonesian recording industry had reached
crisis point.

"Appreciation for intellectual property has reached its lowest
level ever from the public, the industry and the government,
which is why piracy is so rampant," he explained.

In a bid to raise public awareness of intellectual property
rights in the music industry, the government has declared March 9
as National Music Day, coinciding with the anniversary of the
national anthem, Indonesia Raya, which was penned by composer
Wage Rudolf Supratman.

A new intellectual property rights law was enacted last year.

Many musicians, however, have recently questioned the
government's political commitment to implementing the law.

"Piracy has been going on for years and continues to use the
same modus operandi. Do we see any progress being made by the
government in curbing it?" asked Anang Hermansyah, a noted
Indonesian musician.

Anang pointed out that the government's lack of political will
was also shown by the fact that if an artist scored a hit,
retailers would immediately request quick deliveries in order to
meet the public demand.

"Often times, however, the bureaucracy delays the delivery of
products. It also leads to extra costs, and by the time the CD is
on the shelves, the public could well have lost interest," he
explained.

Currently Riza and a few other musicians are planning to
establish a music industry watchdog to be known as the Indonesian
Recording Artists Association (Asari) in an attempt to press the
industry to move in the right direction.

Asari's job will include encouraging more top-ranking
musicians in the recording industry's hierarchy of influence to
become involved as music contract, royalty and piracy monitors.

Asari also plans to become more proactive in promoting
intellectual property rights among the public.

"We take the view that musicians must take charge of the music
business. We cannot rely on the government or recording companies
to set the rules for the whole recording industry," he says.

Indonesia has become Southeast Asia's principal digital piracy
center, something that inflicts huge losses on the local
recording industry.

The Sound Recording Industry Association of Indonesia (Asiri)
earlier reported that currently the percentage of pirated CDs
compared to originals amounted to 600 percent.

The is a huge increase over the 12 percent of original
recordings back in 1997.

The United States has recently warned Indonesia, and put it on
its priority watchlist next to China in terms of the level of
digital piracy.

The warning could also be followed by economic sanctions, with
Indonesian products being denied access to the U.S., and
eventually an all-out embargo.

Riza explained that part of the problem was due to the fact
that the public's access to entertainment was being restricted.

"The prices of CDs and cassettes are simply too high in view
of the nation's current economic situation," he explained.

Riza suggested that the government facilitate the production
of affordable recordings for all levels of society.

Meanwhile, David Tambunan, a spokesman for the PT Aquarius
Musikindo recording company, said that currently the recording
industry could see no way of providing more affordable products
as the cost of production was too high.

However, Riza claimed that the cost of materials, such as CDs
and cassettes, for the production of albums was currently next to
nothing. He was sure that his idea would be successful if it were
acted upon.

"If the street vendors can sell a pirated CD for Rp 5,000,
then we should be able to sell the original recording for Rp
8,000. Let the public decide whether they want to buy an original
for Rp 8,000 or a pirated copy that is only marginally cheaper,"
he suggested.