JP/14/YEAREND

JP/14/YEAREND

No place to go but up for RI music in 2005

Hera Diani
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Little, if anything, very exciting emerged on the local popular
music scene in 2004.

It was so lame and dull that perhaps the "highlight" of the
whole year was when then presidential candidate Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono sang rock group Jamrud's old hit Pelangi Di Matamu (The
Rainbow in Your Eyes) on every possible occasion.

Another highlight that did not come directly from the music
industry, either, was the idol search frenzy.

Despite the emergence of a few names with some degree of
talent, the commercialization of the process and those so-called
new idols was just sickening.

Few good releases

The star search show's contribution to the music industry is
still questionable, too, given the poor quality of the albums
released by the winners.

During 2004, only a few releases were good or refreshing.

Pop group Sheila on 7's fourth album Pejantan Tangguh (Tough
Stud) is a solid work and original, testament to the band's
talent and improving craft.

Too bad, the album sold only around 300,000 copies, many fewer
than their previous ones, which exceeded one million sales each.

It may have been because it was released only a couple of
months after the release of the band's original soundtrack album
for the 2004 teen flick 30 Hari Mencari Cinta (30 Days of Looking
for Love).

Some other fresh releases came courtesy of Ten2five, whose
bilingual debut album, I Will Fly is surprisingly good with songs
wrapped in breezy pop, with a touch of light jazz.

Other good releases came from the indie scene: JKT:SKRG, a
compilation of excellent, original songs from 12 local indie
bands, and the High Octane Rock EP from Seringai, which displays
incendiary rock songs celebrating the heyday of rock 'n roll.

Copycat acts, little of memorable quality

Otherwise, the same, ugly scenario played itself out on the
2004 music scene: A legion of copycat acts that had a similar
sound, no strong or memorable works from established artists, and
a staggering decline in record sales.

As this situation has persisted for the past three or four
years, the problems clearly indicate that there is something
wrong with the local music industry and its supporting
infrastructure.

This is well put by writer/poet Remy Sylado who, in his heyday
in the 1970s was a well-known music journalist.

"It's not a matter of a lack of talent, because quality
musicians are always available. But people in the music industry
act like retail businessmen, selling music like pins!" he said,
as quoted by MTV Trax magazine.

"They sell one or two artists who sell a couple of million
copies of albums and they think they know everything about the
music market. They become this institution that determines the
taste of many people. That's what has made Indonesian music
stagnant."

The record companies do not wish to take any risks, only
releasing the work of artists who produce the same kind of music
as their predecessors.

Bands like Sheila on 7 and Padi were able to sell millions of
copies of their albums; the subsequent acts are merely their
followers.

The companies also interfered so much with the creativity of
their artists that a few established artists, interestingly,
chose to part company with their previous (major) labels and went
indie to obtain more freedom.

The artists include bands BIP, Naif and Netral, each of which
has its own solid fan base.

As a result, the market is saturated with the same product so
much that people are getting bored with it, which has caused the
decline in sales.

The only band that could still sell over one million copies
was Peterpan, with Bintang di Surga (Star in Heaven). The songs
are indeed catchy, but not that strong, and, with the same
formula as their first album, it has started to lose its
freshness.

Piracy and technology

True, piracy is still a major concern and has contributed a
great deal to the decline in sales. In this respect, some accuse
the record companies of pirating their own products to avoid
taxes, something that has yet to be proven.

The world is also changing today; the boost in information
technology means that music no longer has the largest slice of
the pie. Consumer expenditures are divided into buying cell
phones, cell phone credit and other paraphernalia, such that only
hard core fans buy records.

The rest opt for MP3 and, again, pirated products.

In order to attract customers, it requires strong, memorable
music with high quality.

Therefore, it will require people in the music industry to be
willing to take a risk, to be open to all types of music, to go
out there and find out what people like and what the trends are.

The industry needs to revamp itself by recruiting fresh, young
A&R (Artist and Repertoire) people to replace the old players who
no longer have the sharp intuition to sense a marketable, new
sound that can dominate the scene today.

Another essential thing is to establish good music media,
which is currently still absent, although it purportedly
provides critical feedback for musicians.

Nowadays, it mostly gives information written seemingly in a
reciprocal relationship with record companies and promoters.

"The lack of real criticism has resulted in half-baked
musicians and copycat acts in the music industry. Songs now sound
the same because of that, among other things, because there is no
constructive criticism from music critics," said seasoned music
journalist Denny Sakrie.

Maybe all of this sounds like a monumental task, but
overcoming it is not impossible.

Hopefully, next year, we shall see some improvement.