Local music scene lacks creativity, variety

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many consider the 1980s the best period for the local contemporary music scene. Come to think of it, the opinion is quite valid as among the best collections of Indonesian popular music emerged during that particular decade.

Back then, the genre was varied, and included jazz, fusion, pop and rock, and each had its own musicians and singers who, although many are now on a permanent hiatus, remain respected and irreplaceable figures in the popular music scene until now.

To name a few, there were the likes of Fariz RM and Vina Panduwinata and groups like Karimata, Krakatau and Chaseiro which have produced albums that many of us still play.

Another great thing about the decade was that the sound appeared were pretty much original. The songwriters also managed to come up with lyrics that were not cliches, and often witty and intelligent.

Fast forward to two decades later, in the big picture, nothing much can be said for the local music scene, as we look back on what happened in 2002.

Quantity-wise, there were dozens of newcomers, and their albums sell quite well. But as we sit and listen to them, can you really distinguish which one is Shiva, which one is Peter Pan, or Element? They all play the same kind of music, with the same lyrics, and without any distinguishable style. Worse they are just a rip-off.

Even the reportedly highest paid band, Dewa, could only come up with a highly pretentious sixth album entitled Cintailah Cinta (Loving Love), which lacks in any defining character.

According to noted musician Erwin Gutawa, 40, today's local music industry is stagnant.

"I see that record companies are being more transparent now, which is good. We know how several groups can sell over one million copies. That's not a new thing, though, it's just that the companies are now willing to be more transparent," he said earlier in an interview with The Jakarta Post.

Regarding the system and creativity, it is not getting better -- and perhaps is getting worse.

Royalties and piracy are still major problems, and promotion of Western artists is still preferred by the people, perhaps due in part to MTV and fast marketing and distribution.

"Concerning creativity, there are not too many variations. Too typical. Indonesians are indeed copycats," said Erwin who once was a bass player in the jazz band Karimata, before the group disbanded in 1991.

Sharing the same opinion with Erwin is jazz singer Syaharani who said the development of the local music industry in the past three or four years had been static.

"The newcomers are great in some senses, though. They work hard, their physical condition and their stage acts are great. However, (musically), the pattern is similar and the material sounds the same. The same kind of pop, the same kind of R&B..," he said.

Erwin said record companies were responsible for the stagnancy and lack of creativity. He discovered that record companies only want profit, without such things as dedication or loyalty to the music itself -- killing certain genre, like jazz, in the process.

On the other hand, however, it is probably understandable from an economic perspective, as the record company does not want to take much risk, because trends show that the album sales have continued to decline in the past three years.

As Sony Music Indonesia managing director Sutanto Hartono put it, "we used to be able to sell up to 30,000 albums from new artists. But now selling 10,000 copies is considered good".

Besides the prolonged economic crisis, another thing that contributes to the decline is the soaring rate of piracy. Though it's not a new thing in this country, piracy this year re- emerged, reaching a whole new level with counterfeit products finding their way onto record store shelves.

Unlike the existing pirated products which were clearly distinguished -- bad quality cover and all -- today's counterfeit items look identical to the original, even have tax stickers on them.

While the police have arrested a few of the usual suspects and investigated the case, nothing seems to get done to curb the worsening trend.

Data from the Anti Piracy Communication Forum (FOKAP) shows that piracy is currently 650 percent larger than the legal sales of three million copies each month. The number took a great leap from the 558 percent figure last year. The financial losses caused by piracy to musicians and record companies is estimated at Rp 11 trillion (US$1.196 billion) annually.

The Forum and other associations and the members of the music industry also launched a campaign to combat piracy. But given the complicated problems, many doubt the effectiveness of the campaign.

With such obstacles, what is left to be said then for the domestic music industry?

As they say, there is a silver lining behind every cloud, the year 2002 actually had some good news on the music front.

Yogyakarta-based pop band, Sheila On 7, for example, have proven themselves to be a talented group of quality musicians with their third outing 07 Des. The catchy, crisp and unpretentious songs showed they were not just a flash in the pan.

Other highlights of 2002 included the soundtrack from the teen mega-hit movie Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? (What's Up With Love?) produced by Melly Goeslaw and Anto Hoed. The two managed to produce an album which is not only suitable for teen flicks -- with catchy, funky and lovey-dovey songs, but also good enough to stand by itself as an individual work.

The year also was marked by the appearance of some fresh new female artists who fill a void that has long been vacant as the existing female artists are just too typical of all the other pre-fab pop artists here, and they usually just occupy the same old genre -- if not pop, R&B.

The first to emerge was Tere, 23, who came up with a slightly alternative pop sound with her debut album Awal Yang Indah (A Beautiful Start). And then there was 25-year-old Cindy with Kala Kunanti (When I Wait), a pack of varied sound -- from sequencer- laced pop, Britpop, to rock and trip hop (ala Portishead), which surprisingly sounds decent.

Surpassing both girls was singer/songwriter Sarah, 26, whose debut Akhirnya.. (At Last) is a simple, yet catchy pop album, with piano-based sound in the Vanessa Carlton mode, which is quite powerful.

There were also some old-timers, like Chrisye who came up with a good tribute-to-old-musicians album, and Asian idol Iwan Fals who became more contemplative and introspective with Suara Hati (Conscience), his first studio album in years.

There were also nice attempts from artists to come up with less mainstream acts, such as Naif who stayed consistent with the retro sound and former grunge vocalist Ipang who turned to trip hop and succeeded both commercially and critically.

Singer Syaharani who is known as a jazz singer, also veered heavily toward trip hop with her sophomore effort.

"The market has potential. So, I want to get a piece of the segment that is still vacant. I'm pretty sure that there are people who'd like to listen to it," Rani said.

Potential market, indeed. It only takes more courage and and open minded record companies to produce "less mainstream" and more varied products, rather than being uniform and just ripping off other styles.