Local music scene shows promise in 2001
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
What did the local pop music industry offer in 2001?
Let's see. Sheila On 7, Padi, Dewa and Jamrud.
Not a single day passed throughout the year without the exposure of the bands' songs and videos until we ended up knowing the songs by heart.
And some of us got really sick of that tinkling sound of the harp from Padi's Kasih Tak Sampai (Unfulfilled Love), for instance.
But that is another problem.
No one can deny that the four bands are the most successful on the 2001 pop scene, with each of them succeeding in selling over one million copies of their latest albums: Sheila On 7 with Kisah Klasik Untuk Masa Depan (Classical Story for The Future), Padi with Sesuatu Yang Tertunda (Something Delayed) and Dewa with Bintang Lima (Five Star).
Cimahi, West Java-based pop/rock band Jamrud, meanwhile, did even better with its Ningrat (Aristocrat) album, which has so far sold some 2.4 million copies.
With the monetary crisis still battering the country, making it hard to sell even a couple of hundred copies, the bands' achievements are remarkable.
Especially for Sheila on 7 and Padi. First, because they are relative newcomers in the music industry, but also because this is the second time they have succeeded in selling over one million copies after releasing their debut albums in 1999.
Yogyakarta-based Sheila soared first with its self-titled album, reviving the whole industry with easy listening and catchy pop songs.
Padi, however, took off slower but caught up with Sheila. Often being identified as U2-esque, the band -- originally from Surabaya -- soared high with a second album that is surprisingly quite solid.
Another thing about Padi and Sheila is that most of their members are still in their early 20s. We're not talking about the quality yet -- and in fact they are not disappointing -- but their appearance is a sign that regeneration does occur.
And the refreshing thing is that, unlike in the United States and Europe, it is not boybands that reigned supreme but real bands.
As for Dewa, they have already been around longer and crowned as the highest paid band. So, their success is not exactly surprising.
And Jamrud? There is something demanding of respect about this band. They are so low profile and unpretentious and it reflects in their songs, so it is no wonder that they won the hearts of many fans.
The year offered more than just Sheila, Padi, Jamrud and Dewa. Some were old players (Slank, Gigi), some new, some succeeded (Slank) while others flopped (Gigi).
Some are "new" but actually "old", like former Dewa vocalist Ari Lasso and Kahitna's keyboard player Yovie Widianto.
Ari's album may not have been as successful as Dewa's but it's not a disappointing album and sold quite well too. He also filled out what is lacking in the music industry: a male solo vocalist.
An album by Yovie, under the name Yovie and Nuno, also was not bad either.
A bunch of new bands and singers also emerged, like Caffeine, Shifter, Tic Band, Naff, Element and Ren Tobing. Despite lacking definitive character (they all sound the same), some of those bands managed to get high air play.
Some old timers, like Fariz RM and Chaseiro, tried to scrape back their popularity, jostling with their juniors by releasing compilations of old hits.
It was also interesting how some groups mixed pop with comedy, like comedy group turned vocal group Project Pop with its catchy yet witty debut pop album, and bands Harapan Jaya, Naif and Clubeighties.
Interesting also is the success of noted emcee-turned-singer Tantowi Yahya who chose pop/country, a genre hardly looked at by other musicians.
For female vocalists, those who shone brightest were Titi DJ and MTV VJ turned singer Shanty.
With all the variety, the year was an interesting period for the music industry.
However, not all that glitters is gold.
Despite the emergence of new acts and sales of over one million for some artists, the trend of album sales in general in this country is sliding.
An official at Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia, whose artists are Padi and Sheila on 7, said that the sales trend for all genre has been declining in the past three years.
"People are getting more selective in buying a product because their financial condition isn't as good as it used to be," Sony's A&R manager, Sylvia Theorupun Pontoh, said.
Rampant album piracy may also contribute to the decline, but the trend is a hint of how the market is becoming saturated.
What to do? What to do?
Of course it depends on the musicians themselves. As the consumers are more selective, only the innovative ones will succeed.
For the four bands, for instance, they have created new phenomena. If they want to maintain that, they have to go beyond being a rip-off or pretending to be creative by taking a little bit of something from here and there and calling it their own.