Magazine taps into urban youth culture

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

For some people, anything mainstream is frightening. Because mainstream could mean bubblegum pop, boybands, Hollywood schlock -- in short, the products of the big fat capitalist pigs.

In other words, it's boring and uncool, lacking any redeeming characteristics whatsoever.

Some people become mainstream-phobic, doing anything against what the majority do to show they are not part of the system.

The result is sometimes more pretentious than excellent, like the Indonesian movie Pasir Berbisik (Whispering Sands), for example.

And sometimes, the harder effort they make to be cutting edge and different, the more mainstream they become.

Gustaff H. Iskandar swears, however, that Trolley magazine, where he is the chief editor, is very much in the mainstream, even though some of its content seems to go against conventional values.

"I mean, what is mainstream or not mainstream? We're very mainstream, you know. There's nothing new in what we write and present. It's just that it hasn't been explored yet," said the 28-year-old graduate of the School of Arts and Design of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

"We never mean to be eccentric or unusual. It's just plain economics. If you want to sell something, then you've got to sell something different. That's pretty mainstream, isn't it?"

Indonesian monthly Trolley is not exactly a new magazine, as it was established in November 2000 and has so far published eight editions.

However, the content and its development make it an interesting topic of discussion.

The flashy cover, high quality paper, arty and unconventional layout is one thing. It is the content that has attracted thousands of readers, most of whom are aged between 15 and 30 years old.

The focus of the magazine is basically on urban culture, spanning music, fashion and the arts. Its angles, however, are nothing like what most media present.

When it comes to music, for instance, it's more about the underground scene. The fashion pages are filled with real people wearing their own style. And there are no limitations for the arts. High, low, pop, classical -- the only criteria is that the works are excellent and reflect urban culture.

There is also analysis, opinion, portfolios of unknown artists or translated items from the Internet.

"We only record what happens in our daily lives. The good thing is, we have enough energy to do that," Gustaff said.

The idea to establish Trolley emerged when Gustaff and his colleagues realized they were bored with what existing media had to offer.

"There are so many things that are missed by the media. Like an arts exhibition by a friend of mine. It was excellent but no media covered it. And, for example, I like music and used to play in a band, but there was no suitable media with which we could have worked with," he said.

Many publishers turned down their proposals, and so with capital of only Rp 250,000 (US$25) and an acquaintance with a printing company, they finally published the magazine, which now sells for Rp 15,500.

Trolley is aimed at becoming a symbol of urban society, in line with the purpose of the magazine in being a platform of the local cultural scene as an industry.

"We realized that the local industry had the potential to establish local communication that is economically and politically independent. We want to be the mediator for the local industry so that they can exist better," Gustaff said.

With 35 people involved in the magazine, including both permanent staff and contributors, the circulation of the magazine has now reached 15,000, which is five times higher than the first edition's circulation.

The magazine is mainly sold in big cities, at record stores and boutiques. Demand is also emerging from smaller cities and towns, like Tasikmalaya and Majalaya in West Java.

"Actually, you'd think what do people in those (small) cities have to do with u? I think that it's the logical consequence of (development in the) city. It's very interesting," Gustaff said, adding that there have also been inquiries from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

The readers are not just young people, some university lecturers also subscribe.

"I think people read our magazine because it represents the era. It represents something that doesn't fit in the mainstream," he said.

Despite increasing readership, the staff do not want the magazine to become a mass-market product.

"It's not that we have become a hard sell or exclusive. We're also doing business. It's just that we want to focus. We position our readers as passengers, who use our magazine as a reference, who understand it really well. That way, we're also being responsible with our advertisers, like our readers, although they're few, but they influence others. We want to be in that position so that Trolley becomes important," Gustaff said.

"Besides, something that is said to be market demand is actually uncertain. We don't want to be trapped in such an illusion. It's not the market who determines the economy, but investors."

Journalism-wise and in writing style, Gustaff admitted work was needed as "none of us has the journalistic or writing background".

"One more thing, we also don't take sides, or are concerned about moral issues. Not having any drugs jargon, for example, is bulls***. Drugs are wild here."

He dismissed criticism that the magazine has no real identity and is western minded.

"What is Indonesia's identity anyway? What is western minded? Do we have to wear batik all the time?"