Tantowi's entertainment business thrives

By Yusuf Susilo Hartono

JAKARTA (JP): The huge success of the recent Rp 1.6 billion Sherina show at the Jakarta Convention Center has not only boosted the child singer's popularity but also the reputation of Tantowi Yahya, the event's organizer.

Tanto, as he is affectionately called, has become a standard bearer for any children's showbiz event across the country.

In future, every child singer concert will be compared to this one. This point of reference will also apply to Sherina and Tantowi in their future concerts. Here lies the significance of Sherina's concert, a musical attended by some 3,500 people, young and old, who paid between Rp 100,000 and Rp 200,000, the highest figure ever for a ticket to a child concert.

"I am very much aware of the situation," said Tantowi Yahya, widely known as the most expensive master of ceremonies, as well as being a commercial star, record producer, singer, entertainment organizer and an executive board member of a number of music associations.

He spoke in a tone apparently indicating his deep understanding of the matter at hand, mixed with high optimism that he would be able to do better next time.

Starting his career working at a star-rated hotel in his home town of Palembang, Tanto then moved to Jakarta to work for a large company, BASF, for a better future. Together with his boss, Danny Jozal, who used to play music when he was young, he regularly held BASF music awards during the 1990s, a prestigious event that was discontinued just before the collapse of the New Order regime in 1998.

After the dissolution of the BASF Award, Tanto, whose reputation remained intact, became actively involved in a number of music associations, among others the Indonesian Recording Industry Association (ASIRI) and the Indonesian Music Association (AMI). When he later left BASF, he handled the management of his own recording company, Cepee and developed his entertainment business with the establishment of CDP, a company organizing showbiz events.

His company, ironically, has been flourishing at a time when Indonesia is in a severe economic crisis.

So, what made the Sherina concert so successful? How will it influence future children concerts? How come the expensive concert tickets were sold out eight days before D-day? Then, there is also the question whether this concert will, as planned, also come to Surabaya, Bandung and Yogyakarta. Here are excerpts of an interview with Tanto:

Question: What is the key to the success of the Sherina concert?

Answer: Sherina has been successful with her album and in her films. Her name has become a brand now. Sherina has become a very expensive "commodity" in the eyes of the community. I have also benefited by the fact that Sherina's shows were very limited in number. She is not the kind that throws shows everywhere.

In short, she has become a figure that the community has been waiting for. I seized this opportunity and told myself that even if I kept my eyes closed, Sherina's concert would really sell. The fact that the tickets sold out eight days before the performance served only to confirm my perception and prediction.

Would you agree that this success has come from a combination of Sherina's own talent, the skill of her father, Triawan Munaf, well-versed in music commercials, in turning Sherina into a popular brand, and your own smartness in finding your target market?

You are right. When I decided to organize Sherina's concert, I knew that she had a very high standard. When her film was shown, the public thought that it was the right film for children. I, therefore, felt challenged to set a standard, a minimum level that any child singer's concert in future would be required to reach.

Why did it cost so much to organize this concert?

Let's calculate. We forked out almost Rp 400 million to hire the venue. Then we spent Rp 450 million for the singers and the musicians. We advertised the event twice in Kompas, Nova and Femina and spent Rp 350 million. Then we forked out some more money on constructing the stage. The total cost stood at Rp 1.6 billion. We got Rp 1.3 billion from our sponsor, Indofood and Rp 360 million from tickets. The profit margin was only Rp 50 million.

Well, I hope to get more from television airing of this concert but I don't know whether the time slot will all be sold. It's a profit-sharing business. Some people have suggested that I sold the tickets at higher prices. Well, I couldn't do so because we would surely spark protest from the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI).

Isn't it crazy to hold a Rp 1.6-billion concert only to get a profit of Rp 50 million? It doesn't seem appropriate to do business just to gain a reputation.

What about the planned tour of this concert to Surabaya, Bandung and Yogyakarta?

We've got a lot of such requests from the regions. But, then, I don't know at what price the tickets should be sold. And, what about the transportation of participants to this children's concert? It's impossible to take them all.

The trouble is that if the number of participants is reduced, the image will not be as good as expected. Besides, the venue, the stage, the lighting, all these things must not differ much from what we had in Jakarta. To be honest, it is really a difficult job for me to take this concert to the regions unless I can get a crazy sponsor.

In terms of expenses, is it true that this is the biggest children's concert ever?

In terms of figures, yes, I think this is the largest concert. But compared with all other concerts, perhaps not. Chrisye and Rockestra concerts were even larger.

Recently you have done many jobs. You are a musician, a singer, a master of ceremonies, a star in commercials and a showbiz organizer. Which one will you focus on?

I just want to be a successful entertainment businessman. So, I focus not only on music but also on anything that can be put in the category of entertainment. I'll take up any kind of entertainment that can be turned into a business enterprise. It's just a matter of synergy. I make recordings with Ceepee. I organize showbiz with CDP. I involve my recording artists, like Lusi or Sherina in organizing my shows. This is an example of synergy, isn't it?

While in pursuit of what you focus yourself on, do you still have an ambition to be a tourism minister?

Ha ha ha ... (he was laughing out loud, so loud that some people in the hotel seemed surprised and looked at us. I was referring in my question to an incident last year when a magazine wrote that Tanto wanted to become a minister. But, now that ministers can be easily removed from office, he no longer wishes to pursue this aspiration.)

You are developing all these undertakings when Indonesia is still in the grip of an acute crisis. How can you run them all?

I think paradoxically. I fully believe that Indonesian people still have fat pockets, especially when we talk about Sherina's market segment, that is, the children whose parents mostly work in foreign companies and earn quite a lot, even in rupiah. That's what I've been studying. Then, there are still a lot of niches in the idle market. Just take a look at crowded airports and fully- booked hotels during the holiday.

So, where is the crisis, then?

We are in a political crisis. The impacts are everywhere but have only slightly affected the public's purchasing power. Since the crisis began in 1997, I haven't seen a change in our society's purchasing power. I once saw a little change in it but it was shortlived. People did not visit coffee-shops but (roadside) coffee stalls. They reduced the number of overseas trips that they made. But this lasted only a short time; afterwards, it was business as usual.

But, many people find it increasingly difficult to keep body and soul together.

Right. That's what Indonesia looks like at present. There is a widening social gap. Many people are poor. Many are starving. At the same time, there are also a lot of rich people. So, if we want to formulate a product segmentation clearly, the market is surely for the upper class!