Thoroughly modern managers take charge of pop singers

Thoroughly modern managers take charge of pop singers

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): On the surface pop music is about glitz and
making hits. But at a closer look, it is more than some cool
artists playing good music and singing some chart climbing tunes.
The fact is, the new magic word of today's pop world successes is
the management that backs the show.

On stage it may seem that it is the singer or the musicians
who run the show, but their career may depend on the manager who
has to make sure that everything works as planned. As a
consequence, gone is the traditional role of a manager who acted
more as a personal assistant or who often ran errands for the
artist. It is replaced by a more modern approach that requires
creativity on a par with the artistry of the artists themselves.

The latest case was shown by GIGI Management in their special
gig titled The Tribute Concert. Organized by manager Dhani
Widjanarko, GIGI Management successfully ran a two-hour free live
concert of GIGI at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, an unusually classy
venue for pop music. It was specially dedicated to the people who
the band thought to have had a share in their success -- from
band members' relatives to journalists and fans club members. The
concert was tied in with the band's sixth album release and was
broadcast live on a private TV station at prime time.

Dhani is one of the few who applies management principles to
oversee a band, combined with his offbeat style to accommodate
the band's creative and often costly ideas. He treats GIGI as a
company, complete with short-term and long-term plans.

"I want them to concentrate on the musical side only and let
me take care of the rest," said Dhani. It means that at a gig,
the band only comes after everything is ready so that they can
play right away. Tuning of instruments is not their job.
Everything runs efficiently.

Dhani works himself on strategy issues and is aided by a
full-time staff members for daily business. Additional crew are
hired on a job basis.

Unlike GIGI, pop singer Reza chooses a collective team to
manage her career. She co-founded Zahwakabiza -- an event
organizer -- in 1997, as she prepared to launch her debut album,
Keajaiban (The Miracle), which skyrocketed Reza to pop stardom.

Zahwakabiza, taken from the Arabic word zahwa and the
Sundanese kabiza, respectively means 'pride' and 'gifted'. The
organization consists of three twentysomethings: Aaron
(production manager), Aqsa (account manager) and Damayanti
(personal assistant). Aaron and Damayanti, graduates of an
accountancy college, were Reza's seniors in junior high school
while Aqsa is Reza's younger brother. They share
responsibilities. For example, Aaron, with the aid of full time
staff, directs show time, while Aqsa covers pre-production issues
and other areas, including investigating concert possibilities or
other jobs, such as model gigs for advertisers.

They sit down together with Dhani Ahmad, Reza's music
director, or with the major label to cover issues such as
promotional strategies. But for the rest, Reza's core staff
handle her successful career, sorting offers from producers who
want Reza to promote their goods. Aqsa said they turned down many
offers, as they did not fit Reza's personality.

At first, the team projected Reza for a more selective upscale
audience because her music inclined to R&B.

"We never thought she would get to the stage she has, and
attract a much wider audience," said Aqsa.

Aquarius Indonesia even held off releasing the debut album for
a year until the public was 'ready' to appreciate Reza's music.
They also suggested she remix Pertama (The First), her first
single, to add more poppy tunes.

Though strikingly different in style (Dhani's is more daring
and innovative compared to Zahwakabiza's safe and sound
judgment), both try hard to apply modern management in their
work.

"We see Reza as a commodity that has a lifespan. Our task is
to stretch it to as long as possible," said Aqsa.

Her team says they do have plans, but carrying out those plans
is more a learning-by-doing process.

"We rely on the instinct of Reza's label (Aquarius) since
they've been in the business for quite a while." said Aaron.

The tendency is global. Publicity approaches like GIGI's
recent Tribute Concert are also carried out by international pop
stars like Ricky Martin. He threw a similar event in Italy with a
full week of solo concerts exclusively for journalists from all
over the world. And the world Latin star reaped the benefits when
he released his new single -- not even a new album -- a salsa
thump titled Living La Vida Loca.

"My next dream for GIGI is to do a phenomenal gig in the year
2000. Something like Pink Floyd's The Wall (one gigantic,
theatrical and phenomenal rock concert along the former Berlin
Wall) a few years ago," said Dhani, who is dubbed as the best by
his peers. He has even started thinking of the next move in their
music careers for every member of the band in anticipation of the
future downturn.

"Indonesia is no America. They can just make two world hits
and live a lifetime on that. Our musicians are still far away
from that kind of future," he reasoned.

Dhani plans to expand GIGI's management, so that it can deal
not only with GIGI but other artists. Zahwakabiza has the same
plan. "We'd like to be experts in artist management," said Aaron.