Top singers testify against piracy

Top singers testify against piracy

JAKARTA (JP): A famous pop singer testified before the Central
Jakarta District Court on Tuesday that royalties from album sales
meant a lot to the artist.

"Royalties paid for the medical bills of the belated local
singing legend, Broery Marantika, when he was ill. And after his
death, the same royalties were a great help to his children,"
singer Dewi Yull told the court hearing presided over by Judge
Sri Endang Murwati.

"Indonesia is a country with no morals because with piracy,
Indonesians show they have no respect for their local artists."

Along with local pop legend Titiek Puspa, Dewi gave her
testimony as a witness in the trial of defendant Joel Setiawan
Tediyanto, 31.

Joel was arrested on May 1 this year in a closed shop on Jl.
Pangeran Jayakarta, Central Jakarta. Police found some 700,000
pirated compact discs (CDs) featuring local pop songs.

Prosecutor Muchidin told the hearing that the defendant had
violated Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 44 of the 1997 Copyright
Law.

The Article carries a maximum punishment of seven years in
jail.

Dewi said that among the seized evidence, there were several
pirated CDs containing her songs with the late singer, Broery.

"This is a huge loss for the lyricist, the singer and the
producer. Royalties are the lifeline of a singer," she said.

Separately, Titiek Puspa told the court that among the seized
evidence, there were CDs of a children's song which she wrote,
titled Menabung (To Save), and a religious album with 10 songs,
all composed by Lies Hadi.

"This is more of a nonmaterial loss for me, than a material
one. It's just degrading for us singers," Titiek said. (ylt)