Musicians are supposed to be free-spirited, resisting any rule that would shackle their creativity.

But with problems of piracy siphoning off money from the profession, a group of musicians have had enough and on Wednesday submitted a proposal for a draft of a new law that would regulate music to the House of Representatives.

The group, We Are Indonesian Music, said the music industry was in dire need of a comprehensive regulation that could help improve the lives of music performers and writers, who have long suffered from the effects of piracy and unlicensed performance of their work.

“It’s a very sad situation. The contribution of music to the country is less than one percent while in fact its potential is huge both for the state and the artists,” a representative of the group, pop singer Glenn Fredly, said in a meeting with the House Legislation Body (Baleg) on Wednesday.

Glenn was joined by some of the country’s prominent performers including Bob Tutupoly, Dewa Budjana, Katon Bagaskara and Tompi.

Most of the musicians at the meeting expressed concerns about having to rely on music to earn a decent living.

In the proposal to the House, the musicians said they could promote their interests only if an organization was set up.

Currently, they are barred from forming a recognized and unified organization as there are no existing laws regulating their profession.

In the proposal, the musicians called for the House to deliberate a new law that would recognize the existence of a range of artistic professions, such as performers, composers, music arrangers, artist managers, sound engineers, producers and even street musicians.

The group referred to such professions as part of a “good ecosystem of the music industry.”

Dewa Budjana, a guitarist of pop-rock band Gigi, said a new law on music could help musicians deal with royalty payments.

He said that currently there is no single regulation on royalty distribution, which often leads to situations in which artists struggle to make ends meet upon retirement given the absence of a steady stream of royalty.

“Most of us [musicians] always pay our taxes, but we don’t receive a good royalty for our works,” he said.

Singer Astrid Sartiasari aired similar grievances, saying she was never briefed on where money from her music went.

“To whom were the royalties distributed? It is still a question for me,” she told The Jakarta Post after the meeting.

The country’s music industry has also suffered from the absence of a proper archiving system.

“As far as I know, we only have Lokananta [studio in Surakarta] as the only facility that has a good archiving system,” Glenn told the Post. “A good archiving system is important for the preservation of music, which shapes our country’s identity.”

Responding to the proposal, Baleg chairman Totok Daryanto of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said he would endorse any plan that would allow for a speedy deliberation of the bill.

“We will make it possible to have a fast deliberation process, but it would not be a shortcut,” Totok said. “Hopefully by 2018 we have a law that regulates music.” (ecn)

Popular

To my horror, it’s just a movie!

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Pentagon chief congratulates Prabowo on being elected President