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Association for Indonesian music promoters established
Association of Indonesian Music Promoters (APMI) was established to help improve the ecosystem of music festivals and shows in the country.
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Illustration of a music concert. (Shutterstock/Anna Om)
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oinciding with the celebration of Youth Pledge Day on Oct. 28, a group of Indonesian music promoters established an association to help improve the ecosystem of music festivals and shows in the country.
Named the Association of Indonesian Music Promoters (APMI), the grouping was made official in Jakarta on Wednesday during a meeting of the founders, represented by the country’s seven prominent promoters.
They were Dewi Gontha (Java Festival Production), Dino Hamid (Berlian Entertainment), Emil Mahyudin (Nada Promotama), David Karto (Synchronize Festival), Darshan Pridhnani (Hype Festival), Donny Junardy (Hammersonic Festival) and Anas Syahrul Alimi (Rajawali Communication Indonesia).
Dino, who was appointed chairman of the association, said the newly established group would invite festival promoters across the country to join and improve the industry.
APMI’s presence as the only formal association of music promoters in Indonesia at the moment, according to Dino, is considered crucial considering the industry's potentials.
“We want to try our best to build a good and sustainable ecosystem for its players,” Dino said in a statement.
The statement also says that the association was established based on a desire to improve the quality and quantity of those working in the music industry.
As such, APMI set four main pillars to realize its objectives, namely ideas, network, education and innovation.
The association emphasizes creativity in ideas, the establishment and maintenance of a working network, holding discussions on making music shows of international standards, as well as innovation as the most essential element.
“We agree to create the same vision and mission to develop the industry through programs that can create new ideas, networking and other developments to prepare practitioners to be able to compete internationally together,” said Emil, secretary of the association.
The establishment of APMI is considered an important leap in the live music industry. In recent years, the country has seen some promising development in the industry, especially with large-scale festivals such as Java Jazz Festival, Prambanan Jazz Festival, Djakarta Warehouse Project, We The Fest, Hammersonic, Love Festival and Synchronize Festival, which have attracted tens of thousands of music lovers.
In late 2019, however, music promoters were in the spotlight after a series of blunders caused chaos and heartbreak for attendees. Several international musicians withdrew from the 2019 Lokatara Music Festival in Jakarta just one day prior to the event, followed by more cancelations on the day. One week later, Musikologi experienced a severe schedule delay and electricity outage that put an abrupt end to a music event held in Jakarta. Unhappy attendees started a riot who then burned and looted the organizer's property.
The incidents add to a long list of poorly managed music shows such as LaLaLa Festival in February and a canceled show of American band Lany on the day of the performance in August by promoter Vizion Vibe.
Speaking to The Jakarta Post in December 2019, Anas said he hoped a music promoters' association could be established as a place for promoters to share experiences and learn about the industry, so they could avoid future mishaps.
"It will be very beneficial for all of us, I'm sure," he said.
He also shared that Jazz Forum Indonesia, founded in 2018 by the late musician Djaduk Ferianto, had allowed jazz festival organizers around the country to build networks and share related information. (wng)
