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Less Spotify, more The Store Front: why Indonesian artists are switching music platforms
As the value of streaming companies skyrockets, most artists, especially those in sidestream, are still making very little money, causing them to turn their heads to a healthier platform to sell their music.
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Alternative store: The home page of The Store Front, an online independent music store providing an alternative platform for music distribution.
(The Store Front/Courtesy of Argia Ardhidhanendra)
H
aving been around for more than a decade, Indonesian independent music label Grimloc Records has put out dozens of influential releases from hardcore punk and hip-hop to heavy metal. Showcasing mostly local talent from Bandung, West Java, where the label operates. Since the label has always been about physical releases, Grimloc did not start putting their music on streaming services until a few years ago.
Talking exclusively to The Jakarta Post via Zoom on Aug. 10, Herry “Ucok” Sutresna of Grimloc Records admitted the label was a bit behind when it came to digitalization.
“We only started [joining streaming services] in late 2017 or early 2018,” Ucok said, “but many people said it’s a good way to get exposure, so why not?”
Working with an aggregator, soon enough some of Grimloc’s catalog was available on almost every streaming service commonly used in Indonesia: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Deezer and Joox.
However, since then Ucok’s experience with streaming services has been somewhat of a letdown.
“After internal reviews, in terms of exposure, we didn’t get anything significant,” Ucok admitted, adding that his rosters’ low earnings from streaming played into his judgement, “We want the best for our artists, including myself as a musician, and based on our experience, the income from digital is nothing compared with the physical [releases].”
“It’s not even close. With the income from the digital, you can probably purchase a monthly internet quota, while the income from the physicals is enough for you to buy an actual musical instrument with,” Ucok said laughing.
