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Jakarta Post

Music promoters in spotlight after series of blunders

For music fans, concerts are a chance to experience the music they love firsthand

Wening Gitomartoyo (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, December 13, 2019

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Music promoters in spotlight after series of blunders

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span>For music fans, concerts are a chance to experience the music they love firsthand. The sounds are more immersive, the performances of the musicians and singers more exciting. Since the 2000s, Indonesia has seen a rapid increase in concerts and festivals.

Music festivals attract large numbers of people seeking to indulge in the joy of music and mingle with others, and allow musicians to reach a wider audience. However, recent weeks have also shown that such events can be a source of annoyance and frustration for artists and fans alike. On two Saturdays in a row, Nov. 23 and 30, two music festivals in Jakarta ended in heartbreak and chaos.

One day prior to the Lokatara Music Festival 2019 at Kuningan City in Jakarta on Nov. 23, four international acts took to Instagram to announce their cancellations. They were Sales, Sophie Meiers, Gus Dapperton and Great Good Fine OK — all from the United States. On D-day, American band The Drums and Malaysian musician Alextbh also withdrew from the festival.

Mahsa Islamey, a former head of public relations at Lokatara, said visa troubles were to blame.

“They got regular visas instead of work permits, which made things too risky to perform,” she told The Jakarta Post on Saturday, adding that the visas had been handled by the Lokatara founder.

On Nov. 30, a severe schedule delay and electricity outage put an abrupt end to Musikologi at Parkir Timur Senayan in Central Jakarta. Unhappy attendees started a riot, burning and looting the organizer’s property.

The Post reached out to the organizer, but a representative declined to comment.

The recent incidents add to the list of canceled or compromised concerts and festivals this year. Other high-profile incidents include the poor management of LaLaLa Festival in February, a canceled show by American band Lany in August and the cancelation of Indonesian singer Ari Lasso’s concert in October.

Speaking on Sunday, promoter Anas Syahrul Alimi of Rajawali Communication Indonesia shared that the key to a successful music show was to ensure everything was well-prepared in advance.

“Promoters are obligated to figure out all the risks,” he said. “For instance, a music festival needs to have strong financial support and sponsors to rely on. It would be a mistake for promoters to depend on ticket sales alone.”  

With annual festivals featuring international artists, such as Prambanan Jazz and JogjaROCKarta under his belt, Anas said it was essential for a promoter to have guts, a strong team and a solid concept.

On another note, two of the most prominent organizers on the independent scene, Studiorama and Noisewhore, have staged shows featuring lesser-known acts such as Mac DeMarco (Canada), Fazerdaze (New Zealand) and Mitski (the US).

Studiorama’s most recent feat was the Ornaments music festival. Held on Nov. 15 in Jakarta, it was headlined by Australian band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Canadian band BadBadNotGood and British band The New Puritans, among others.

Reno Nismara of Studiorama shared that the Jakarta-based collective, established in 2011, initially had no experience as promoters and learned as they went.

“From sending emails to band managers or international booking agents to getting the hang of technical matters such as lighting, sound and artists’ riders,” he said.

With the growing popularity of festivals and concerts, Anas said it was only natural that new promoters would be attracted to the industry. But therein lies the risk of spectacular failure. He acknowledged that promoters in Indonesia had to learn to survive without guidance.  

He expressed hope a music promoters association could be established in Indonesia, as a place for promoters to share experiences and learn about the industry so they could avoid future mishaps.

A number of musicians have warned that the recent blunders could damage the industry.

“We treat every concert first and foremost as a fan. And as we position ourselves as fans, we try to find out every single thing needed for a successful show. If things go bust, we’d feel the same. It has always been that way for our shows. From music fans to music fans,” Reno said.

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