Kuala Lumpur is flooded with concerts by Indonesian artists, are local singers just spectators?
KUALA LUMPUR: After more than two years of silence due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s entertainment industry is back in full swing with a variety of events.
Both paid and free concerts, screenings of new films, theater performances and so on revive Kuala Lumpur.
Music fans are mostly in a dilemma because too many concerts are held with a large number of people having to calculate and make various considerations before deciding to buy a performance ticket by choosing which artist’s performance they want to see.
In discussing the organization of concerts in Malaysia, we certainly cannot take our eyes off focusing on the trend of Indonesian singers holding large-scale or small-scale concerts in this country.
Believe it or not, almost every week for the past month, artists from neighboring countries have visited Malaysia to entertain their fans.
Is their presence really accepted by many? Aren’t the opportunities and doors wide open for them not to challenge local entertainers?
In silence, due to the refusal of this matter to become a ‘controversy’, the debate on this issue is only made in a small circle, especially among the music industry activists and local music fans.
Before the 2022 calendar ends, there is a line of singers from the other side who will hold a concert in Kuala Lumpur.
They consist of Datuk Seri Rossa, NOAH group, Ungu, Afghan, Rizky Febian, Slank group, Fabio Asher, Gigi group, Ruth Sahanaya and many others.
Previously, the group Dewa19, Kunto Aji and Hetty Koes Endang had also entertained their fans here.
There is no doubt that the popularity and work of the line of artists across the street is one of the factors they are often called to hold a big show here.
Likewise with the sentiments of friendship and cultural diplomacy that have been intertwined for a long time between the two countries causing Malaysia to always accept their presence with a big heart.
In fact, the entry of Indonesian artists into Malaysia needs to be examined from a commercial and cross-cultural point of view.
Most importantly, the luck of artists from friendly countries to perform in this country is because they already have a large number of followers or fans.
“If asked why the organizers often call artists from other countries to come for concerts in Kuala Lumpur, it is definitely because there is a high demand here.
“As an entrepreneur who has the ins and outs of organizing large or small concerts, of course I have to make careful calculations before organizing a concert for any singer.
“Doing a concert does not involve a small amount but can reach hundreds of thousands of Ringgit and sometimes reach millions of Ringgit,” said the Managing Director of the event organizing company, ALIFE and PR Worldwide Sdn. Bhd., Para Rajagopal to Astro AWANI when sharing the rationale behind organizing concerts by Indonesian artists that have been increasing in recent times.
He said, all industry players should not ignore the ability of other singers who have their own ‘ crowd ‘ (fans) or influence.
At the same time, Para Rajagopal, who is also one of the organizers of the One Republic group concert in March 2023, did not deny that there are a few local singers who are not willing to take any risks and just want a fixed payment.
“Unlike foreign singers, they are willing to take the risk of selling tickets with the promoter. They put exposure or exposure to external locations as a priority. They are more focused on meeting fans around the world and price is not the main factor. But like I said earlier, not all. Only a few,” he commented.
INDONESIA SONG MATERIAL IS STRONGER
The Executive Producer of Shiraz Projects, Shirazdeen Karim does not deny the material strength of the song of the opposite singer as one of the factors of their appearance always being in demand here.
“The impact of a song is great in a singer’s career. If there is quality material, believe me there will be demand for concerts every year.
“I give an example, Tulus singer from Indonesia. The management there gave the responsibility to my company to manage if there is any performance offer here. It can be said that every month there is definitely a demand for Tulus here.
“The material factor presented by Tulus may be the main factor why he is often requested to perform here. Plus, working with opposite singers is also professional and easy,” he commented succinctly.
Nevertheless, Shiraz, who has organized concerts for several big names in Malaysia, also praised the professionalism of famous singer, Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza, the group Wings and many others and did not refuse to be the organizer for concerts by local artists in the future.
“To boost the music industry in Malaysia, I am happy to help and support local singers to perform concerts on a large scale,” he said.
NO NEED TO BE SMALL HEART
The Executive Producer of Belbif Sdn Bhd, Fandy Alias who has 15 years of experience in organizing events and concerts has a similar opinion where a singer needs to perform with great songs.
“New or old singers, if there is a ‘strong’ song, it is not impossible to sell concert tickets. It means that in an album there must be many selections of hit songs.
“Song material is very important to attract the crowd . It’s okay… I’m worried later when at the concert there’s only one or two songs that the audience can sing along to. This is also one of the factors whether tickets are sold out or vice versa,” he commented.
While the vocalist of the group Hujan, Noh Salleh sees the inclusion of Indonesian artists holding concerts as a positive development of the local music industry.
“”For me, there is no need to be discouraged. The entry of Indonesian singers is not a problem. What is important is that the fans see that the industry is back to life.
“Honestly, I have not had the experience of meeting an organizer who ‘picks hair’. As an entrepreneur, I understand that doing business must have a return. If anyone is not happy with the presence of other artists here, I can’t do anything.
“Before this I had performed at one of the awards in Jakarta. I admit that the music industry there is far ahead and I used it as an inspiration in the performance,” he said.
source – Faida Rahim
