Last night I jumped into a conversation Widi was having on Twitter. The topic: why are musicians so rarely the ones showing up at music business events?
Case in point — when Gerd Leonhard came to speak at a music event in Jakarta, I couldn’t make it because of a scheduling conflict. I asked Widi, Adib, and a few others who were there: how many musicians actually showed up? The answer was depressing — barely any.
This is a pattern. Music business discussions in Indonesia tend to be filled with journalists, label executives, promoters, and startup founders. The musicians themselves? Mostly absent.
Why does this matter? Because the music industry is changing fast, and the artists who understand the business side are the ones who will thrive. Understanding publishing rights, streaming economics, live revenue, and brand partnerships isn’t just “extra” knowledge — it’s survival knowledge.
Being business-aware as a musician doesn’t mean you have to become an accountant or a manager. It means understanding:
- How your music makes money (and where that money actually goes)
- What your rights are as a creator
- How to build and protect your career, not just your art
Musicians who only think about the music are leaving their careers entirely in the hands of other people. That’s a risk I don’t think most of them fully realize.
The conversation Widi started on Twitter is part of what led to the #Unresolved series — a recurring forum for musicians and industry people to actually talk about these things together. More on that in future posts.