Wamenbud Giring Ganesha: Recommendation to Play Christmas Songs by Local Musicians Has Been Submitted to the Association of Hotels to Malls

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Culture (Wamenbud) Giring Ganesha stated that the recommendation to play Christmas songs produced by local musicians in public spaces has been submitted to two associations, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) and the Indonesian Shopping Center Management Association (APPBI).

Later, the two associations will continue to make recommendations to their members, so that the hope that public spaces will be filled with the works of local musicians at Christmas time can be realized.

Giring explained that the recommendation to play Christmas songs written or produced by Indonesian musicians came from the Working Group produced by the Indonesian Music Conference (KMI) some time ago.

When discussing the sustainability of religious music in Indonesia, the idea arose to make recommendations for playing the works of local musicians in public spaces.

The reason is that, at the moment of religious holidays, such as Christmas, songs that are played in public spaces - such as shopping centers (malls), cafes, and hotels - are the works of foreign musicians.

"If we hear every Christmas, it's mostly played in malls, cafes, and hotels are Christmas songs but the production is not from the nation. Yes, just think, we know that there is one international diva, the song continues, right?" said Giring, met at Sudirman, Central Jakarta, Monday, December 15.

"We want what is played in public spaces such as malls, hotels, and cafes to be religious music by the children of the nation," he continued.

By playing songs from local musicians, the royalties that will be collected will be received by the local musicians themselves, so that the ecosystem in the religious music realm will be better.

Giring further said that the recommendation was also welcomed by various parties, ranging from the National Collective Management Agency (LMKN) - a royalty collection agency - to associations and the Ministry of Religion.

"Because now LMKN has also improved, the management of the royalty has also improved, our relationship with stakeholders has also improved," said Giring.

"PHRI and APPBI are also very supportive of this. And yesterday we also sowed with the Minister of Religion, he also very supportive," he added.

Giring also hopes that the owners and managers of malls, cafes, and hotels are willing to implement the recommendations.

That way, every moment of religious holidays in Indonesia can also be a blessing for the country's religious musicians.

"So yes, just pray, hopefully later this year until next year, every Christmas, New Year, Ramadan, or Chinese New Year, hopefully what is played is the work of the nation's children," concluded Giring.

For information, the recommendations submitted to PHRI and APPBI are also accompanied by a list of songs (playlist) that have been curated by the Indonesian Music Ecosystem Development Working Group, to make it easier for users of the work.