Exclusive Aldo Sianturi, Seeing Music from a Business Perspective

JAKARTA - In the Indonesian creative ecosystem, music is often seen as a product of taste alone. However, for Aldo Sianturi, music can be seen with precise calculations. The man who in recent years has taken the profession of music business consultant (music business consultant) sees that the Indonesian music industry has been running with a limp because it ignores one crucial variable: business literacy.

More than three decades of navigating the music industry through various roles - from musician, music journalist, working at Universal Music, to helping the birth of Billboard Indonesia, founding a label, and bringing global aggregators such as Believe to the country - make Aldo able to see with a broad perspective.

For him, the issue of music is no longer about whether a song is good or not, but rather how the work can become a systematically monetized asset.

"One thing that is mastered by the Indonesian people is music production, where the measuring tool is a metronome, heart, and beat. But there is another one called the music business, where the measuring tool is a calculator. There is money calculation here," said Aldo in an exclusive interview with VOI in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta recently.

Aldo highlighted Indonesia's population of more than 284 million people - based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in mid-2025 - as a "gold mine" that has not been managed well.

The problem is, Indonesian musicians often feel taboo when faced with business that involves finances. There is a sense of shame that is ingrained, especially when dealing with colleagues.

Aldo gave an example of how a session musician is often confused about determining their own rates. In fact, without the courage to set a value (value proposition), the great economic potential of the entertainment sector - especially music - can evaporate.

"If you don't understand that, then you will eventually lose the transaction. Indonesia should have Rp10 trillion from entertainment in one year, but because the people are not ready, it may only be Rp1 trillion," he said.

Looking back, 2025 was an extraordinary laboratory of experimentation for Indonesian music. After being held hostage by the exhausting political frenzy, the industry got new oxygen through a genre that Aldo called "Hip-Dut" or Hip-hop Dangdut.

The phenomenon of "Salt and Honey (My Headache)" from Tenxi, Jemsii, and Naykilla in early 2025 is a valid proof of how the shift in music consumption has occurred radically among Generation Z.

"2025 this actually breathes musicians after being attacked by political affairs. It was really tiring before. Finally, we were given a refreshing by 'Salt and Honey', Hip-Dut, at the beginning of the year," said Aldo.

He explained that the key to the success of music in 2025 is no longer in conventional marketing strategies, but in understanding the algorithm.

The current generation no longer knows "operating hours". Digital streaming platforms that are open 24 hours a day make them eclectic music processors. They "oplos" various references and present them in a very instant format.

"The songs are very dependent on the algorithm, and the algorithm does not read the music, but reads the user behavior," said Aldo. "Today's children don't like to listen to songs with long intros. Long intros are immediately skipped, it's called a high skip rate."

This is the reason why songs with hooks that immediately pierce in the first three seconds become champions on the TikTok platform and trigger the birth of a massive wave of User Generated Content (UGC).

Not only about trends, 2025 is also a year full of legal tensions. The case of Agnez Mo and Ari Bias regarding performance royalties (performing rights) to the Collective Management Agency (LMK) controversy forces music practitioners to open legal books.

Aldo sees it as a positive side: the public is starting to "wake up". The question that has been crystallizing behind the scenes has finally burst to the surface, forcing a change in the royalty collection system by LMKN to be more transparent.

The contribution of music from the eastern region of Indonesia also reached its peak this year. Songs from viral East musicians, such as "Stecu Stecu", "Tabola Bale", to "Orang Baru Lebe Gacor", brought their musicians to the big national stage.

However, Aldo sees the viralization of Eastern music not as a magic, which appears out of nowhere, but as the long-term efforts of other Eastern musicians in recent years.

"Actually, what they are doing is not new. Because since 2012 there has been a name Doddy Latuharhary," said Aldo. "And from five years ago, the rappers in the East have been recognized by Iwa K, if they have a different swag, have a different dialect, have a good speed. But everyone also at first, if they make content, they must be ugly, especially the editing problem. But they learn. Now there are many applications, software, and all sorts. Finally they can. "

Moving to 2026, the challenges facing the industry will be much more complex and high-tech. Aldo predicts that artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer an enemy, but a close friend of musicians who want to survive.

Warner Music's global move to start employee efficiency and collaborate with AI companies such as Suno is a strong signal that cannot be ignored by the domestic market.

"And all companies, now preparing a single product related to AI to be able to maximize their assets, whether it's visual assets, audio assets, and others, to a wider landscape," said Aldo.

In terms of business, he sees AI helping musicians cut down on initial production costs, from making song drafts to graphic design, which have cost a lot. In an era where existence is determined by whether or not a work enters the For You Page (FYP) of Gen Z, speed and efficiency are key. Without the help of technology, musicians risk being considered "dinosaurs" that are extinct in time.

"Because one thing, if musicians now are not friendly with AI, how much money they have to spend. The variable cost is high, "said Aldo. "Variable costs in this music are high. Everything has to be cool because this is a perception business. Moreover, today, if you are not in the FYP of Gen Z, you are done, you are considered a 'dinosaur'."

Another big change that Aldo predicted in 2026 is the return of the band or music group era. After the last five years the music market has been enlivened by soloists, he feels the public is starting to feel a saturation point.

Although being a soloist is considered more financially advantageous because of the more direct revenue sharing, artistically, many soloists are starting to get stuck in the same creative "pool".

"I see that at the end of 2025 this is a moment of decline in soloists. People miss superstars who have a rock and roll style. They miss a group of music with different styles. So it's no wonder that next year bands in Indonesia will start to appear again," he said.

However, behind this optimism, Aldo emphasized the importance of systemic improvements. He suggested a "coating" of the Indonesian music ecosystem, where the industry runs with data that is publicly accessible, as in other more developed countries.

The state, according to Aldo, must be present as a facilitator through a single policy door (single authority). Currently, musicians are often confused about where to complain; whether to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights for copyright, the Ministry of Creative Economy for creative economy affairs, or the Ministry of Education and Culture for cultural affairs.

"We don't need a Music Law, we just need Komnas Musik. A National Commission that handles music," he suggested.

For him, the economic potential of Indonesian music is too big to be allowed to run without a compass. He also quoted the statement of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said that the music industry had once defeated the steel industry in his country.

"Indonesian people are cool, they eat all kinds of music. In the morning you listen to koplo, in the afternoon you listen to metal, in the evening you listen to jazz. Our ears are amazing. Now it's just how the system is made so that all of these assets can be capitalized well," he said.