Piyu Ensures That ACTIONs Don't Ban The Song From Bringing It To Cafe Musicians

Piyu, General Chairperson of ACTION (Ivan Two Men/VOI)

JAKARTA - The presence of the All-Indonesian Composite Association (AKSI) in mid-2023 is a scourge for those who are not in order to pay for song royalties or music.

The songwriters who are members of the ACTION also speak out loud about the injustice they feel. They feel that the royalties obtained from their work are not comparable to the reality on the ground.

As a result, they reacted by prohibiting certain musicians from performing songs of their creation. Some of the cases that have recently been hotly discussed include Ari Bias, who banned Agnez Mo, and Ndhank, who banned Stinky and Andre Taulany.

However, Piyu as the General Chair of ACTION did not want the goals of these songwriters to be misunderstood. He mentioned the purpose of the association he led to provide justice for songwriters, and for the continuation of the Indonesian music industry.

Piyu emphasized that the prohibition by members of ACTION was never aimed at musicians playing in several entertainment venues such as cafes or restaurants.

"The handling of cafes and karaoke is different, therefore it is back again to hotel and entertainment managers with LMK which is currently running," Piyu said when met at Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta recently.

"Actually, it's like that, but what's happening right now is that a lot of people are doing it under their hands, so in the end it doesn't get to the creator," he continued.

Piyu ensured that no ACTION member forbade cafe musicians to perform their songs, especially not cafe musicians who were seen as users who were obliged to pay royalties.

"Singers of cafes, we never have a problem with it, how much do they pay for it. It's not them who use it, the cafe is the one who asks for the cafe," he said.

Guitarist Padi Reborn distinguishes cases of using songs by cafe musicians from professional musicians who appear in music concerts.

"If the singer who is in big events, he uses the song so that the audience comes. But for cafes, there are no singers, people still come to the cafe, so the wearer is the cafe owner," said Piyu.

"Whoever, if the band is A or person B, if you want to come (to the cafe) then you will return to the cafe. But if it's a concert, it's (which is sold) using the name (singer) and the song," he concluded.

However, that doesn't mean cafe musicians can be indifferent to song royalties or music. They should also remind the owners of where they play to take care of royalty payments for the sustainability of the better music industry.