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In 2002, Jakarta’s independent music scene was thriving and for a while, it seemed like sentimental pop might finally be waning in the country. But that never happened.

While some indie bands had commercial potential, they typically alienated provincial audiences.

Their style, as well as their unconventional way of operating, mirrored those of the cult bands they so admired and they seemed to shun corporate labels’ tried-and-proven marketing tactics.

The majority of the record-buying public are people who big music labels refer to as the C-to-D market — a reference to their socioeconomic strata and musical preferences — who appear to grasp pop more easily than more challenging and unpredictable music like indie rock.

By 2004, some of the indie bands that had been prospering only two years earlier had disbanded, while others were barely alive. A few “played ball” with market demands. It became clear that if you wanted to be successful, you had to make artistic conciliations.

The rock group, The Superglad, released its first moderately successful independent EP, or mini album, in 2003. Its first full album was distributed by major label BMG Records in 2004 and sold 50,000 copies.

Lukman Laksmana, lead singer of The Superglad, was one of the earliest icons of Jakarta’s indie scene. He had a reputation for being a rebellious ruffian who had spent most of his life playing for little or no pay.

After the merger between music giants Sony and Bertelsmann (BMG) in 2004, The Superglad was left without a label, but an up-and-coming label, SGK Music, soon offered them a deal. SGK promoted the band relentlessly, sending it out on major tours and creating a Rp 35 million ($2940) music video.

To try and increase its commercial viability, the band struck a compromise with the record label on the title of its next album, changing it from “When the Devil Speaks,” to the more family-friendly “When the Heart Speaks.”

“It wasn’t something that we were against. We knew we needed to make certain changes to appeal to a wider audience,” Lukman said.

“When the first album came out and sold as well as it did, it seemed only natural to focus on our marketable strengths,” he said.

While bands such as The Superglad were willing to compromise, others less willing to make concessions achieved success in their own way.

Ricky Siahaan, a guitarist with heavy metal band Seringai , which means “Grin,” explained: “Success for me is when I’m able to reach those who potentially enjoy this sort of music. Popularity, wealth and all the other celebrity aspects of success are just by-products of being known.”

Some bands, such as Sore and Efek Rumah Kaca, or Greenhouse Effect, refused contract offers from major labels; while others, such as The Upstairs and The Brandals signed distribution deals with recording companies like Warner Music.

Jimi from The Upstairs said: “As long as the deal means easier access to our album, then I have no qualms about it.”

Seringai signed with Reswara and then moved over to Universal Music. Guitarist Ricky sees a major label deal as necessary in achieving success.

“Here, there are just no reasonable alternatives in distribution,” he said.

However, Seringai did try to maintain as much control over its music as it could.

Because the band had only signed a distribution deal, the label had less of a stake in Seringai’s album sales, which meant it was perhaps less concerned about promoting the new album.

Ricky feels the label “lacked any marketing strategy in reaching our potential audience.”

He gave the example of how Reswara set up “an interview with a tabloid for stay-at-home moms” — if you can imagine a group of housewives reading an article about tattooed heavy metal musicians.

In contrast, indie labels employ promotional strategies more suited to alternative music, according to David Tarigan of the indie label, Aksara Records.

“Indie labels have the same passion and ideals as the bands,” he said.

The catch is that indie music isn’t always where the money is.

Ricky of Seringai is also a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine.

The band’s vocalist, Arian Arifin, has worked at a number of local music magazines and the bass player and drummer work as a radio DJ and as a music video director respectively.

Other indie musicians also seem to survive by taking music-related jobs.

Zeke Khaseli from experimental group Zeke and The Popo and Aghi Narotama from the electronic group Ape on the Roof, both work in film scoring.

Rebecca Theodora, singer for pop group Bite, has also worked in media, from radio to independent magazines to TV, to support her different bands. But multitasking can get in the way of results.

“After the experiences of our previous bands, [the members of Bite] felt that we wanted to create music with tangible results, as opposed to only artistic satisfaction,” she said.

Catering to the demands of the mainstream music industry sometimes requires more than just changing a few lyrics or squeezing in interviews.

It might mean signing a binding multi-album deal so that the band is obliged to recoup the label’s promotional expenses. In some cases bands are expected to discard unique but unmarketable qualities.

Sounding more commercial, however, is also an intricate balancing act for musicians, said Rebecca of Bite.

“It’s difficult to make pop music with simple Indonesian lyrics without sounding cheesy.”

Lukman of The Superglad relates to this quandary: “When our single ‘Satu’ [“One”] became extremely successful, Sony Music approached us for a deal, but they demanded that we write more songs like that. That song was an anomaly.”

The label demanded that 70 percent of the next album was written with the same formula: soft-rock ballads with simple lyrics. So, The Superglad signed with another major label, Aquarius, instead.

Pugar Restu Julian, a digital promoter at Sony Music BMG and a band member of The Dying Sirens, disagrees that bands write less challenging material because of major labels.

“It’s the bands decision: do they live to play music or play music to live?” he said.

Pugar sees both positives and negatives to working in music to support being a musician.

“It’s still related to music, anyway. I used to teach drums, copywrite and was a session drummer. The only dilemma I have is in promoting an artist I don’t enjoy,” he said.

It seems that while the country’s music industry may have grown a great deal, the commercial value of independent bands is still incomparable to major label bands.

The British and American indie scenes have minority shares in the total music market, but they also have audiences and networks big enough to support their independence.

“Ideally, an indie label could have an artist that is both critically and commercially successful,” said David from Aksara.

It would need to be “something the music aficionado would appreciate, but the masses would also enjoy”.

But from the way the market is reacting in Indonesia, it seems that indie bands still have to choose their own version of success, one way or the other.

Photo: Lukman Laksamna, lead singer, The Superglad. Image courtesy The Superglad.