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COORDINATING Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan initiated the holding of an exclusive music concert to compete with Singapore which held a similar activity, namely contracting world singer, Taylor Swift.
“What Singapore gives, we give to her (the artist). We have to have the courage to compete, if Singapore can make a profit, how come we can’t?” said Luhut at the closing of Business Matching 2024 in Sanur, Denpasar, recently.
Luhut admitted that he had held a meeting regarding the plan. In six months, one of the entertainment business actors will bring in foreign artists and will have obtained an activity permit. He also asked the business actor to enter into a contract with another artist and hold a rival concert.
“Six months, they [the business actor] has received a permit, just a contract [meaning]. I have one player in the entertainment sector, I said look for another [artist], that’s it, just how long the contract is,” said Luhut.
Luhut admitted that Taylor Swift’s concert in Singapore provided income in the form of foreign exchange. Including the full hotel occupancy rate for nine days in the country with the iconic head of Singapore.
“For two weeks I couldn’t go to Singapore because there was a Taylor show there, for nine days the hotel was full, why? Because she can’t perform in Indonesia,” he said but did not provide details on the reasons why she could not tour in Indonesia. The government’s desire to create a world-class competition concert like the one in Singapore was welcomed by the Indonesian Music Promoters Association (APMI).
Singapore is the only region in Southeast Asia that has succeeded in bringing in the famous singer, Taylor Swift. The singer from the United States is known to have carried out a world music tour entitled The Eras Tour consecutively, from 2 to 4 March 2024, then continuing from 7 to 9 March 2024.
Singapore’s success in bringing Taylor Swift cannot be separated from the intervention of government support there. The Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, was even willing to give incentives to Taylor Swift and lock her in so that Singapore would be the only stopover country in Southeast Asia on her world tour.
“[Our] agencies negotiated a deal with her to come to Singapore and perform and make Singapore her only stop in Southeast Asia,” Lee said at a press conference in Melbourne, quoted by Reuters. Singapore’s success in bringing in Taylor Swift has infuriated other neighboring countries, including Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, revealed that the Singapore Government spent IDR250 billion to bring in singer Taylor Swift and provide assistance for 6 days of concert events in the country.
“Singapore is said to have allocated IDR250 billion for accompanying funds for 6 days of Taylor Swift’s concert,” said Sandiaga, stating the Singapore Government’s strategy to bring Taylor to Jakarta, recently.
According to Sandiaga, said the Singapore Government also invited the Indonesian Government to discuss joint collaboration within the framework of bringing in famous artists. Yesterday, the Singapore government invited us to discuss because in the 6 days of Taylor Swift’s concert there will be many from Indonesia so that in the future, this relationship will also be good, we will see what form the collaboration takes.
For future strategies, Sandiaga hopes that the government can build synergy with the Event Organizer (EO) so that in the future it can allow big singers to perform in the country, while also having a positive impact on the creative economy.
“Because EO friends must also be facilitated, especially as has been approved by the Indonesia Tourism Fund, which we hope will be a mentoring step for EOs,” he said.
Sandiaga remarked that his party had just received news that a Singaporean party wanted to coordinate regarding an international event. Regarding the Singapore PM’s accusations, I responded a little differently, I invited the possibility of collaboration.
Furthermore, in the future there will be synergies for cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore. “So not all of it is taken by Singapore, but there are also benefits for Indonesia, because we are contributing audiences for the 6 days of the concert,” concluded Sandiaga. [sources/photo special]
