Armand Maulana Shares GIGI's Experience of Almost Being Scammed by Concert Promoters

When met in the Thamrin area, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday (25/6), Armand explained how he and the other GIGI members were almost deceived when offered a contract to perform at an event.

"It's already obvious, those are potential scammers. If the EO (Event Organizer) is already professional, and then they ask us to invite other artists, it's strange. No date, no name. So I just answered 'fix the concept and the date first, then contact me again'," said Armand Maulana.

"That's funny, what event is it? No date, no event concept, but GIGI has already been invited," he added.

Armand said that concert promoters usually sell GIGI's approval to approach sponsors. However, at that time, the official approval had not been given by GIGI.

"It's not easy to manage permits, venues, and curate the audience. It's not easy. Well, he holds the 'okay' from GIGI, usually he sells it to sponsors. But it's only an okay. So the venue, date, and event name are not yet determined," he said.

Armand also mentioned that the administrative obligations of concert promoters should be fulfilled at least two weeks before the concert day. In addition, Armand believes that music promoters should not solely rely on ticket sales for profit.

"At least two weeks before, it's already paid. If it's not paid within two weeks, then it's okay. They still have time to announce that this event is canceled. This has happened so many times. We have experienced it many times. If they ask for payment before the performance, it's not appropriate," he explained.

"The tickets are actually a bonus. Who knows if the tickets will be sold out? Even if you want to bring thousands of bands, it doesn't mean it will be sold out, right? If you rely on the tickets, it's difficult, and for every show or performance, you should chase the sponsors first," he concluded.

For your information, Lentera Festival, which was supposed to be held in Pasar Kemis, Tangerang, on Sunday (23/6), was suddenly canceled. This is because the promoter has not fulfilled the administrative obligations of several bands a few hours before the concert.

Because of the incident, the audience who had been looking forward to the performances of NDX AKA and Guyon Waton protested by burning concert properties and looting some items belonging to the sound system vendor.