Street Artists Raking in Cash Amid the Royalty Controversy

This heavy fan of Glenn Fredly shares that he often busks in the Joglo area of West Jakarta and its surroundings.

"In Depok, I like trending songs such as Stecu which is currently booming and Batas Senja," he said enthusiastically.

Kris the Violinist claims to have learned the violin self-taught. This 23-year-old man has known and been friends with Anisa since childhood because Anisa is the sister of his friend.

Since the age of 10, both of them have been accustomed to earning a living on the streets by playing various musical instruments, from kecrekan, guitar, to violin. Now they have been blessed with two children.

"I didn't go to school, I didn't finish elementary school because I was born into a family that was not well-off. Since I was little, I earned money on the streets. My hobby is indeed music," he said.

Although he loves music, Kris sometimes got tired of busking and once thought about working in an office. However, his lack of a diploma and his body covered in tattoos made him pessimistic.

Kris feels that the salary he would get would not be enough because the salary offers for his level of education would be below the minimum wage, especially since he is already married.

Currently, although their income is uncertain, they can earn hundreds of thousands per day. In a month, they can even make millions of rupiah.

"Here we can make a turnover of 100 thousand to 150 thousand a day, not certain, sometimes more. Well, net, in a month we can earn a profit of 3 million to 5 million, we have been trapped in a comfort zone, if you say whether we are comfortable or not, well, we are not comfortable after years on the road even though we have the skill to play musical instruments, there is definitely a sense of boredom too," Kris shared.

The man who grew up in Depok admitted to idolizing David Garrett, a violinist from Germany, as well as Indonesian violinists like Didiet Violin and Hendri Lamiri. "These two local violinists play the violin very beautifully," he said enthusiastically.

In the midst of the conversation, Kris, as a street artist, was also interested in discussing the issue of royalty polemics in Indonesia.

"What’s the point? Where does the money from LMKN’s collection go? It’s not guaranteed to reach the songwriters. Like the example from yesterday that was trending, where the money only reached a few hundred thousand. Now at cafes, it’s already included in the bill, with the payment stating band royalties, which some visitors object to because not everyone likes the songs played there. There are also people who come to the cafe just to drink, not wanting to listen to music, but are forced to pay royalties, so there’s a lot of pros and cons," concluded Kris Violinist.