Leonardo Da Vinci once said, “Iron rusts from disuse,water loses its purity from stagnation and inaction saps the vigor of the mind.” This is exactly what is happening to our once bustling Arts landscape, namely; the music industry. Musicians all around Malaysia weren’t expecting their hiatus to be this long. It’s been so many moons since the first lockdown took place in March of 2019, and here we are, wondering if there ever will be a light at the end of the tunnel.
You’d expect musicians to be extremely productive with all the time they have on their hands. Writing, composing, producing countless soon to be released gems, which they have I bet, but in reality, musicians need the very thing that justifies their existence; the stage. And my goodness have they been yearning to get on it again.
Never mind the fact that their livelihood has been comprised, robbed of them in fact, which has been argued, and articulated, time and time again to our government but it’s the mere fact that the ones in governance refuse to take these professionals and their trade, as a contributing facet of our economy. And that my friends, is just downright ignorant and misinformed.
To deny musicians the right to perform is the final nail in the coffin for their hopes and dreams. Hopes and dreams that do not necessarily bring them untold riches, but you are denying them their right to exist. Like the proverbial Malay quote; “Duit boleh cari..” to which these friends of ours have been taking on odd jobs just to get by. They do not complain. They never do, in fact all they do is keep their heads down and preserve, but at what cost?;Their craft.
All the time spent trying to make ends meet because of the dormant state of the music industry has robbed them of their passion, thirst and zeal to further hone theirtalent. They’re no longer bunking in their home studio to produce their next EP or album. They probably did during the first lockdown, but it’s absolutely futile at this point tobe releasing material to a non-existent crowd, and to an audience that is much more worried about the state of their well-being.
Sure, we’ve seen a few notable artist release singles here and there, but because of our limited attention span thanks to social media, and you trying to tell your boss you need to log out at 7pm to be with the kids, who has time for deep dives into contemporary music publications?Even the musicians who slog day in day out do not have time to sit down and discover new tunes. They simply don’t have the mental capacity to.
The entire mismanagement of the pandemic, which will soon evolve into an endemic, has disastrously made the music industry an afterthought. Musicians, be it from the mainstream or alternative spectrum, are reluctant and exhausted to finish what they’ve started. They are apprehensive about taking their craft to the next level. And lastly, they are finally accepting (albeit reluctantly) that getting back on stage, is a pipe dream.
Which leaves us to the harrowing thought of when things finally open up, are the talents that used to grace our stages even there anymore? Even if they’re still there, will their music still hold? So much energy has been used up over the last 24 months to make sure there is a bed and meal to come home to. Will our lofty industry standards pre pandemic ever catch up with our more vigilant and emphatic neighbours around the region?
To the ones in governance reading this, or even you from the middle class, I ask you; is it so hard to implement SOPs to accommodate musicians in restaurants, bars or even bistros at the moment? If services and business are open to fully inoculated citizens, why can’t that be extended to the music industry as well? How is a music venue, or restaurant or bar hosting a live act, any different from one that doesn’t have any?
If we can be frank with ourselves, we’ve been to these places recently, and boy people are clumped up; so how is preparing a stage, with musicians on it, any different? In fact, implement the same SOPs; hire the fully vaccinated, have them separated, non singers mask up, get them tested a few hours before performing or the day before with those readily available rapid test kits. There are ways around this. But it all boils down to the way the government perceives the music industry; it doesn’t bring them measurable revenue, so why bother.
You can flip the argument and say there are more important things to worry about; like kids returning to their national or vernacular schools, small mom and pop businesses being able to survive, the revival of Tourism et al” but we tend to forget, everyone matters right now. We all make up the massive five-thousand-piece-jigsaw puzzle that is Malaysia; it’s a pain to put together, but when the pieces fit, my word it’s a sight to behold.
“Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins.” Charles Stanley believed in that, and it could not be more fitting epitomizing what will be, a Lost Generation of talent.
