KUALA LUMPUR – With barely a social safety net, some of the country’s independent musicians are turning to odd jobs and small businesses to make ends meet during the tough times.
When the government announced the movement control order (MCO) in March, musicians lost their main source of income, owing to the lack of shows.
Desperate for quick cash, they resorted to selling food and drinks, and even fruits by the roadside, while others sold off their prized instruments.
One of them is 32-year-old Muhammad Hafizan Mohamed Razali, the frontman of Bittersweet, one of Malaysia’s most popular indie bands.
Known as Fizan, the vocalist told The Vibes that he started selling durians, among other alternative jobs, just to provide for his family.
A father of two boys, he said his heart sank when Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin put the nation on a lockdown.
At the time, Bittersweet was gearing for its Racun Dunia nationwide tour to celebrate its 15th year.
The group had forked out RM40,000 of their personal savings to fund the tour but the MCO shattered their plans.
Fizan said he had just over RM100 left in his bank account at the time.
“I lost all my income because we depended on shows and merchandise sales (to earn money),” he told The Vibes recently.
He also fell into depression in the first week of the MCO as he had spent all of his savings on the tour.
Fizan said he did things he had never done before, such as setting up a personal shopping company to help families who were unable to buy groceries during the MCO, adding he used the small amounts of cash he earned to buy food and other household needs.
When the government eased the MCO, demand for personal shoppers dropped, and Fizan turned to selling durians.
“It’s something I never expected to do. I didn’t know anything about durians other than they were thorny.”
Fortunately, he said with some RM5,000 to RM6,000 capital raised from family and friends, the durian venture provided sustenance for four families.
Offstage workers affected too
Like the musicians who lost their lifeline during the MCO, behind-the-scene workers and crew members found themselves in a similar quandary.
Mohd Fadillah Osman, 43, who does sound engineering in recording studios and live shows, said he had started a catering business during the MCO.
Known as Tom, he is a guitarist for pioneer punk rock bands The Bollocks and Carburetor Dung.
He said his recording studio, Jongro Music in Ampang Jaya, would have been closed if he had not teamed up with a friend.
“When the restrictions loosened, bands eventually wanted to do recordings to release their materials later this year.
“Alhamdulillah, there are still people who want to do recordings but it’s just ‘cukup-cukup makan’ (barely enough)”.
For Tom, he did not reach a point where he needed to sell his work equipment to survive, but could not say the same for his friends who performed in nightclubs or as buskers.
Online guitar guru
Many bands tried live streaming shows to earn some income, but for solo musician Az Samad, the lockdown presented an opportunity to increase his online presence as a guitar teacher.
Az, a Berklee College of Music graduate, said he had been teaching using video conferencing tools, such as Skype, Facebook video and Zoom.
He also released ebooks and online courses for students to download at a fee.
“(The pandemic) kind of pivoted my business model as a lot of it was already online.
“During the MCO, I doubled down on creating even more online content.”
Az said he posted at least 100 videos of guitar lessons on YouTube and made at least 15 online products – from jazz guitar lessons, music business, to improv.
“I also made two collaborations with Berklee rock guitar expert Jon Finn, so we have two joint courses that we did via Zoom.”
Az, who is the son of national laureate A. Samad Said, said throughout the MCO and recovery phases, he turned down most if not all in-person shows as he was worried for his ageing parents.
“I am very risk-averse. I did go out when we could but I minimised (outings). I’ve rejected some gigs and turned down some things mainly for my parents,” he said, adding he took up some copywriting and translation work on the side.
As an independent musician, Az has been using email marketing and suggested his peers to maximise their social media presence and online skills.
“We should really explore the ‘direct-to-fan’ model.”
Az, who has recorded with Grammy winners Flaco Jiménez and Max Baca, performed with virtuoso violinist Roby Lakatos, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Bumblefoot, and singer-songwriter Zee Avi, said he used social media to connect with fans and students around the world. – The Vibes, September 19, 2020
