Jakarta (ANTARA) - Culture Minister Fadli Zon said the ministry is optimizing the use of the Dana Indonesia Raya endowment fund to support the development of the entire national cultural ecosystem, including advancing Indonesian music.
He said this at the Indonesian Music Awards (AMI Awards) 2026 press conference, streamed on the awards’ official YouTube channel and viewed here on Tuesday.
“It means more inclusive, more recipients, of course still with competition, because more than 15,000 proposals came in from across Indonesia last year, and 4,158 beneficiaries were selected this year,” Zon said.
Zon said the government has raised the Dana Indonesia Raya ceiling to Rp6 trillion, from Rp5 trillion last year.
Of the total endowment, the estimated allocation to be distributed this year is between Rp360 billion and Rp500 billion.
The distribution is channeled inclusively to various cultural sectors based on a strict selection of the many thousands of proposals received.
Regarding the AMI Foundation’s efforts to run partnership schemes with the private sector, including with Japan’s music awards committee, Music Awards Japan (MAJ), Zon said the step was fairly strategic.
Zon assessed that expanding industry networks and promotional access are important factors in helping Indonesian musicians break into international markets, besides the quality of their work and the ability to use digital platforms.
“Networking is very decisive. There are talented people who have no network, and so in the end they do not get the opportunity,” Zon said.
According to him, social media’s development has opened wider opportunities for musicians to introduce their work to international audiences. Musicians no longer have to rely entirely on physical distribution such as vinyl records, cassettes, or CDs to reach listeners.
However, he assessed that the openness of digital platforms still needs to be balanced with production and promotion support so musicians’ work can compete and reach wider markets.
According to him, the quality of songs and vocals is an important factor in raising the chances of Indonesian music being accepted by international listeners.
“If the song is good and the voice is good, I am sure there will be ways to make it happen,” Zon said.
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Translator: Abdu, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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