13 November 2008

Rhianna in Jakarta -- Canceled?


Rhianna, or at least her management, have decided to cancel the concert scheduled for Friday night. The local promoter is suggesting that the concert is not canceled but rather postponed to sometime in January or February.

The reason is that Rhianna and her team allegedly have some security concerns. These concerns are supposedly heightened security alerts for the country. The speculation is undoubtedly going to be on the recent executions of the Bali Three (aka Amrozi, Mukhlas, and Samudra). However, my understanding is that this is mere speculation and the concern was security in general.

The promoter has allegedly sent representatives to Singapore to lobby Rhianna's management for a change of heart. However, with the concert to be held tomorrow a pretty quick change of heart is required in order to make the logistics work.

The promoter seems to be concerned with the billions of Rupiah in losses that will be sustained if the concert does not go ahead. Now, here's the thing. If you are a music promoter in Indonesia, I would have thought that it would have made good business sense to get insurance for this very thing. It is not like it is the first time a world class music act has pulled the plug because of security fears / concerns.

It seems ticket holders need not fear, as the promoter has guaranteed that all ticket holders are to be refunded. I am sure they would have preferred to see Rhianna in concert though. May be in January or February!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, cause like terrorists KNOW who Rihanna is, and like care? Whatever. Dumb ass bitch. Harsh, I know, but this kind of shit is really annoying. It's completely disrespectful to the "fans".

Rob Baiton said...

Brett...

Don't be afraid to let us know how you really feel :D

It is not like she is the first and it is likely she won't be the last.

I agree it is disrespectful, particularly after locking the show in in the first place.

A large crowd might be attractice to terrorists, but the crowd would be so overwhelming Indonesian that it seems an unlikely target.

Anonymous said...

The bottom line is Indonesian sales of Rihanna's albums is less than a drop in the ocean due to rampant piracy and low purchasing power of the average joe indo. So respecting the local fans wont justify her coming.
The money she would make from ticket sales is probably around 100k usd, also not enough to take the 'risk'.
Maybe her insurance company wont cover her if she comes to Jakarta, that is something that could be possible. These companies go by travel warnings issued by embassies,including the US embassy, so that must have played a big role.
If I was in her position, i'd dump Jakarta too. The risk, no matter how low or unjustified, outweighs the benefits.
Beyonce came and performed without any trouble, but at the same time there was no travel warning at the time.

Rob Baiton said...

Jason...

Indeed this may be true that sales in Indonesia of Rhianna's albums are not much more than a drop in the ocean. However, this does not mean that her fans here are any less diehard than other places with bigger album sales.

No, it problem does not justify her coming to Jakarta. Yet, sometimes stars tour to places in order to boost sales in that market and to show some respect to existing fans for thier continued support.

So, how much money in your view would justify the risk? 200K, 500K, a cool million?

Now, the insurance company angle is a possibility and one that I had not canvassed from Rhianna's perspective. I did canvas it from the perspective of the promoter though.

Is there a US travel warning? The last I heard was that they yanked it.

To each their own on the risk analysis front. Indonesia is a huge market with an insatiable appetite for foreign music (as well as local music).

I would have thought there is much scope for expanding one's fan base in this part of the world and particularly in Indonesia.

Anonymous said...

Yea, I'm almost positive that for a cool million you'd see her dancing with the umbrella tomorrow night.
It's all about the money playa.

Rob Baiton said...

Jason...

So, it is true? Money makes the world go round :D