I think as Malaysians we’re all too familiar with the term “main-main kroni”. You hear it in schools, you hear it in workspaces and even our local music scene is no exception. How many times have you been to a local gig somewhere around you, only to see the same 5 bands playing again in the lineup? And how often do you see the same groups of people show up in the crowd to these gigs? Now from a brief look, you might think that there’s nothing wrong with this, there’s always going to be regulars and familiar faces the more you get into the scene. Truthfully there isn’t really much fault in this whole thing but look further and you’ll see way much more. Cliques being formed, people grouping together for certain niches, these are all small invisible ties that can either bring together the scene or break it apart.
When it brings people together, community is formed. People start working together in collectives in order to achieve something that they might not be able to if they did it alone. Unfortunately, efforts like this can also break people apart if proper teamwork and communication isn’t involved. That’s when cronyism makes it way through. Let’s take organising a show for an example. Usually many or a couple of bands will be involved, some know each other and some don’t. At times this sense of unfamiliarity can alienate bands who are just starting out and aren’t known to those who have been in a scene for a longer time. While these bonds with each other can be slowly built up by conversing and making connections or the sort, not everyone is always accepting. Some might shun others from the music scene if they don’t fit a certain mold or standard, making the “newer people” a weak point or an easy target for them to be the blame for any problems that happen on stage or behind the scenes. Conflict arises and bands start going against each other. It’s not always obvious but if you know someone who’s in the know of it all then at the very least you would vaguely hear about it. In the digital age we live in, sometimes this conflict can be brought online and shown to the public. People who were never part of the conflict in the first place start involving themselves for “the fun of it” and hateful messages start spreading about at the speed of lightning just so they could back up one side or the other. Even worse is when it’s very clear how unfair of a fight it even is, how obvious it’s been made that one side is more favoured compared to the other just because they seem to have more associates to back them up at all times despite who’s wrong or right in the situation. Most of the time this all happens due to both sides not being able to communicate sensibly with each other. A lack of taking accountability to solve matters maturely in private is also another major cause.
The results of all of this? The local music scene, a place meant to bring folks of different backgrounds together, starts becoming unwelcoming to those who are just starting out. This isn’t limited to bands or performers, people who attend gigs and anyone who’s part of the scene at all can be affected. The reputation of the local music scene is tainted and what was supposed to be a community for like-minded people to meet up is now seen as more of an exclusive club for certain groups of people. Many like to talk about how Malaysian’s local scene isn’t talked about enough but how can more people know about it if some of us are so stuck up with gatekeeping it just so it can be kept within the margins of our familiars? Folks like to preach about how the music scene is against discrimination but how strongly do we hold onto these values if many of us just jump head first at the chance of being able to shame and make fun of a local band we dislike? I’m aware that I, the writer, am no saint either but as part of a community, especially one that revolves around music, we should constantly uplift others instead of bringing each other down. Appreciate the art, make friends not enemies, build bridges not burn them. It all sounds so cliche but it does make you wonder why a concept so simple still can’t be grasped at the hands of certain people. There’s already so much conflict out there in this awful world we live so the best we can do to fight against all that is to do the opposite. Talk about music, bring your friends to gigs and my gosh get rid of the stupid cronyism that runs about in the scene if you have any ounce of maturity at all in you.
