Bingkai Karya – Songs for kids are not the typical musical fare. Children’s songs play a significant part in their development. Because they do not yet fully understand the reason and effect of their actions, children might be guided by the positive life ideals found in the lyrics of children’s songs.
Children’s songs are part of Indonesian pop culture, so we should be proud to have a long history of children’s songs. Starting from children’s folk songs or nursury rhymes that were often sung by our parents or grandparents, to the children’s pop industry that was formed in the 1970s. In that era, child singers such as Adi Bing Slamet, Chicha Koeswoyo, Yoan Tanamal, and many adult bands or singers released children’s songs. The large industry niche makes the children’s song scene a promising business.
Boosting the vibrancy of children’s songs is certainly not an easy job that can be completed alone. A collective role is needed to make Indonesian children’s songs triumph again. Unfortunately, not all relevant parties have the will to do so. Occasionally, these efforts come from concerned musicians. Like Titiek Puspa who initiated the children’s group Duta Cinta, or Erwin Gutawa who once worked on the collective Di Atas Rata-Rata, which gathered musically talented children from all over Indonesia. Unfortunately, these efforts have to face many challenges regarding their sustainability. Often, the intention is just not in line with commercial matters. In other words, this is the silent road of the music industry.
Music analyst David Tarigan argues that the popularity of children’s songs is highly dependent on the hook of the song, and then how to make the song widely accessible to children through distribution mechanisms and music marketing strategies. David also believes that to reignite the popularity and trend of children’s songs in the music industry in general, a collective spirit from various parties is needed. This includes grown-up musicians who have the initiative to release children’s songs.
Collective efforts to revive the popularity of children’s songs are indeed a shared responsibility, although we cannot force industry to take part in this matter. But there are always musicians who see this issue as a moral responsibility. Some of those including Naif who released the album Bonbinben (2008), and separately in different moments of time a children’s song was born from the music group Mocca, and even the “Save Lagu Anak” movement emerged in 2016 consisting of former child singers. Most recently, RAN has also shown its concern for this issue.
While bringing children’s songs back to life is undoubtedly a difficult task, it is not impossible to answer the question of “What is the latest Indonesian children’s song?” or “Who are the currently popular children’s singers?” Because, even as adults, children’s songs continue to influence pop culture and our everyday lives.
