A Note from Bring Me The Horizon Jakarta Concert's Failure

Photo Bring Me The Horizon: Wikimedia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

As many people know, Bring Me the Horizon's (BMTH) concert at Beach City International Stadium on November 10, 2023, didn’t end well. In the middle of the set, after performing 11 songs with 8 more planned, BMTH decided to leave the stage.

The promoter said they were taking a short break. However, after 30 minutes, BMTH still hadn’t returned. Instead, Ravel Junardy, the founder of Ravel Entertainment, a top-tier international promoter known for the signature Hammersonic show, appeared on stage.

Ravel explained that the concert had to end early because BMTH refused to continue their set. Without giving many details, Ravel ended his speech with a simple word: "chill." Stay calm. But unfortunately, that didn’t work. Things started flying onto the stage, and eventually, the crowd rushed it.

On social media, many videos of the incident have been circulating. Some even posted videos of the chaotic entry lines, with people rushing in without following the guidelines. This means that signs of disorder were already there long before the concert even began.

The main point of this writing is just a sporadic note of fleeting thoughts, not a full scientific analysis. The main goal is to archive these thoughts for my book on music festivals and events (jeez, still not done, huh?), and to clear my mind so I can sleep. If there’s any error in the timeline or an incorrect sentence, I’m happy to accept corrections.

I’m also not writing this to blame anyone or act like I know better than others.

This post was typed starting at 2:30 AM, and my Fantasy Premier League team got 72 points. My best player was my captain, Mo Salah, with 26 points, not counting bonus points yet.

Broken Theory or Anomaly?

One theory that many event organizers and music promotors in Indonesia hold onto is: ticket prices serve as the first selection filter for the audience. In other words, the more expensive the ticket, the more selective the audience is assumed to be, with expectations that they will behave better (because it correlates with income levels, education, etc.), and therefore, the event will run more smoothly.

On paper, this makes sense at first glance (though it’s quite classist, aka it has a clear upper-class bias).

People who are willing to buy expensive tickets (of course, what counts as “expensive” can be further discussed, like how much of someone's income it represents) are primarily motivated by the desire to watch a music performance.

The usual antithesis to this theory is free events. Often, or even always, at free concerts, there will be fights/ chaos here and there. On Instagram, there are even several accounts (I follow them too) that specifically document fights and brawls at free dangdut events. The point is, attendees at free events tend to have more motivations—not just to enjoy the music, but also, in some cases, to look for trouble.

(Note: For audience motivation in attending concerts/festivals, you can refer to, among others, Pitts, S.E. (2014), Alicia Kulczynski et al. (2016), Alysa Eve Brown (2019), and Lily-Ann Perrin (2020). For audience demographics, see Steve Oakes' paper (2003)).

This separation of audiences can even extend to genres and their associated images. For example, jazz and opera/classical music audiences are often considered more “calm” and “organized,” while metal or dangdut audiences are relatively seen as higher risk. But this is a topic better left for another discussion.

The bottom line: music unites, but ticket prices (and genres) divide.

Of course, in every theory, there will always be anomalies. There are free music events that run smoothly and are always free from chaos, like Ngayogjazz. Some music events held around Blok M have also never had major issues, even though they were free. Just recently, Joyland held a free "road to" event at Taman Martha Tiahahu. Everything went smoothly, and there were no incidents.

Now, the anomaly with expensive tickets but chaotic crowds happened in the case of BMTH. The chaos was really beyond expectations: the audience even got on stage. Some videos sparked rumors of vandalism against BMTH’s instruments—though it turned out to be untrue, the equipment was safe. But it feels like in the past two decades, there haven’t been many concerts where the audience was so angry that they dared to climb onto the stage (maybe the 2019 Musikologi riot was similar in intensity).

Then, can BMTH concert tickets be considered expensive? Again, there needs to be a special discussion regarding the definition of expensive prices.

According to circulating info, the cheapest ticket for this concert was Rp1.250,000, and the most expensive was Rp2.750,000. For someone with a monthly income of Rp5 million, the cheapest ticket equals 25% of their income. Expensive? Maybe. Why? Because even home loan installments typically max out at 30% of income. The Ministry of Finance has also given tips on managing finances, and 30% is usually allocated for installments (house/car, etc.).

Okay, that was just a side note.

For a single show by a rock/metal band, BMTH’s ticket prices were on the higher end. I casually recalled which rock/metal bands had held solo concerts in Indonesia, checked their lowest ticket prices, and made a simple comparison. The result is something like this:

BMTH’s cheapest ticket was the third most expensive on the list. Who else held solo rock/metal concerts in Indonesia throughout 2023?

The question is, was the chaos at the BMTH concert the breaking of the theory about ticket prices, or was it just an anomaly? The answer needs further investigation. What’s clear is that there are many interesting insights emerging on social media regarding the chaos. From what I gathered from social media conversations and chats with friends, here are a few thoughts:

• Age factor: Younger audiences have more energy, including anger.

• FOMO: Apparently, BMTH’s most popular songs among Gen Z weren’t performed yet, which made many young attendees angry.

• Paylater: This payment system makes it easier for people to buy tickets. This means the theory of expensive tickets and initial audience filtering might not apply anymore, as everyone can buy tickets by paying in installments (with easy-peacy requirements). This also brings a serious concern, as "watch now, pay later" could lead people into debt.

What Happened?

Ravel Entertainment is not an inexperienced nor amateur promoter. They are one of the top international promoters in Indonesia and part of what I called the Magnificent Seven, the founding group of the Indonesian Music Promoter Association (APMI). In fact, this year Ravel Entertainment successfully organized the international metal festival Hammersonic and brought Slipknot to Indonesia for the first time.

The question is, if they could pull off Hammersonic, one of the biggest metal festivals in Asia which involves more performers and is much more complex than a single concert, why did BMTH end in chaos and stop midway?

Only Ravel Entertainment can answer that for sure. As of the time this was written, to my knowledge, Ravel has not provided a detailed explanation beyond the clarification post on their Instagram and the issue of refunds.

I’ve tried to summarize a few conversations I’ve read on social media. Again, there is no intention to accuse or place all the blame on Ravel Entertainment.

I (along with many others) noticed one mistake that could have been avoided, and if handled, might have changed the outcome: giving detailed information to the audience.

If you listen to Ravel's speech, many people would agree that he seemed to “downplay” and underestimate the impact of BMTH stopping in the middle of their set. He came on stage twice, gave an explanation twice, and twice the audience felt there was no satisfying explanation. Ravel was seen as more focused on asking the crowd to leave.

The audience probably wanted detailed explanations: what exactly was happening? Why did the concert stop? What should the audience do? Will there be a refund or compensation? And so on. Unfortunately, this is something Ravel failed to provide.

However, on the other hand, I can understand the immense pressure Ravel was under. Pressure often causes people to not act as planned. I imagine Ravel had prepared an explanation as best as possible, but it all fell apart when faced with thousands of angry fans throwing things.

As a lesson, I gathered two things from the audience's complaints about how the BMTH concert went:

1. They felt that the organizers and security personnel were not proportional to the size of the crowd. The staff struggled to control the audience and eventually gave up. This was seen in at least two instances: the chaotic entry lines and fans rushing the stage.

2. Venue safety. BMTH felt the stage was shaking and deemed it unsafe. I’ve watched two concerts at the same venue before: Guns N' Roses (2012) and Arctic Monkeys (2023). Overall, the Beach City venue doesn’t feel quite right, both in terms of location and crowd safety. The building has multiple floors, with relatively narrow hallways, which feels risky during concert exit times. Even during the GNR and AM shows, I felt vibrations that were pretty unsettling.

A note from Mas Wendi Putranto: this venue was once closed by Ahok, ex-Jakarta Governor, in 2014 for several reasons. If you read the reasons again, most were related to contract disputes and revenue issues. Thanks to a friend who gave feedback about the closure of Beach City International Stadium (formerly MEIS).

Clueless and Immature Audience

Human have emotions, and everyone agrees. The BMTH concert stopping abruptly made everyone angry, that’s a fact.

However, rushing onto the stage cannot, and should not, be justified.

There’s a reason why the stage must be kept clear of those without a purpose. Safety is one reason. There are already calculations about the maximum load a stage can handle.

For example, let’s say the stage can hold up to 700 kilograms. Then suddenly, dozens of people with extra weight jump onto the stage. Who can guarantee that there won't be an accident? If the stage collapses, the audience falls and gets injured, equipment gets damaged, the losses will definitely be greater for both the audience and the event organizers.

Another reason why storming the stage should not be justified: it can have long-term consequences. This includes the possibility of stage property or equipment going missing, damage to property and items, and the impact on the future of music events.

Moreover, in the case of BMTH, the storming of the stage showed a moment of ego, a selfish desire to win at all costs, without considering the audience on the second day. Just imagine, if there hadn’t been a storming, there could have been technical fixes and the second concert could have gone smoothly.

Unfortunately, what’s done is done, and we just have to accept it.

The BMTH concert, which unfortunately did not go well, leaves behind many "what ifs" and questions. One of the most important questions: what will be the impact of this failure, including the impact of the audience storming the stage, on the future of international music events in Indonesia?

So far, no one can provide a definitive answer. Everyone can only speculate and guess. The answers might be asked of promoters who are planning to hold international music events next year. I hope the impact won’t be significant, and that there won’t be fear of performing in Indonesia. It may sound naive, but that’s just a hope.

However, if I may add a note, this concert failure offers many lessons.

Promoters must remain humble, always willing to learn, and improve their capacity and organization in event planning. Ravel Entertainment is indeed a big name in Indonesia's showbiz, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make mistakes. I hope this incident encourages them to take a moment to reflect, evaluate, return with much better event management, and present high-quality festivals and concerts again.

For music event audiences, including myself, we all need to learn to restrain ourselves and express our complaints or frustrations in ways that don’t damage or break the law. Being destructive doesn’t solve anything; it only creates new problems. I think venting on social media is a suitable channel for expressing frustration with impact.

It may feel difficult; that’s part of learning. I find it hard to sleep right now, which is why I’m writing to make myself sleepy. Learning to be humble and to restrain oneself is definitely more challenging. But for the sake of a better future for music events in Indonesia, this must be pursued (along with one-stop licensing, promoter certification, event and safety management certification, etc.—there’s a lot to improve).

Ciao!