Indonesia Expands Music Diplomacy at Bangkok Music City 2026

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf)/Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) has expanded Indonesia’s music diplomacy and creative economy collaboration opportunities with Thailand through its participation in the Bangkok Music City (BMC) 2026 in the Charoenkrung Creative District.

“This event represents the Indonesian government’s commitment to supporting the internationalization of national musicians, expanding global music industry networks, and fostering an inclusive, sustainable, and competitive creative economy ecosystem,” Deputy Minister for Creative Economy Irene said in an official statement released in Jakarta on Saturday.

The initiative underscores Indonesia’s support for and discussion on stronger Indonesia–Thailand creative economy collaboration, particularly in the music and content-based industries.

During the Bangkok Music City 2026, held from January 24 to 25 in the Charoenkrung Creative District, the ministry joined conference sessions and business matching activities to gain firsthand insights into the dynamics of regional and global music industries. The delegation also gathered input from Indonesian music professionals participating in the forum.

Three Indonesian musicians—INIS, Ardhito Pramono, and Morbid Monke—performed in BMC 2026 showcases, drawing enthusiastic responses from audiences of various nationalities and international music industry stakeholders.

BMC 2026 featured more than 80 artists from Asia and around the world across eight public venues in Bangkok.

“We appreciate Bangkok Music City as a leading international music industry platform that integrates conferences, business matching, and showcases. It has become one of the most influential music subsector events in Southeast Asia. Indonesia’s participation strengthens its creative economy diplomacy, particularly in the music industry,” Irene added.

Irene also highlighted the potential for greater Indonesia–Thailand collaboration in music, content production, and festivals. She emphasized the need to strengthen creative economy ecosystems based on intellectual property (IP) and expand access to global markets.

The Indonesian delegation also took the opportunity to invite Thailand’s Creative Economy Agency (CEA) to participate in the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) 2026, which will be hosted in Indonesia as a strategic forum to enhance regional and global creative economy cooperation.

As part of the visit, the ministry facilitated a collaboration between Ardhito Pramono and Citilink Indonesia through a creative activation campaign titled “Bertemu Nada di Udara” (“Meeting Melodies in the Air”) on the Jakarta–Bangkok flight on January 23, 2026.

During the flight, Ardhito Pramono performed acoustic renditions of his songs “Bitterlove,” “Waking Up Together With You,” and “Cigarettes of Ours,” offering passengers a unique in-flight mini concert experience.

The creative activation exemplified intersectoral collaboration among music, transportation, and communication industries, serving as an innovative approach to promoting Indonesian musicians in unconventional spaces.

On the same flight, passengers also received the Linkers in-flight magazine, a special collaboration edition between Citilink, the Ministry of Creative Economy, and Astagraphia. The issue featured profiles of Indonesian creative economy figures and outlined national creative economy development plans for 2026.

Indonesianpost.com | Antara