{"id":69369,"date":"2026-01-16T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T00:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=69369"},"modified":"2026-01-15T11:03:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T03:03:50","slug":"music-career-malaysia-earnings-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/music-career-malaysia-earnings-costs","title":{"rendered":"From M. Nasir To Umar Akmal: Can Musicians Still Make It In Malaysia?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most Malaysians know music maestro Dato\u2019 Mohamad Nasir bin Mohamed, or M. Nasir, for his prolific songwriting across four decades, but few would know that in the 1970s, he was just like any other musician struggling to get by.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnly the main ones [found making money from music easy]. To be an accomplished performer, they had to go through many tests on the way to the top, such as being a good musician, having friends who are good [at playing music] and forming a good band, but that\u2019s not always easy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn many bands that were formed at that time, only ten percent could be called good bands. So these ten percent are those we hear of. That ten percent happens today as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s so many people. You can be a musician anytime you like but to be successful, it\u2019s another thing. And you are one of them who\u2019s chasing that ten percent,\u201d he said, from his Luncai Emas office in Sungai Buloh.<\/span><\/p>\n

This struggle is not unique to M. Nasir\u2019s generation. It remains to be a defining challenge block for the industry to this day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe world\u2019s changing, [and it\u2019s] been changing since then, but the struggles are the same, just that technology has changed, culture has developed, the way that people think and live.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBack then, musicians always came from the clubs, they were working class musicians. When they want to be a musician, they would be working to be a musician, working in some place. From there, they\u2019ll get noticed and get into the recording industry,\u201d said the Mentera Semerah Padi singer.<\/span><\/p>\n

That pathway has all but disappeared. The live-music pubs of the 1970s and 1980s are gone, and hotel circuits that once supported full bands now settle for two-piece acts backed by a drum machine, if they book live music at all. This shrinking ecosystem is precisely what makes sustainability such a central question for musicians today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Echoing that concern, Persatuan Pemuzik Malaysia (PPM) deputy president Edwin Nathaniel <\/span>warned<\/span><\/a> in 2020 that many musicians age into poverty, particularly when stricken by illness and an inability to earn a living. Often organising fundraisers for veteran players, the organisation focuses on live circuit musicians, not those who had recording or songwriting careers with long-paying royalties.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMany musicians did not have a stable income. They were paid on an ad hoc basis depending on performance contracts. Therefore, when they hit retirement age, you might find they do not have EPF, SOCSO or medical insurance to help them,\u201d Edwin was quoted as saying in Malaysiakini.<\/span><\/p>\n

These days, M. Nasir acknowledged, the learning curve for musicians to hone their craft is much steeper.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday, everybody who’s got the knack for writing songs or playing music can be a recording artist. You know, that is a big difference. So everything has to be fast. You come and say you want to be a musician. Right away, you must be recognised. But in the old days, not really, you could be tested many times,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s against this backdrop that younger musicians like me are trying to build a sustainable career.<\/span><\/p>\n

My turn as a cog in the machine<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

I was 24 when my folk-rock band Faye Faire released its debut album <\/span>In My Mind<\/span><\/i> in February 2024. The ten songs about love, grief, friendship, and the plight of the Orang Asli that formed the basis of this album are deeply personal. The share of the songwriting was split evenly between myself and an eighteen year old I-Shan Esther, who I started the band with in her TTDI home. She passed away in June 2023, just as we began laying down early tracks.<\/span><\/p>\n

The album became a vehicle for my grief, giving myself and those who loved her some closure. It documented her talent and promise, so every ounce of energy, time, and money went into finishing what we started together. Suddenly I wasn\u2019t just a songwriter. I was a co-producer, video editor, graphic designer, publicist, event organiser and salesperson. Like most independent musicians in Malaysia, I had to learn how the entire ecosystem worked just to get our music heard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Faye Faire – Siren (Official Music Video):<\/b><\/p>\n