Page 39 - IB January 2022

Music Music

album, ‘Why Can’t We Live?’ in 2018.
“The title of the album is really a question. “Why can’t we
live, how God says man should live?” The question is based on
my understanding that God made man and gave us a responsi-
bility to safeguard his creation. Should we keep living the way
we live; exploiting this world without any care for the future?
“We released it in February 2020. That was right before
the epidemic turned into a pandemic and the lockdowns
happened. The album in terms of sales has been pretty good
in Vanuatu. Not so much overseas as I’d like compared to the
previous albums. It’s still selling though.
“We always used to put CDs out for the other albums, but
this was the first album we launched solely on online plat-
forms.”
Another song featured on the album is ‘West Papua Rise
Up.’
“Vanuatu is a very young country in terms of political “At home, distribution is on the Digicel platform as well
independence,” says Antas. “And there are still people who production of Procards. Procards are mostly for distributing
lived through the colonial times. So we all know the struggle on our local market throughout the islands because most of
because our parents and grandparents teach us the history. them don’t use Spotify and platforms like that. Digicel direct
I am the first generation that was born into the freedom our download is also a major platform in Vanuatu. It’s just more
forefathers fought for. So we grew up supporting the cause for convenient to use. I do make a living from it.”
independence in West Papua. While COVID-19 has seen a decline in sales and gigs, “It’s
“This song is to give strength to the people and revolution- just something to adjust to,” he says. “You can’t tour to other
aries of West Papua. It is for them to know they not alone in countries because borders are locked down. And confinements
the struggle. don’t really go well with live events. A lot of businesses are
“From the very beginning I always wanted my music to affected, and a lot of people have lost their jobs. Our industry
make a difference in people’s lives,” says Antas. “I want my depends a lot on the population’s spending power so when
music to inspire the positive vibes I feel whenever I listen to that drops, our sales drop as well.”
the legends that came before me. This is Rasta music. And Still, he remains positive. “To the fans all over; keep
love is the ultimate message.” spreading music and vibes. One love every time!”
Like many Pacific artists, Stan and the Earth Force works
with Mangrove Productions on mastering, marketing, and editor@islandsbusiness.com
publishing.
“As a musician you depend mostly on live gigs and selling
recorded music,” says Antas. “It’s hard. You have to keep
hustling. In Vanuatu, the music industry is quite informal. Our
government has only recently begun to try and invest [in] cre-
ative sectors and music happens to be one of them. But like I
said. It’s hard. You have to put in a lot of work.”
This lack of formal recognition can lead to breaches of
copyright and intellectual property, performers’ rights, Antas
says. “And yeah, people are exploited, because… a lot of
people don’t see music as a profession. A lot of people are
surprised if you describe to them the amount of work you
have to put in order to put a song out or put on a show. But
in the informal sector, it’s still growing, and more people are
starting to be aware of these issues.”
He says while the global music market has changed a lot
because of the internet, Vanuatu’s industry is only in the
beginning stages of adapting to the online landscape.
The move to online distribution has opened a number of
markets to the band. “These days it’s mostly online. Spotify,
iTunes, Amazon music, Deezer etc,” says Antas. “Digicel also
has D’music and a direct mobile download using credit. So I’m
on these platforms for the Pacific and international markets.

Islands Business, January 2022 39