Kota Kinabalu: Sabahan singers who made a name on the national stage shared hard truths about surviving in the creative industry at a forum organised by Daily Express, saying talent alone is rarely enough to build a sustainable career in the State.
“Doing music in Sabah is actually not sustainable,” said singer-songwriter-producer Velvet Aduk. If you have 15 million views on YouTube, people think you are a millionaire. Sorry. That is far from the truth,” she said.
Advertisement
.gif)
Velvet was among three panellists whose careers span music, film and crafts who shared their views.
The forum was moderated by Daily Express Senior Journalist cum award-winning independent filmmaker Ricardo Unto.
Velvet, whose hits include Sumandak Sabah and Aramaitiii, said two decades in the industry had taught her that reinvention is not optional.
She began her career after joining reality television show Akademi Fantasia (AF) in Peninsular Malaysia 20 years ago, but said she could not live off that identity indefinitely.
“I cannot be Velvet AF forever.
“Over the years, you have to keep up with the times. That requires effort, it requires writing new material, curating your own image as a singer, as a songwriter, as a producer. And all that requires money,” she said.
She described the creative industry as an investment that offers no guarantees and said Kota Kinabalu offered very little platform for growth despite the abundance of local talent.
Velvet said she was surprised when a small self-funded showcase in Kota Kinabalu sold out after being marketed entirely through social media.
Spotify listener data showed the city as her strongest base in Sabah, which helped inform the decision to stage it here.
“I thought Sabahans are so used to free concerts,” she said. “I told my manager, it is tiring doing this. You work, you earn and then you spend everything marketing yourself again. It feels like you are just floating, waiting for another big ship to catch you.”
She said the sold-out show ultimately left her out of pocket. “I lost more money than I gained. I only gained experience and a platform. Anyone who knows this industry knows that doing art in Sabah is not about glamour.”
Velvet added she now treats music primarily as a creative outlet rather than a livelihood, turning personal writing into songs and drawing motivation from listener response.
On the question of artistic identity, Velvet said that approaching 40, she had no doubts about where she stood.
She said she weaves Sabahan cultural elements into her work because she is proud of the State’s heritage, but her drive is songwriting with substance.
“Now that I am older and wiser, I create music not to please other people but to fix my mental well-being,” she said. “It is an outlet for me. It is like an expensive hobby. I spend a lot on making music, but when it is out, I feel great about it.”
Asked what single policy she would want from the government, Velvet pointed to grants, but said the problem was not just access to funding. Many artists lacked the administrative skills to even qualify, she said.
“The government will not just hand out money when you do not have proper paperwork,” she said. “Artists need to be taught how to handle documentation first. We are not left-brain thinkers. Where would we have learned all that?”
She said intervention was necessary because not everyone could rely on luck to break through, even if some had managed it that way.
