Ahmad Dhani and Once's Royalty Dispute: A List of Dewa 19's Most Popular Songs of All Time on Spotify

Ahmad Dhani has forbidden Once Mekel from performing Dewa 19 songs at his solo concert. His reason is that the Surabaya-based music group will be holding concerts after Eid al-Fitr until the end of 2023.

The man, familiarly known as Mas Dhani, stated that his prohibition is also related to royalty issues. Once, a former vocalist of the band, left Dewa 19 in 2010. Despite this, Once still performs Dewa 19 songs in several of his solo appearances.

Most recently, Ahmad Dhani emphasized that he will not grant permission to Once unless he is willing to pay music royalties for Dewa 19 songs.

"No, I'm not willing (to give permission). I'm not willing anymore. This is now a brand issue. Dewa 19 still exists, with me and Andra as the founders of Dewa 19," said Ahmad Dhani, as quoted from Kompas.com, Thursday (6/4/2023).

Besides Ahmad Dhani, Andra Junaidi Ramadhan, the band's guitarist, also plays a role as a songwriter for Dewa 19.

Ahmad Dhani argued that Once could hold a solo concert performing all of Dewa 19's songs if he wasn't prohibited. According to him, Once could disrupt his business with Dewa 19.

"Because if Once still sings Dewa 19 songs, it interferes with my business. My business and Andra's in making a living with Dewa 19," said Ahmad Dhani.

Previously, Once denied reports that he was asking for a high fee to perform with Dewa 19. He believes that his singing fee is not expensive because it has been adjusted to the number of spectators, which reaches tens of thousands of people.

"No, I didn't (ask for a high fee). I only increased it slightly more than double," said Once, as quoted from Dunia Manji's YouTube channel. Once's answer refers to his appearance at the Jakarta International Stadium with Dewa 19 some time ago.

On the other hand, Once said that the reason he asked for a higher fee is because he is no longer a member of Dewa 19. "If it's expensive, I don't think so. To be honest, I don't aim to always perform with Dewa 19, I'm already outside of Dewa. So I want to be able to manage my own rhythm," he said.

Regardless of the dispute between Ahmad Dhani and Once, what are the most played Dewa 19 songs on the Spotify streaming application? Here is the list:

1. Kangen: 94,906,125 listeners
2. Kamulah Satu-satunya: 34,990,643 listeners
3. Aku Milikmu: 32,335,340 listeners
4. Separuh Nafas: 31,687,438 listeners
5. Selimut Hati: 31,294,953 listeners
6. Cinta kan Membawamu Kembali: 26,551,333 listeners
7. Roman Picisan: 23,296,996 listeners
8. Dewi: 19,799,296 listeners
9. Larut: 15,601,548 listeners
10. Aku Cinta Kau dan Dia: 11,258,878 listeners

According to Spotify data, Dewa 19 has 3.3 million monthly listeners on the music streaming application. This number is almost three times that of Once Mekel, who has 1.17 million monthly listeners on Spotify.