KUALA LUMPUR: Concert organiser Kharisma Music International has called on singer-songwriter Aisha Retno to pay up the RM74,000 which she owes them for an advance that they gave her to help her preparations for Anugerah Juara Lagu 2024 (AJL) early this year.
The company's lawyer Tuan Muhammad Arief Tuan Mohamad Yusof said in a press conference at Zebra Square in Jalan Kampung Pandan here today that the advance was worth RM80,000 and Aisha had only paid up RM6,000.
Tuan Muhammad, who accompanied Kharisma Music's co-owners, Indonesian singer Yuka Kharisma and her husband Ahmad Jeffny Kamar, said that they wanted to clear the air following Aisha's recent allegations against them which she made in an Instagram video following the cancellation of Konsert Malam Sutera Aisha Retno scheduled for Nov 16.
"Aisha's allegations which were made in that video jeopardised Kharisma Music's reputation. We had to cancel that concert due to poor ticket sales, but it was also the result of her refusal to postpone it to a later and more suitable date," said Tuan Muhammad.
Tuan Muhammad said that Kharisma Music was contacted by Aisha's management Aisha Retno Entertainment (ARE) in March to help her preparations for AJL 2024, where she was one of the finalists and eventually won Best Performance.
"She was having difficulties collecting funds for her performance, so we agreed to give her an advance, and to repay us, she agreed to hold a solo concert on Aug 3."
However, Aisha soon decided to participate in a 10-week reality contest organised by a television network.
"Kharisma Music told ARE that Aisha's involvement in the contest would make the promotion and organisation of the concert difficult.
"This would have a negative impact on ticket sales.
"Nevertheless, ARE insisted that Aisha had to join the contest as she had a good working relationship with the station."
The concert was postponed to Nov 16, and during this time Aisha repaid RM6,000 from the advance.
"We urged her to make a video to promote her concert, but she only did so after the contest concluded, and she finished fourth."
Yuka said that Kharisma Music and ARE met in September, and ARE was informed that only 98 out of 2,414 tickets had been sold.
"It was here that Kharisma Music suggested postponing the concert, but ARE insisted that it go on."
It was recently reported that Aisha expressed shock and disappointment over the concert's cancellation.
According to her, communication with Kharisma Music had been minimal, with the company not responding to her inquiries for months.
Aisha said that she was hesitant to take on the concert, recognising her limited experience in the industry, but the organisers convinced her to go for it.
She apologised to fans and ticket buyers for the "unforeseen cancellation".