Bens Leo

Bens Leo
Born	Benedictus Hadi Utomo (1952-08-08)August 8, 1952 Pasuruan, Jawa Timur, Indonesia
Died	November 29, 2021(2021-11-29) (aged 69) Jakarta, Indonesia
Occupations	Journalist Music critic

Benedictus Hadi Utomo (8 August 1952 ‒ 29 November 2021), better known as Bens Leo, was a prominent and respected Indonesian music journalist. He was also recognized as a music and entertainment observer in Indonesia. Bens was one of the early members of the socialization team for the Anugerah Musik Indonesia (AMI) awards. He was also known as a talent scout and music producer, notably producing the debut album of Kahitna, titled Cerita Cinta, in 1993. He once served as editor-in-chief of the youth magazine Anita Cemerlang, which featured short stories and lifestyle content. Bens Leo died on 29 November 2021 at 08:24 in Jakarta due to COVID-19.

Career

His career began after he failed to enroll at the AKABRI due to missing the registration deadline for flight training in Curug. Unwilling to burden his single mother with tuition fees, he boldly decided to interview Koes Plus member Tonny Koeswoyo using whatever equipment he had. Fortunately, Tonny humbly agreed to the interview. He sent the article to the Sport & Film section of the newspaper Berita Yudha, and a week later, his piece titled "Sejarah Koes Bersaudara" ("The History of Koes Brothers") was published as the headline story. He was then recruited to write for the Arts and Culture section. Learning about this, Tonny Koeswoyo referred him to interview Panbers.

His interview with Panbers was submitted to Aktuil magazine, where he was later given the pen name "Bens Leo". His career progressed rapidly as he covered acts like Rasela, Gipsy, and Barong’s Band, as well as events such as the Festival Lagu Pop Indonesia. In 1974, he was appointed a jury member for the Festival Lagu Pop Indonesia, which led to the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan. In 1976, he was personally invited—under his own name and as a representative of Aktuil—as the only Indonesian music journalist to cover the 1976 World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, accompanying Guruh Soekarnoputra, Grace Simon, and Idris Sardi.

In 2000, he was invited by musician and businessman Maxi Gunawan to help establish a print media music business empire, later named NewsMusik. However, he resigned in 2003.

Fighting piracy

Bens Leo was a vocal opponent of music piracy. For him, the issue was not only the responsibility of record labels or the government, but also of fellow musicians. He believed that rampant copyright infringement and piracy were also driven by the decline in physical music sales.

Private life

Bens Leo was married to Dr. Pauline Endang and had one son, Addo Gustaf Putra. The family resided in the Cireundeu Permai housing complex, Ciputat, South Tangerang.