Amaluddin Syarif, face on Indonesia's MP3 covers, dies at 46

Amaluddin Syarif, whose photo appeared on MP3 covers across Indonesia, has died at 46.

His employer confirmed he died on 15 October 2026; tributes followed from people who remembered him as “Mas Stafaband.”

In the early 2000s, people often downloaded music files and saved them on computers or phones.

Syarif became an unexpected internet icon after using his own photo to label his music collection.

He had collected Indonesian songs and uploaded them to the file-sharing site 4Shared because his computer had limited storage.

Other users downloaded and shared the files, spreading his photo far beyond his own collection.

His death has brought back memories of an earlier way of finding and keeping music.

He worked for a company in the Telkom Group, and his employer shared the news and invited colleagues to provide condolences.