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This study explores how young legislative candidates at the local level utilize Instagram as a campaign medium in the era of political digitalism. The focus is on two DPRD candidates in Tangerang City during the 2024 election in Electoral District 3 (Cipondoh–Pinang): Muhamad Azka Nur Fauzi from the National Mandate Party and Ashma Nafilah Maulida from the Prosperous Justice Party. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach and in-depth interviews with key informants, this research analyzes their personal branding strategies using Peter Montoya’s eight laws of personal branding.  The findings reveal that despite their relatively small number of followers, both candidates successfully built authentic and community-relevant political images. MANF emphasized UMKM development and religiosity, aligning with his personal background, while ANM highlighted humanistic social programs and her unique writing hobby. Nevertheless, both still showed weaknesses in several of Montoya’s principles, particularly distinctiveness and visibility consistency. The study concludes that Instagram is not merely a low-cost promotional tool but a strategic platform for local candidates to foster public trust, provided their personal branding remains authentic, consistent, and responsive to local needs.

Musical modality, professionalism, and work quality in everyday musical practice constitute the main analytical framework of this study. This research departs from the view that musical professions are often reduced to hobby-based activities, whereas in practice they involve work strategies, professional attitudes, and negotiation between artistic idealism and market demands. This study employs a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with two musicians in the city of Solo, Aditya Ong and Indra Permana, who represent different backgrounds, professional roles, and musical orientations. The findings indicate that modality comprising experience, musical skills, and professional networks forms the foundation of musicians’ professionalism. Professionalism is reflected not only in technical competence, but also in work ethics, responsibility, and the ability to position oneself within various musical work contexts. Work quality is not understood normatively as good or bad, but as the outcome of how musicians manage their modality and professionalism in specific working situations. This study concludes that musical practice in Solo is shaped through continuous negotiation between artistic orientation, market demands, and the pursuit of livelihood stability. Musical modality, professionalism, and work quality are interconnected in forming musicians’ strategies to sustain their musical practices amid the dynamics of the local music industry.