Cheso Power the album king

Bruce Ndlovu
One of the most talked about events this year was the release of Alick Machesoaï¿½ï¿½s album, Tsoka Dzerwendo which reportedly sold an astounding 100 000 copies on the first day of its release.

The album not only showed that the masses still hungered for Extra Bassoaï¿½ï¿½s prodigious skills on the guitar, but also that the sungura veteran was a master strategist who could market an album to perfection.

Having built hype for the project over the last couple of years Macheso managed to convince fans to get his album en masse off the strength of his name and brand as they had up until the point of its release only had a few limited listens of it.

His decision to partner with Nash Paints and Red Cross for the distribution of the album was a masterstroke as it gave the album the nationwide push it needed.

Machesoaï¿½ï¿½s success as a salesman however, has not been rivalled by peers or less successful artistes.

The two biggest albums to come out last year were Winky Daï¿½ï¿½s Gafa Life Kickstape and Jah Prayzahaï¿½ï¿½s Jerusarema both which spurned hits from the current leading lights in the music industry.

The success the two artistes enjoyed from their projects contrast sharply from the kind of success enjoyed by Macheso. While the Sungura great prioritised the sale of physical copies, the two young musicians let the hits do the talking, as they used their anthemic songs as the fuel needed to bring fans to their live shows around the country.

In fact, to illustrate how little attention was paid to how well the albums sold, both artistes did not bother with the numbers game like Macheso did, neglecting to release official figures or speculation of how well their albums did on the market.

The situation best illustrates the dilemma that faces artistes not only in Zimbabwe but around the world. Should artistes still prioritise album sales in the age of piracy or are they better served by using their hit songs to bring in the crowds to their shows were they can see their favourite tunes sung live?

The clue to the different strategies employed by the artistes may lie in Jah Prayzahaï¿½ï¿½s recent comments about the scourge of piracy. While some like Macheso choose to fight it, the Tsviriyo hitmaker has made peace with it hence his decision to push live shows to the forefront.

aï¿½?Piracy is here to stay. Whether one releases an album after 10 years it will make no difference as the product will suffer the same consequences,aï¿½? he was quoted as saying in the media last month.

The phenomenon is not only local, with TIME Magazine citing Kanye Westaï¿½ï¿½s release of his Life of Pablo album with no physical CDs earlier this year as the funeral of the album.

aï¿½?But the albumaï¿½ï¿½s role as the structural spine of the industry is over. This shift is fundamentally changing how music us created, distributed and interpreted,aï¿½? wrote Victor Luckerson from the magazine.

This is a view shared by city artiste Khuxxman, who has seen the decline in the usefulness of the album over the years. Despite this many artistes in the city continue to hold hastily forgotten album releases and launches.

aï¿½?I doubt the album is still useful because they have little impact and you end up releasing them just for the sake of it,aï¿½? he said.