Father to son music inheritance

. Bruce Ndlovu
Zimbabwe musica��s tradition of family members, in most cases the oldest son, taking over their fathera��s band or discography after they pass away is very unique to the country.
Anywhere around the world, it is not rare for the sons or immediate family of deceased or retired artistes to take up the mettle after they are retired. The likes of Femi Kuti in Nigeria and Bongani Fassie in South Africa have shown that ita��s possible for one to ride on their father, or in the case of the latter, mothera��s name and carve out their own artistic legacy.

While the shadow of the work of their parentsa�� work still lingers over anything that they do, they have proven with time that they are uniquely talented individuals who would probably have made it on their own even though their path would have been harder.

Zimbabweans, however, have made inheritance of a fallen patriarcha��s music a fine art.

From Peter Moyo and Sulu Chimbetu to Ndux Junior, Zimbabwean artistes have eased the pain of the passing of a much loved music icon by taking over where they left off.

While homage must be paid for these young artistes for even attempting to step into legendary shoes of the likes of Chimbetu and Majaivana, credit should also go to the supporters that have welcomed the offspring of their old favourites with less hostility than they would a new artiste.

An often neglected aspect of this system is how it has managed to be a de facto replacement of the almost non-existent royalties that artistes are supposed to get.

With major stables like Gramma records closing and the countrya��s radio and TV broadcasters being notorious defaulters when it comes to the payment of royalties, the families of deceased artistes tend to make little from their lucrative discographies once they pass away.

In contrast, in cultural global super powers like the United States and nearer to home, South Africa, royalties are still a major part of the income of artistes that are no longer in the spotlight or have passed away.

However, with Zimbabwea��s formal music structures comatose and rampant piracy having eroded music sales over the last two decades, the Zimbabwean way seems to be the way to go.

By inheriting a popular artistea��s discography, family members can earn money from live shows which are the main source of income for Zimbabwean artistes on the music scene currently.

a�?I could have simply chosen to sit on my laurels and think that I could make money from the sales of my fathera��s music but that is not possible. People are not buying music anymore and that is the only way to make sure that me and the rest of the family survives because otherwise we would starve.

a�?There is very little money to be made from royalties so this is the alternative that we were blessed with,a�? said Peter Moyo.

However, like all issues of inheritance, this system also means that in the event of an artiste passing, disputes on who exactly inherits his lucrative catalogue break out.

The Dendera dynasty has splintered into a name of small kingdoms that drift from war to peace at regular intervals while Leonard Demboa��s sons, Tendai and Morgan had ugly run-ins that led to the intervention of their mother.

How the chosen ones, most of who are young like Sulu and Peter Moyo, spend the money to benefit the wider family is also an issue under scrutiny.