adminA FEW weeks ago we were on cloud nine after being told digitalisation was coming to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and with it six more television channels. Six more television channels means more opportunities for content providers, most of whom are artistes. And while we were still savouring and digesting the good news about digitalisation we got another dosage of good news from Government. This time it was about the licensing of eight new commercial radio stations around the country. Bulawayo got one licence. The Cont Mhlanga and Dr Qhubani Moyo fronted Skyz FM got the nod ahead of the other two stations that were also vying for the same licence.
There is no doubt that while the news about the six television channels and eight new radio stations is exciting to all local artistes, especially those who were finding it difficult to penetrate the few so called national stations and platforms that have been there. With the new developments there will be a lot of opportunities for both emerging and already existing talent.
As for musicians the more one is played across stations the more one gets to harvest royalties at the end of each year. More money in the bank. It also means more exposure as more people get access to one’s music.
For theatre artistes — playwrights, actors and even directors — the hope is to see a more dramatic rise for radio drama. A long time ago, before everyone owned a television set, radio drama was very popular in our communities. I still remember dramas like Sakhelene Zinini and Kwabo kaSigadula making us run home to listen to radio. Then television came and radio dramas lost their popularity. Hopefully, these new radio stations that have been licenced will revive the genre and put radio drama into the spotlight again.
My excitement, particularly about the licence given to Bulawayo, is that it has been given to a man who has always had the arts at heart. All art genres for that matter. There is no art genre Cont Mhlanga, through Amakhosi Cultural Centre, has not tried to promote. Theatre, dance, music, poetry and literature. I remember at one time the cultural centre promoting fashion and modelling. So the winning of Skyz FM can only be seen as a good sign of more good things to come. Obviously one can safely say artistes will be in safe hands at Skyz FM.
While I celebrate the diversity that is surely going to come from the more than seven television stations and more than a dozen radio stations my worry is more about the absence of proper content for the coming stations.
Currently there are no structures that promote the creation of good content for both radio and television. There are no clear training platforms for artistes. More than 80 percent of artistes are self-trained. Will the new stations invest in the proper training of artistes so as to improve quality of the content? Will the stations invest in proper recording studios for our musicians?
It is the silence around investment in content developers that has me worried. Really worried. Another worrisome issue is the casual way in which both radio and television executives approach artistes. They have this condescending attitude, treating artistes like charity cases. There is a feeling among these executives that they are doing artistes a favour by putting them on air. This is not true. Artistes are content providers. Their business is selling content. They should be viewed as business people whose products are vital to the survival of the stations.
The long term success of both radio and television is in investing in structures that encourage the development of talent and quality products. Investment in this area should not come as an afterthought or when reality hits home — the later always happens when it is way too late to recover.
So while ZBC and the private stations that have been licensed start thinking about getting proper equipment and internal structures for their businesses thoughts should also be spared in terms of developing content, especially content from local communities.
Without good content all these new developments in the media will mean nothing to the ordinary person in the streets.
Online Reporter