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Mbulelo Mpofu, [email protected]
THE National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) have come and gone, and as usual, they sparked a heated debate among fans and critics. But beyond the awards, there is another question that haunts the creative industry: why is Bulawayo lagging behind Harare in terms of YouTube views?
Bulawayo is known as the cultural capital of Zimbabwe, a hub of talent and diversity. From music to comedy to film, Bulawayo has produced some of the finest artistes in the country. But when it comes to YouTube, the numbers tell a different story. Bulawayo’s content seems to stagnate on the platform, failing to attract the attention and appreciation it deserves.
This is not the case for international artistes, who have invested heavily in their craft and reaped the rewards. Take Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito music video, for example. It has amassed over 8 billion views on YouTube, a record-breaking feat. But even in the local scene, Harare seems to have the upper hand. Artistes like Winky D, Holy Ten, Saintfloew and Gemma Griffiths have scored millions of views for their hit songs.
Bulawayo’s artistes, on the other hand, have not reached such heights. Even the best in class in Bulawayo struggle to reach a million hits. Calvin Mangena’s Ihulumende, which features several Harare artistes, has barely crossed 840 000 views. Madlela Skhobokhobo’s 50 du!! has only managed to get over 265 000 views. These numbers are impressive but compared to Harare counterparts they are nothing.
What is the reason for this disparity? Saturday Leisure spoke to some music commentators to get their opinions. Nelisiwe Ndlovu, a fan of Madlela Skhobokhobo, blamed the lack of creativity in Bulawayo’s videos.
“I think Bulawayo artistes lack the creative urge when shooting their music videos. Some of the videos seem hurried and just shot for the sake of it. Sometimes, there are discrepancies with regards to the song’s storyline and video direction and this might be a turn off for viewers,” she said.
Another fan, who preferred to remain anonymous, suspected that Harare artistes had an unfair advantage through viewbotting and subscriber botting. He said he was suspicious of the rate at which some of their content became popular.
“The rate at which some of the artistes’ content becomes popular raises suspicion. I fear that some of them bought views and subscribers and that’s how they can get more viewers and subscribers than artistes in Bulawayo who struggle with finances,” he said.
Viewbotting is the practice of artificially increasing a YouTube channel’s views or subscribers through automated methods. This is against YouTube’s terms and conditions of service and could result in the channel being penalised or suspended.
Arnold Mukwasi, on the other hand, pointed out the visual quality of Bulawayo’s videos as a cause for concern. He said Bulawayo’s videos were good, but not impeccable. He suggested some ways that Bulawayo’s artistes could improve their YouTube performance and compete with other regions.
“Videos from Bulawayo are good but not impeccable. We can do better and compete with other artistes from other regions to retain our creative hub status. Firstly, we need to make sure we produce high-quality, well-edited videos that are engaging and entertaining. Secondly, we need to promote our videos on social media and other online platforms to reach a wider audience.
Thirdly, we need to consider collaborating with other creators or musicians to reach a new audience. Finally, we need to make use of relevant keywords and tags to help people find your videos. That way, we can level up,” he said.
Most of the comments gathered showed that music listeners and viewers are concerned with the creation of high-quality, engaging content that will naturally attract viewers and gain a competitive edge in the creative sector. Bulawayo’s artistes have the potential and the talent to do so, but they need to step up their game and challenge the status quo. — @MbuleloMpofu
Online Reporter