‘Musicians do not live on beats alone’

After a year of toil and turmoil, it’s high time the entertainment industry wakes up.

Even as we ring in 2021, cautiously optimistic that this year will be better than the last, the legacy of 2020 continues unabated, its foul stench lingering in the air like body tissue ravaged by gangrene. Well, at least that’s how I feel.

We are in lockdown, again, and while President Cyril Ramaphosa indicated this would only last until mid February, we can all readily recall last March’s purported 21-day lockdown that spiralled into several months. Nevertheless, even if it is 14 days, the effects of this ugly disease are likely to torment us for some time yet.

That’s especially true for the entertainment industry, where work has once again come to a grinding halt, many unable to rely on the cushion of a 9-5 salary.

With a number of Covid-19 vaccines approved globally, and health minister Zweli Mkhize recently outlining SA’s rollout, we may soon be seeing the beginning of the end of this pandemic. But with the threat of a global outbreak more obvious than ever in this interconnected world, it’s high time we show some foresight and prepare ourselves for similarly dark days ahead.

As a young music executive (and occasional culture writer) running a small, startup record label still finding its feet in what was an already challenging climate, I can attest to the state of play better than most. Manu WorldStar, the Congolese-South African artiste I manage, went platinum for his breakout debut single Nalingi in June 2020 and released his debut album, which we delayed for a period of time due to Covid-19.

While the album did well, with great support from the likes of Apple Music, who punted him as the next big African star, not being able to play it live hurt – both financially and in our ability to maximise the reach to new audiences that a promo tour allows.

That said, the teachings from this period have been clear: we need to continually find new streams of income. While that may seem like pretty basic stuff, I’m not the only one who’s taken for granted the immediate importance of exploring and exploiting the various effective ways from which to make money from the business of music.

Most of us have been relying on live performances as a primary source of income. With that avenue completely cut off for most of the past year, I’ve heard some disheartening stories of artists and DJs having to downgrade their houses or cars, others even turning to teaching English online to make ends meet. — Sowetan.