Latwell Nyangu-Zimpapers Arts and Entertainment Hub
THE gift may open the door, but it will not necessarily keep the lights on.
That was the blunt message to gospel musicians in Harare as industry players challenged artists to stop treating their music only as a calling and start building sustainable professional careers around their talent.
Musicians were urged to embrace branding, marketing, intellectual property, business structures and audience development if they are to turn their artistry into viable careers.
The message came during the Marketplace for the Master seminar, organised by gospel musician Everton Mlalazi and hosted by Harare City Seventh-day Adventist Church under the theme “Beyond the Gift.”
The gathering brought together established and emerging gospel musicians, with representatives from the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, Zimura, music promoters and broadcasters also taking part.
The argument was simple: being gifted is only the beginning.
Internationally, some of the world’s biggest entertainers have demonstrated the value of building an ecosystem around their talent.
American superstar Beyoncé, for example, moved beyond being a recording artist to building Parkwood Entertainment, giving her greater control over music, film, touring and other creative ventures.
The lesson for local gospel musicians, speakers said, was not to commercialise their faith, but to professionalise the way they manage and present the gift they have been given.
Gospel musician Michael Mahendere said artists needed to remain faithful to their calling while constantly improving their craft.
“I have been trying to build since 1994. We had moments that just seemed like a matter of time.
“Music chose me, and I do music out of passion. So whether I am rewarded or not, I will continue doing it.
“But there comes a time when your art is polished. That’s where I am at, that’s why I am moving from nation to nation. I was in Austria last week, but most of our musicians do not know how to interact with the marketplace,” he said.
Another gospel musician, Benjamin Rupapa, welcomed the initiative, saying the industry needed more platforms that equipped artists with practical knowledge.
“This is a good move and we have been so longing for it. Gospel music is a big genre and if taken serious will not only sustain livelihoods, but needs a business model that can promote tourism and arts sector,” he said.
Mlalazi said the seminar was conceived to bring the various industry stakeholders into one room so musicians could better understand how the marketplace operates.
“We thought, let’s bring everyone. Let’s bring National Arts Council, let’s bring Zimura, let’s bring the broadcasters, let’s bring everyone who is relevant so that our musicians may understand what steps they can follow,” he said.
For Mlalazi, however, professionalisation should not come at the expense of the spiritual foundation of gospel music.
He said the journey begins with the relationship between the musician and God, moves into service and eventually reaches the marketplace.
“In the calling of a musician, there are three key things. Inside the secret place, that’s where everything starts. That’s the relationship between the individual, the musician and God.
“And then once that moves into service, because once I have the relationship and God has imparted something in me, I must impart that to others.
“So that’s service, that’s the sanctuary aspect of it. And then it moves from there, because the moment it is now out there, it begins to interact with the marketplace.
“And the marketplace is where you find corporates, that’s where you find audiences, different audiences,” he said.
Mlalazi said musicians needed to understand that their names, music and public image were brands that had to be deliberately developed.
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe chief executive Napoleon Nyanhi said professionalisation was already a key focus for the organisation and extended across all genres.
“We are running with the theme of professionalisation of the music industry as a whole. We are speaking to gospel musicians and talking about professionalisation of the gospel genre,” he said.
Nyanhi said artists needed to recognise that once they released music, they were effectively putting a product into the marketplace.
“It’s important that artists realise that they are a business.
“The moment you put something out, the moment you put a song out, that person has received the product that you have put out and they have listened to you,” he said.
He urged artists to begin putting structures around their careers instead of waiting until major companies showed interest.
“An artist needs to start to brand their product. And as an artist, what am I about? You start to brand, to create a profile of who am I, describe yourself.
“By the time those big organisations like banks, organisations like record labels, want to work with you or partner with you, you have a track record of how your business has been running.
“Even though business is bad, you are still a musician,” Nyanhi said.
The seminar highlighted an increasingly important reality for Zimbabwe’s gospel sector: a powerful message may win an audience, but professional structures can determine whether that audience becomes a sustainable marketplace.
