adminBongani Ndlovu, Lovemore Zigara, Leonard Ncube Showbiz Reporters
ARTISTES have welcomed the licensing of the new radio stations saying this will increase the chances of their music being played. Skyz Metro FM (Bulawayo), Breeze FM (Vic Falls), Diamond FM (Mutare), Hevoi FM (Masvingo), FAYA FM (Gweru), YA FM (Zvishavane) KE100.4 FM (Harare) and Nyaminyami FM (Kariba) were on Tuesday given licenses to broadcast locally.
“Our cries have been answered as artistes as we now have a radio station that will be able to play our music. This is a good development,” said Bulawayo gospel musician Dumi Nyongola as he welcomed Skyz Metro FM.
He encouraged musicians to submit their albums to the new radio stations.
“Some up-and-coming musicians have been coming to us for advice on the channels to follow when they want to submit their music and we’ve been discouraging them. This has been because of our past experiences where our songs weren’t getting played on radio. They should take heart and submit now that there’re a lot of stations.”
Tribal House group Djembe Monks said it was time for artistes to pull up their socks and produce quality music for their works to be considered for airplay.
“The new radio stations are a good development for us as artistes as our music will be played. It also means we should produce quality music that can be played on the radio,” said Black Cee.
He said they were preparing to package their music and send it to Skyz Metro FM for them to play when the station goes on air.
“Cont Mhlanga will get tired of seeing us at the radio station as we’re preparing to take our music there soon so that when they start broadcasting, they’ll have our music,” he said.
Tshova Tshova musician Clement Magwaza said he hoped the new radio stations would play an array of music and not be confined to one genre.
“We’ve had problems in the past where our music wasn’t played on radio for various reasons. Now we expect the new players not to repeat the mistakes that other players made,” said Magwaza.
Playwright Raisedon Baya said the new radio stations were another platform for artistes to showcase their talent.
“For us it’s another platform for artistes to showcase their talent on radio. I hope the DJs at the stations will not treat artistes as if they’re doing them a favour by giving them airplay.
“They should treat them the same and promote them equally,” said Baya.
He said he hoped the licensed radio stations would revive radio drama that captivated listeners in the past.
“I’m confident that with Cont Mhlanga being part of Skyz Metro FM, he’ll influence the revival of radio drama with his inclination to theatre. This has a trickle effect as it will create employment for artistes,” he said.
Gweru-based dancehall artiste, Legion, said the newly licensed Gweru radio station, FAYA FM should promote talent from their province.
“I’m happy with the licensing of the new stations as we now have an opportunity as artistes to be marketed through our music being played on the various stations. At the moment we’ve a challenge whereby if you aren’t based in Harare, then your music will never see the light of day,” he said.
Dub poet, Dumisani Ndlovu, concurred with Legion saying FAYA FM would uplift artistes in the Midlands region.
“I hope these stations will incorporate artistes from the Midlands and assist them to record their works just like Radio Zimbabwe does. There are a lot of talented artistes in the province but there’s no platform to showcase those talents.”
Clergyman, Pastor Joshua Kamoko, said the radio stations would help them spread the Word of God to a wider audience.
“This will help us in evangelism. At least now the people of Gweru and Zvishavane will hear the gospel wherever they are,” said Pastor Kamoko who is the overseer of Faith in God Ministries in the Midlands.
Artistes in Victoria Falls said the new station was a great marketing opportunity for them as they would now have a platform to sample their products and reach out to their fans.
“This is great as we’ll have our own station to market our music. Our plea now is that the station should play local music just like those in Harare play Harare music, otherwise this is a great opportunity for us,” said Ndabezinhle Sibanda, chairperson of Victoria Falls Artistes Assembly.
Online Reporter