Zimbabwe: Music industry headaches
A fundamental shift has occurred in the music industry today. We are in the midst of the greatest music industry disruption. Gone are the days when musicians could buy houses through royalties earned from record sales.
Record sales are no longer enough to sustain an artist's career, and they certainly aren't enough to ensure success. The old music industry clung desperately to sales to survive, but that model is long gone.
Even superstars have it tough. Oliver Mtukudzi, for instance, will tell you that if he had started selling records in 2010, there is no way he could have built Pakare Paye Arts Centre.
Things have now changed for the worse in the record sales department. This is the reality of the new music industry, which is now built from liquid attention, not record sales.
Most musicians have resorted to home studio recordings because recording companies are no longer viable. Added to that is the fact that the software used for recording music today continues to get easier and easier. The end result is that artistes can create music more quickly, more efficiently and less expensively than at any other time in history.
Instead of depending on established record companies, today's artistes press their own CDs and do their own marketing. Although we no longer have the statistics from the individual sales, most musicians struggle to sell more than a thousand copies of each album. The environment has changed.
Music piracy on our streets has become a big hindrance to album sales. Gone are the days when vinyl records, which are hard to copy, would ensure that the artiste only had the record company to deal with and not street vendors with pirated music.
As music becomes more and more entrenched in the digital realm,consumers are now more engaged in the most promising emerging market for music: mobile devices. We use music, media and entertainment applications 75 percent more than before and social sharing applications about 20 percent more frequently than any other generation.
Consumers are now more absorbed by the advanced technology in the form of pirated CDs, free computer downloads of music from platforms such as You Tube, Facebook and mobile phones.
In a nutshell, these appliances consume the most music and tell the greatest number of people about it. While it is obvious that consumption is important, why is it so important that we share what we listen to?
As we have transitioned into a digital music economy, new measures of success have emerged. A new generation of artistes such as the urban groovers and Zim-dancehall artistes has hit the scene and they thrive on attention rather than units of music they sell.
Artistes are getting famous but with no fortune to go with that fame as consumers are no longer spending much on albums after discovering other methods of getting this music for next-to-nothing or for free. Sometimes even their live shows do not make enough money.
However, the attention has become just as valuable as our likelihood to purchase, as it leads to air play, festival and performance attendance, merchandising sales and other sources of revenue such as endorsements and sponsorships.
What brands understand is that music is an important part of advancement in technology and social identity. It is more than entertainment for us. The music we listen to can be as important as how we dress and influences who our friends are. Music is a powerful force. Political institutions, night clubs, cultural institutions, religious institutions, corporate institutions and indeed the rest of society are interested in incorporating music into their activities because it has long been established that music has great benefits in terms of social cohesion and uniting people. Going to festivals and shows is an expression of identity.
Brands know that if they can identify with a musician like Mtukudzi, Jah Prayzah or Winky D and his dedicated fan base, they will have more than just the consumer's brief attention. The brand will become part of the fans' lifestyle. This is why such artistes are seen advertising certain brands because they can influence that brand's public consumption.
The end result is that the music industry and the big brands are both chasing the new generation of artistes; artistes who can capture, retain and monetize attention -- instead of album sales -- and who can keep the new generation of fans interested.
The way forward for Zimbabwean musicians is in finding answers to the following six questions:
How can artistes combat the prevalence of music piracy in Zimbabwe?
With cheap recording technology and an effective way to distribute the music, how can independent musicians team up online to rival major labels?
What are the best methods of ending free music down loads from the internet or mobile phones?
Is it possible to bring back vinyl records which are more difficult to copy?
How can we improve the quality of music being churned out in Zimbabwe?
What are the best ways of getting attention, endorsements and sponsorship for a musician?
When we have found answers to the above questions, we are probably on the right path and should be in a position to establish a viable career in the music industry.
