Musicians turn to car boots for sales
Lekopanye Mooketsi | Thursday October 10, 2013 21:24
Newly elected Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) president, Bafana Pheto, is aware of the situation. As a recording artist, he is having problems selling his music. Pheto last released an album in 2009.
He said it is very difficult to sell music nowadays since there are no outlets. He described the situation as so dire that recording musicians sometimes fail even to recover production costs. He said the situation has made musicians think twice before going into the studio.
The gospel artist said that in the past, they used to sell their CDs through Chinese shops. But the government has stopped the traders from selling CDs because they do not have licences for selling music. He said this is a drawback for local artists. He said that in the past, there was a music store at Game City, which used to support local artists before it was closed.
Pheto said when they approach other music shops to sell their CDs, they are told to go through the head offices, which are in South Africa.
Kabelo Mogwe of Culture Spears, one of the local groups whose music is selling well acknowledges the challenge posed by lack of outlets. He said this has forced them to sell their music from car boots. He added that some artists are selling their music through hawkers.
'It has really been a problem,' he said.
Mogwe said in the past, some people who were purporting to be artists, accosted Chinese traders for selling music. As a result, the Chinese traders stopped selling music. Afro jazz artist, Punah Gabasiane said she has been adversely affected by the lack of music selling outlets. She said they have been selling their music through Kgalagadi Music Store at Game City which has been closed.
However, top selling local artist, Odirile 'Vee' Sento says he has overcome the challenge of lack of sale outlets by finding a way to distribute his music. Vee said if artists are facing such challenges, they should find a way of overcoming them. He called on artists to be innovative.