Ex-minister dares local musicians

Standard People
By Sindiso Dube Former cabinet minister Fortune Chasi says local artistes should unite, speak with one voice and lobby the government to come up with policies that can turn the arts sector into a functional industry. Chasi said this at the launch of the Culture Clash Hip-hop festival, which ran from Tuesday and ended yesterday. […]

By Sindiso Dube

Former cabinet minister Fortune Chasi says local artistes should unite, speak with one voice and lobby the government to come up with policies that can turn the arts sector into a functional industry.

Chasi said this at the launch of the Culture Clash Hip-hop festival, which ran from Tuesday and ended yesterday.

The festival was running under the theme New Normal and is the brainchild of the Zim Hip-hop Awards in conjunction with the African Hip-hop Awards.

“As a society, we have seriously underestimated the music industry. We are not giving sufficient acknowledgement and promotion to music,” Chasi said.

“For example, music from artistes like Holy Ten is export quality. Just like what we have export policies for agricultural products, we should similarly have policies to enable the export of music.

“Look at Nigeria and South Africa and it’s not by accident that we listen to their music, but it’s the deliberate policies they have put in place.

“I would say that our hip-hop is of international standard and can sell anywhere in the world, but there are many stumbling blocks.”

The former Energy minister said young artistes work hard to fund the production and marketing of music, but get less or no returns from their work.

“Young musicians fund themselves to make music.

“There is no training on how to do and once they have the music they lose it because they have no control of it and laws are non-existent.

“You do your song today, put it on radio and you are done and wait to perform it,” Chasi said.

“Our industry just happens by accident, musicians need to come together, get organised and lobby the government.

“There are very few people in government who understand the intricacies of making music and the challenges that young people face in making music.

“Musicians should not expect that government will wake up one day and do good for them, because you don’t have those experts there.

“I’m not aware of an individual, who is in the arts ministry who has recorded music in today’s world that can speak authoritatively about what are the costs of operating a studio.”

Chasi said he knows what goes around in the music industry.

He urged musicians to be organised if they are to see a change in policies.

“It’s the most organised in society, who influence government policies and if musicians operate as individuals and not as an industry, nothing will change,” he said.

“Government will only wait to listen and understand and if we talk about women for example, they are organised and that’s why there is a ministry that deals with women affairs.

“In terms of managing the propagation of music entrepreneurship, we need musicians to have a conference where they meet, raise their issues and carry out studies to influence the development of policies.

Chasi, who claims to have got into music by accident, has produced three albums and recently dropped an Amapiano song.

The politician is looking forward to producing more hip-hop music.