Exclusive bragging rights to auctioned CDs

FOR a second, ignore the fact that it is not known whether the money was paid, will be paid or it was just another empty promise like we have seen before.

Let us just dissect the pledge, the US$40 000 from Genius ‘Ginimbi’ Kadungure and another US$30 000 from Chief Albert (Ndabambi) for Winky D’s “Gombwe”.

That much money is no joke.

Mind you, this is a commercially released album, which was available to the public for as little as US$5 on the day.

Auctioning CDs has become the norm at album launches, a scenario that has seen the rich and famous forking out thousands of dollars to have the bragging rights of having been the first person to purchase a copy.

While it is a good thing for fans to support artistes, the question that still lingers is that of the true value of these first copies.

Are they any different from the copies that will end up being sold for US$1 on the streets?

Also read… http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/winky-d-is-well-different/
                   http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/winky-d-jah-prayzah-in-game-of-thrones/
                   http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/a-little-bit-of-imagination-will-help/

It is high time for local artistes to stop taking these album launch auctions for granted and start being more innovative.

Imagine if the first CD going on auction had three extra songs that would not be available on the commercially released edition. Now that would really be worth a coin, something worth breaking the bank for.

Auctioned CDs should come with an “extra something” that adds value to them, so that whoever buys them does not go home with the same copy that the next guy will purchase for the normal price.

Wu-Tang Clan’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” LP is the most expensive single album ever sold, with the buyer, Martin Shkreli, paying a whopping US$2 million for it.

This might sound absurd, but not for a project that was recorded in secret for six years, with the album only limited to a single copy, which meant the buyer was the only person in the world, besides the artistes and production team, who knew the contents of the album.

He resold it last year for over a million dollars.

This paints a picture of how far some artistes are willing to go in creating valuable products for their fans.

A copy of “Gombwe” that comes with an extra CD comprising a collection of Winky D’s unreleased material or even a collection of his personal best from his already released songs would have been worth $40000, or even more.

Unfortunately in Zimbabwe’s arts sector, it is all about bragging rights and showing off, not necessarily the true value of the product, so artistes can get away with it, at least for now.