The Sunday Mail
Desire Ncube Religion Writer
GOSPEL music artiste Michael Mahendere holds nothing against pirated music vendors profiteering from local musicians’ work as it is enabling them to put food on the table.
However, he also believes that piracy is threatening the survival of both ministry and industry. Mahendere revealed this when he was approached by a pirate music vendor who attempted to sell him CDs and DVDs of his own music. “One day I parked my car along Julius Nyerere Way and I was approached by a middle aged man who was selling pirated copies of my latest album, ‘Getting personal with God 111’.
“The man tried to convince me to buy the discs. I’m sure he had not realised that he was talking to me. I asked him how he expected me to buy my own music. It was then that he realised that he was talking to me. I asked him how much he earns in his trade. “He opened up and said, ‘you know what Mr Mahendere I have to thank you, to be honest we are surviving through selling your music.
I am paying school fees for my children, it’s very unfortunate that we are eating your bread’. That to some extent comforted me,” said Mahendere. His latest 10-track album was launched last month in Harare. Over the years, musicians have been failing to reap good rewards from music sales as much of their work is pirated and sold through informal channels for a pittance.
As a result, a number of artistes have developed unorthodox music distribution methods to push their sales. Mahendere said he is happy that his mandate of preaching the gospel is being fulfilled. “In that incident God showed me how we are financially impacting in other people’s lives as we are fulfilling his divine mandate of spreading the gospel. “Having said that, musicians carry the image of this nation hence they should be protected, especially by policy makers,” he said.
Last year, the Minister for Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Supa Mandiwanzira highlighted that electronic platforms are some of the best ways to promote music.
