The Sunday Mail
ZIM-DANCEHALL artistes are never short of controversy; after all, they thrive on it.
At any given time, something controversial is brewing or has been brewed by one of the many youths in the genre. The conduct of the artistes always stirs debates.
They seem to support a number of things that fellow artistes in other genres try to fight against, be it violence, drugs, alcohol abuse, promiscuity and piracy. Yes, piracy.
Music piracy is a scourge that has troubled artistes the world over.
Currently, almost every artiste in the country is battling the piracy scourge. No group of artistes has been spared; be it authors, musicians, actors and producers.
Recently, celebrated novelist, scriptwriter, producer, playwright and actor, Aaron Chiundura Moyo bitterly complained about how piracy has rendered him and his counterparts paupers, despite their massive contribution to the arts industry.
Chimurenga musician Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo, frustrated with the scourge, also threatened to “donate” his latest offering, “Dangerzone”, in protest against piracy. His album flooded the streets soon after being officially availed in the country.
But, surprisingly, piracy is considered a path to success by most Zim dancehall artistes. They reckon it has helped build names for them.
Last week, I heard one of the top Zim dancehall artistes, Seh Calaz, real name Tawanda Mumanyi, giving piracy a thumbs-up on Star FM radio during a programme hosted by Phatisani Sibanda and KVG.
For a moment I thought I had not heard him right, but the artiste was asked to clarify on the issue and he stuck to his guns.
Said Seh Calaz: “Without going in circles, Jahman, piracy is not good but has somewhat helped us grow. It has made our music go places. So, yes, I can say piracy has helped us a lot in Zim dancehall.”
The rate at which the Zim dancehall artistes produce their music (most of which comes in singles) seems to support the view that the lot is not interested in sales. In fact, it is their style, views and opinions that they are interested in spreading.
And the fame that comes after acceptance by their fans appears to be the consolation for most of them. Fortune is a bonus. A number of artistes that now attract reasonable crowds during their shows attribute this to piracy. The artistes argue that traditional record labels shunned their music in the nascent days of their careers. Some still do. And radio stations also, they add, did not help matters as they literally closed doors on then until at a later stage.
It was during the formative stages of Zim dancehall that the artistes recorded at new stables and their music was usually played in public transport and clubs. Public distribution was done through informal systems. And it is this trend that created the likes of Winky D, Sniper, Ricky Fire, Dadza D, Soul Jah Love, Killer T, Lady Bee, Tocky Vibes, Lady Squanda, Kinna, Ras Caleb and Seh Calaz, among others.
Talented but under-rated Zim-dancehall artiste Tavona “Jah Bless” Padoro echoed that piracy was not an outright evil. He said the rot (piracy) also had a bright side. The artiste who records with stables like Chill Spot Records, Afrimune Records and Eternity Productions, has an interesting 12-track album titled “Mr Entertainer” that he is personally marketing and distributing.
“I’m currently selling my own music, but that is eating into my production time. If there were proper distribution channels I would at this juncture be in the studio recording new stuff for my fans. But I cannot do that, I need this produced work to first reach out to the people. This is why I feel that piracy though bad is also right. It helps our brand grow by pushing volumes of our work,” notes Jah Bless.
Award-winning producer Tafadzwa “Levels” Kadzimwe is in agreement with the Zim dancehall artistes. He, however, concedes that every artiste in the genre is entitled to his or her thoughts with regards to the piracy issue. “I feel piracy helps boost our artistes. Naturally we don’t print CDs for distribution. Instead, recorded songs are uploaded on our website and various social media platforms for fans to download. The idea is to get the music to as many people as possible,” he said.
“However, I can’t say that every Zim dancehall artiste is in support of piracy. It depends with the artiste in question and the scenario he or she finds himself in,” said Levels.
Unlike the case with established record companies, Zim dancehall producers do not get their revenue from album sales. They rely only on studio time payments and album launches for income.
To make matters worse, the artistes do not take their music to the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura). They feel the board does not in any way help in their matter. They say the group is not in touch with trends on the market.
Last year, urban grooves artiste Trevor Dongo was at loggerheads with Zimura after he was told that one of his chart-topping song was only played thrice on a local station.
However, no matter how piracy is perceived, it is eating into artistes’ efforts. It takes cumulative hours for an artiste to produce a song at an average cost of US$15 per hour. Besides the studio time, there are other costs such as transport, food and band members’ salaries that need to be taken into consideration.
But without taking all those expenses into account, piracy has made it possible for someone to get all of their favourite artiste’s work on a single disc at a measly US$0,50. The worst part is that the artiste gets nothing from that small cake.
With such uncouth trends, the arts industry will forever remain barren if we do not adjust accordingly.
