WHILE South African artists are happy their music is finally getting more airtime on radio, they expect to be paid royalties for it by the SABC, which has implemented a policy of 90% local content.
Kumari Ambigay said she expected to be paid for her work because she was a professional singer.
With more than 40 songs and five CDs under her belt, Ambigay said that she was told she needed to register with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) and then she could be paid.
“I don’t really understand the process, but it should happen, if they are playing our music.”
Ambigay said that over the years Lotus FM had concentrated on playing more Bollywood music.
“Local artists were featured, but on a very low scale. I even stopped listening to the radio station and would only tune in for the news,” she said. “For me this is a step in the right direction for the SABC.
“African artists are known internationally while our Indian artists go unheard of.
“I hope this decision will place our artists on a platform.”
Ambigay offered some advice for those listeners put off by the local content: “They should buy their Bollywood CDs and play them in their cars.”
Local singer/songwriter LX Seth said he was thrilled to have his music aired more frequently. But it was only fair that he and other artists got paid, he said.
“It is not cheap to record music. To record one track and book a studio can cost anywhere between R5 000 and R50 000. In Cape Town these rates are higher.”
Seth said that he had read negative comments about the policy, but he disagreed with them.
“I think this opens the doors for local artists, but we need to pump more money into local music. We place too much emphasis on American music.”
Nesan Pather, who has recorded over 50 songs, among them Black City: Vilakazi Street and 1818, said local artists had been getting the “short end of the stick” for a very long time.
Standards
“My opinion is that though the split is excessive at 90/10, when the smoke clears I think it will be for the best.
“Many artists, including myself, are owed royalties and would expect to receive payments for our works
“It’s time the South African entertainment industry stepped up to international standards and practices,” Pather said.
On Facebook, local artist Sketchy Bongo wrote: “Listening to a lot of South African music on the radio. So many of these songs have their auto tune in the wrong key. Producers please fix this.”
The 26-year-old KZN-born producer has worked with the likes of AKA, Danny K and Jimmy Nevis, and is the only South African producer to have his own feature on MTV base, say media reports.
Singer and songwriter Natalie Rungan welcomed the policy: “90% local music on 16 stations! Yay! That’s the best news that any South African recording artist could have. It’s certainly the best news I have had in a long time.
“After years of being a recording artist, one of the biggest challenges I have had is getting my music played on radio stations,” she said.
“For people to know your music they have to hear it. For them to hear it, radio stations have to play it,” Rungan explained.
“It has been a struggle trying to compete with international artists in order to get play-listed, especially considering the genre of my music - jazz and gospel - is a very niche market and previously there have been few stations that would even consider playing it.
“Now there’s such an amazing window of opportunity to not just be heard by larger audiences, which will translate into bigger platforms, but also to earn royalties from this.
“It gives our industry such hope for growth and development. It gives South African music a voice we never had before.”
Music legend Ramesh Hassan said that for too long local artists had been “run down” and that he was happy that they were getting the recognition and exposure they needed.
“This may even encourage younger artists to start getting involved in local music.”
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