Artists get clued up at music workshop
There's more to the entertainment industry than meets the eye. This was made clear during a workshop hosted at the Ehlanzeni District Municipality offices by Mpumalanga Comes Alive (MPUCA), for budding and established artists in the province.
MBOMBELA – Artists got to interact with MPUCA music facilitator, Mr Tshepo Majatladi, and share in his 25 years’ experience in the industry.
“It is not new information that the music industry is going digital.
The fact that people don’t buy your CD, does not mean they don’t buy your music. People have now acclimatised themselves with easier ways to access music.
Platforms like iTunes and YouTube should be your friends, as an artist,” said Majatladi.
They were also encouraged to look at the industry as a business model, and not just a platform for having fun.
“This is an industry so broad; two people can share in a cent. You need to know how it all works, from production, promotion, all the way to distribution, and knowing how many percentages belong to you.
Organisations such as the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) are here for all of that. It’s easy to get ripped off in this industry if you are not clued up, hence these are to ensure that you are protected and you know that you are getting what you deserve,” he added.
The artists were also educated about how one can make money without selling even one album.
“There are other spheres in the industry that are not explored the way they should. One can make money via adverts, by making songs for advertising done by larger companies. Movie soundtracks are also a great way of getting your work to make money for you, as an artist.”
The workshop lasted the whole day and left artists rich with information they did not bargain for.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the seventh annual MPUCA Festival told Mpumalanga News that they were back with a bang with that annual three-day entertainment extravaganza. According to Mr Thabo Sekele, one of the organisers, “We are back with a bang.
We’ve decided to approach things a little bit different now with these workshops for performing artists as we’ve done throughout the province. When we bring forth musicians for our shows, we want artists who have been taught professionalism as performers.
“So you see, it’s about the quality of the products that we bring forth to the people that matter that has been a culture in our company.
Prepare yourselves for the very best string of entertainment kicking off from September 18 with a pre-party at Cappuccinos in I’langa Mall. September 19 is the main event at Mbombela Stadium and we wind up with an All White Party for the popular Sunday Soul Sessions.”
Full information on the festival is available on our website. Watch this space.
