By Moses Abeka
By Ugandan standards they are millionaires living the good life in the prime of their youth, at least most of them! However, on the continental scene, our millionaires lurk in the shadows of wealth despite the active social lives of Ugandans. Don’t blame the government, economy or the currency, local entrepreneurs rank high at this stage.
There are lessons every artiste, producer, manager or stakeholder in the industry must learn from the just released list of Africa’s richest artistes which was dominated by West Africans confirming that the list released earlier by a certain website claiming a prominent Ugandan was among the money bags is very false.
What is pilfering the incomes of our artistes? Music is a multi-billion industry moving towards a greater formal enterprise while Uganda lags behind. Below are the reasons why Ugandan artistes have fallen short.
1. COPYRIGHT LAW
Globally, the biggest income earner for a recording artiste and record labels is the authority over sales, production, reproduction, distribution and use of their physical CDs. Without a formal chain and implementation of the law, pirates will continue eroding into the would be incomes of artistes. While 2 Face boasts of over 7 million sales, our artistes will continue to grapple for events and performances in pubs and bars while pirates expand their illegal businesses.
2. ENDORSEMENT DEALS
All artistes who made it to the rich list boast of deals with companies. Multi-national companies stake millions for promotion of their products and services. Corporate deals in Uganda have continued to dwindle as sportsmen continue to rise in popularity. The criteria followed by these companies include conduct, an aspect most artistes lack.
3. TOO MANY ARTISTES, NO MUSIC BRAND
So many artistes, yet no brand. It is like a company producing a line of products without a brand! There is little or nothing like ”Ugandan imprint” to the music we produce. Foreign music lovers may not distinguish Jamaican or Nigerian from Ugandan. However, artistes like Naava Grey, Maurice Kirya do have a unique taste to their music. That is the direction we need to go to open foreign doors.
4. KAMPALA IS UGANDA, UGANDA IS KAMPALA.
Music shows revolve on and around Kampala. The upcountry areas are grounds for the faded singers or hunting ground when Kampala runs dry. This is the deception we live with. Treat fans equally!
5. INVESTMENTS
It is your money. Emulate P. Diddy, Bobi, Jay Z. Period!
6. SOCIAL MEDIA DECEPTION.
There are a billion users on facebook, over 500,000 fans and about 86,000 on the page of the most popular Uganda artiste. These are worrying statistics! Please make television and radio the priority for music promotion and note that the forum for music videos is MTV NOT YOU- TUBE! Online music sales is highly recommended.
We love you, we want you to shine. Talent deserves to shine! Thanks for reading.
