Lessons for musicians
Pricey albums won’t make an artist, but marketing will
Antonio has been in the entertainment industry for years and says artists need to do a lot before the industry disappears. He shares some tips on how activists can make themselves better with tjil.
Five years ago Antonio better known as Antonio’s Arts saw an opportunity to sell Namibian artists’ music and today it is something very close to his heart. However, Antonio says that there is a different change of heart from musician’s fans because the CDs and album sales are not as they were five years ago.
Antonio says it is serious and could affect the music industry negatively if artists don’t change their behaviours and attitudes of wanting to be millionaires overnight. Another problem besides the attitude is the economic crisis Namibia is facing. “Most of our customers are the youth, especially the school kids. So if parents are short of money they won’t cut down on food, but rather cut out the CDs. This is the unfortunate truth,” said Antonio.
Antonio said the lack of CD sales has resulted in piracy, which is on the increase in Namibia. This is caused by artists increasing their CD prices instead of decreasing them due to the economic situation at hand. “If artists sell their music at affordable prices then people will buy the CDs and when people buy CDs that’s when you get people coming to your shows and performances. That is the cycle of making money in the music industry,” he said.
So far the only artists making a couple of bucks in the country from their album sales are Sally, PDK, Tate Butti, The Dogg and Gazza, just to mention a few. Many other artists according to Antonio are only recovering their investments or breaking even. “One reason for people buying CDs is to create attraction so people can come to your shows and when you sell your CDs at a high price then the opposite happens,” he said.
Antonio says he has observed a certain trend with many talented upcoming artists, but feels pity for them as they want to become instant millionaires. He says it is a process and many do not understand the nature of the business. He then gave an example of local songstress and award winning Sally whose albums sell for a cheap price of N$89, but the new artists want to charge N$150, which is ridiculous. “I encourage local artists to reduce their prices as this only leads to piracy at the end of the day and no money in their pockets,” Antonio urges.
In the past artists like Exit, Gazza and The Dogg made a lot of money from selling branded clothing as a marketing strategy, which he says is not the case anymore. “Yes it is still relevant because it boosts ones brand, but artists should be careful not to think of clothing as an income opportunity,” he says.
Namibian artists lack business mentality in general and this is one reason why there is no growth in the music industry. Antonio says that there are artists that perform at least three shows in a month which translates to at least N$ 30000, but these are the same people that still rent or ask for beers and taxi money the following day. “Once again, it is the business aspect that is lacking in our artists. You don’t need to be clever to figure this out, get a manger that will help you reap the fruits, with your voice and his ability to get you gigs,” he concludes.
June Shimuoshili
Antonio has been in the entertainment industry for years and says artists need to do a lot before the industry disappears. He shares some tips on how activists can make themselves better with tjil.
Five years ago Antonio better known as Antonio’s Arts saw an opportunity to sell Namibian artists’ music and today it is something very close to his heart. However, Antonio says that there is a different change of heart from musician’s fans because the CDs and album sales are not as they were five years ago.
Antonio says it is serious and could affect the music industry negatively if artists don’t change their behaviours and attitudes of wanting to be millionaires overnight. Another problem besides the attitude is the economic crisis Namibia is facing. “Most of our customers are the youth, especially the school kids. So if parents are short of money they won’t cut down on food, but rather cut out the CDs. This is the unfortunate truth,” said Antonio.
Antonio said the lack of CD sales has resulted in piracy, which is on the increase in Namibia. This is caused by artists increasing their CD prices instead of decreasing them due to the economic situation at hand. “If artists sell their music at affordable prices then people will buy the CDs and when people buy CDs that’s when you get people coming to your shows and performances. That is the cycle of making money in the music industry,” he said.
So far the only artists making a couple of bucks in the country from their album sales are Sally, PDK, Tate Butti, The Dogg and Gazza, just to mention a few. Many other artists according to Antonio are only recovering their investments or breaking even. “One reason for people buying CDs is to create attraction so people can come to your shows and when you sell your CDs at a high price then the opposite happens,” he said.
Antonio says he has observed a certain trend with many talented upcoming artists, but feels pity for them as they want to become instant millionaires. He says it is a process and many do not understand the nature of the business. He then gave an example of local songstress and award winning Sally whose albums sell for a cheap price of N$89, but the new artists want to charge N$150, which is ridiculous. “I encourage local artists to reduce their prices as this only leads to piracy at the end of the day and no money in their pockets,” Antonio urges.
In the past artists like Exit, Gazza and The Dogg made a lot of money from selling branded clothing as a marketing strategy, which he says is not the case anymore. “Yes it is still relevant because it boosts ones brand, but artists should be careful not to think of clothing as an income opportunity,” he says.
Namibian artists lack business mentality in general and this is one reason why there is no growth in the music industry. Antonio says that there are artists that perform at least three shows in a month which translates to at least N$ 30000, but these are the same people that still rent or ask for beers and taxi money the following day. “Once again, it is the business aspect that is lacking in our artists. You don’t need to be clever to figure this out, get a manger that will help you reap the fruits, with your voice and his ability to get you gigs,” he concludes.
June Shimuoshili
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