By Mohamed Kimbugwe ( Land Lord )
Before I tell you anything, let me tell you something! Almost every conflict is a contest for resources. In some cases, it is a contest for abundant resources, yet in most cases, it is a contest for resources that are scarce or close to non-existent!
It is not by accident that Uganda doesn’t have a “copyright law”, whatever Eddy Kenzo and crew mean by that, or “strong laws”, whatever Bobi Wine means by that! We are simply a country of people that can’t afford to pay for art, just like several other things out there.
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It is not by accident that at the tail end of the Kasiwukira generation of musicians, the then new breed of musicians felt it more logical to throw their music around with the hope of attracting a following that would attend their concerts! It wasn’t entirely due to the absence of a copyright or strong law! It was due to the appreciation of the fact that they were dealing with an audience majority of whom couldn’t afford music! Of course you can’t ignore issues related to the rise of FM Stations, TV and the internet! The consumer was getting options, and buying local music wasn’t going to be on top of the list! But that’s besides the actual issue!
Let’s ask ourselves the actual questions.
How did we move from a generation that used to buy music to one that can only attend concerts?
The truth is, we have been on a consistent trajectory towards becoming one of the world’s youngest populations, majority of whose young people can’t afford luxury! I’m talking about a country where some of the very best musicians can’t afford to charge more than UGX 20,000 for a major concert, which usually happens once a year. You can beat about all you want, but that kind of audience can’t afford to regularly pay for music in other forms, however little you are charging! How many Ugandans still pay for callback tunes?
And thats just a basic example!
We are looking at a country some of whose most talented musicians have remained in the shadow of resources for ages!
A musician the caliber of Navio is going to throw a concert celebrating twenty years in the industry and do you know where it will be? Arena Grounds!
Not Serena!
Not Cricket Oval!
Because, ladies and gentlemen,
He knows the audience can’t afford him!
The audience can afford just a handful of artistes who are willing to do all sorts of crazy things to fill up a concert!
It is the jungle out there!
And one can authoritatively say that at no time since the Jose Chameleone × Bebe cool × Bobi Wine era, have we been able to support more than ten big musicians simultaneously.
The aforementioned three monopolized the industry for ages, before just a few more voices sipped through the darkness of the jungle!
Do you have any idea how many talented musicians have struggled and remained mediocre? We just couldn’t afford them!
Even the likes of Juliana Kanyomozi and Iryn Namubiru have been largely underwhelming, compared to their potential! And that’s purely because, well, at some point, we couldn’t afford more than Bebe, Chamili and Bobi!
The music industry doesn’t exist in a vacuum!
It doesn’t exist in isolation of the issue that shape our economic dynamics!
It is struggling for the same reason big supermarket brands collapse here!
WE ARE A COUNTRY OF YOUNG POOR PEOPLE!
WE UNFORTUNATELY CAN’T SUSTAIN OUR ARTISTS!
AND THAT HAS RENDERED THEM VULNERABLE!
It is for the same reason that some of us quit art! You for example don’t expect people who can’t pay at Theatre La Bonita or Bat Valley for a production, to buy it via other channels!
The realisation of this has given birth to two things
Foremost, it has turned our artists towards all sorts of gimmicks, beef, stunts, and Instagram photos, just to make some sense. But secondly, it has turned the industry into a roadside garden in which everyone defecates!
The Federation will not change that!
The “Hilderman Law”, whose contents I must concede to be ignorant about, will not change this!
A more economically vibrant audience will change this!
When we are finally a people that can sustain a supermarket!
When we are finally a people that have reasonable disposable income!
When we are finally a people that can afford luxury!
You will not hear these quarrels anymore!
Until then, the proposed or assumed laws will be coffin figures!
Scary but not harmful!
Musicians out there, including those romanticising about laws, will actually splash their music out freely, hoping that yet again, they can throw a successful concert at UGX 20,000.
The author is a retired creative at many levels.
Actor, Creative Director, Producer, Master of Ceremonies, among several others.
Disclaimer: These are my personal views, and not those of entities that I’m professionally associated with! The responsibility rests with me.