The state of the music industry: incompetence in the industry

Grammy award nominee R&B singer Ciara was scheduled to perform at the Maloof money cup benefit concert on the 29^th of September 2012 at Kimberley monster mob in South Africa and could not finish her performance because of management and technical issues. This was not the first time an audience has not been told of such incidents. Last year (2011) Trey Songs was supposed to perform at a club in Johannesburg but could not make an appearance because of a conflict he had with the communication department at Canoc productions which is a very big entertainment company in South Africa. Where does this ill service delivery and communication error come from, many may ask that question but the answer will still remain transparent as South Africa’s music industry is in desperate need of help.(http://www.ciarafever.com/category/live-performance/)

(R&B singer and actress Ciara poses before a photo shoot.image source: songonlyrics.com)

PR and business in the music industry (http://www.mio.co.za/article/pr-2011-06-22)

As issues like piracy still haunts SA musicians the industry has become cluttered with corporate copyright and business in PR. Strategic business function is one of the fundamental sources of the guidelines of a successful public relations plan. With this being said PR in the SA music industry is placed under business and the two are classified as one (which is wrong). The PRP’s in control of the label/artist are publicists. The problem begins when we have managers and publicists who do not take the responsibility of creating and maintaining their client’s images. The Ciara incident is a perfect example of how an events/PR company can communicate false messages to the public without consulting with the artist’s agent or manager. It’s a mistake that has been done countless times in the music industry. A similar example is the relationship that publicist have with journalists in South Africa is very uncertain because an artist can win an award and still be shown in negative light on a newspaper later that week.

(a plain doll holding up a sign which is a metaphor for what Sa musicians feel about their managers.image source:mio.co.za

 Media coverage on South African musicians (http://www.journalism.co.za/index.php/news-and-insight/insight/166-media-freedom3/2027-sa-musicians-needled-by-broadcasters.html  

South Africa is primarily 18 years old in democracy and has seen talent pop up from all corners of the country. The sad thing is that media coverage on local artists is still lacking. Record labels in South Africa still can not apply methods to help promote their artists. The media sector also finds it more rewarding to advertise international artists more than they show local artists. It is a stage where the general public has to take a stand and purchase music from their favourite musicians so that they can help local artists gain respect and coverage they deserve by adding value to their lively hood.

Communication error Part 2: effects of music amongst the youth in society

Loss of hearing, change in behaviour and rebel’s could be just a few symptoms of adolescents but what would happen if music turned into a weapon which caused not  only positivistic behaviour but an uncontrollable force of violent behaviour and attitudes in the youth. One might ask them of how music can change a person but many might tell you that music might stimulate brain function and cause a person (especially a teenager) to react in a certain way. When a certain type of musician with a powerful brand image engages in doing drugs their fans might want to experiment with narcotics at a later stage as music is said to have long term effects on an individual.http://voxjuvenis.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/the-effects-of-negative-music-on-today%E2%80%99s-youth/

(a teenage boy smoking a cigarette, what could be the cause. image source: teens.drugabuse.com)

Music and behaviour (http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/~dgentile/106027_08.pdf)

When someone takes drugs they react, when a pop star gets arrested for drunk driving there could be a butterfly effect across the public which could cause reckless driving and drinking under the influence of alcohol. But we can not blame music for those incidences we can only look at the artist that took part in stimulating that kind of behaviour. In the modern world artists are now looking for ways to stand out in the public, so they opt for creating a different image amongst themselves so that they can stand out from the rest. There is no question that an artist will grab the audience attention if he/she does something out of the norm. Artists create brand images which depict a certain lifestyle or mood for people to identify them in an instant. The context is taken to far when the youth try to apply those behavioural norms to their lifestyles (which sometimes ends up badly) in an effort to aim for superstardom.

(a depiction of how music can influence an emotion.image source: medicalobserver.com.au)

Miscommunication

The media sometimes misinterprets what celebrities mean when they do something. If a musician is seen doing drugs in the music video with half naked woman dancing around the room it does not relatively mean that with drugs and alcohol, comes with women. What the youth still don’t understand is that the media reports from their point of view and that what is being said does not mean it’s true because image building is still a big part of the picture in the music industry today.

Music across borders: communication in the industry

African music http://www2.mytruspot.com/ranking.php?mode=blog&message_id=1963&row_template=blogs.tpl

The African music scene has picked up pace over the years as artist from other continents are taking an interest in collaborating with African artists. Since Nigerian based dance artist D'Banj signed a record deal with Good music (Kanye wests recording label) a year ago there has been an increase in the probability of successful African artists. Tumi from Tumi and the volume is also an African artist who managed to break in the UK market by signing under Sony BMG. The internet has made it possible for artists to exchange music across vast borders in the world. events such as the world cup which happened in South Africa in 2010 has also given our international competitors a good perspective about travel to Africa. The PR that has been in effect in North Africa is amazing because artists are blowing up and breaking through as international artists.

(D'Banj wins big at the mtv awards. image source: en.wikipedia.org)

Collaborations http://www.konfidence.org/

American/senegalesse singer and songwriter Akon has made sure that Konvict music (his music recording label) caters for African artists by demolishing stereotypes such as a music industry that is no longer focused on a racial, economic and social sphere. The Konfidence campaign "pronounced with a k" was established to help poverty affected children in Africa as a result of good collaboration between artists in the world. The PR and communication implications of having collaborating artist through out the world is also made possible by an increase in African tourism marketing and advertising. since the world cup we have seen countless amounts of artist travel to Africa for concerts social upliftment and good will. The corporate identity that has been created around the African scene is at its peak through out the years.

(Senegal born, American raised artist "Akon" addressing children at the Konfidence project.image source: http://www.konfidence.org/ )

Moving forward: branding african music

Coca-Cola has been in the process of creating a revolution when it comes to promoting African artists. open happiness was a campaign started to help create a unique sound that no one has ever heard. the campaign has made it their number one priority to bring different artist together from different genre's of music to participate in a benefit song that will mark the sound of Coca-Cola. African artists are expected to join the frenzy and contribute to their sound to bring about a completely new way of breaking musical boundaries. Somalian born artist K'naan is also featured in the company's future plans. 

Musicians and events

Beyonce at the sports awards (http://www.citypress.co.za/Entertainment/News/Beyonce-Mbalula-backtracks-20120624)

There has been much debate about beyonce performing at the South African sports awards earlier this year. The American R&B singer and actress was said to be paid close to 11 million rand as a fee for performing at the annual ceremony at the South African sports awards in Johannesburg South Africa. much can not be said as the minister of sports and recreation has denied such a statement. The singer was rumoured to have been promised a significant amount of money to perform at the banquet. No one really knows about what the PR company in charge of the event sent to the media but the communication implications of this mix up has left the South African music (and PR) industry in negative light not only about the event but also about the communications and PR perspective in the country. 

(Beyonce Knowles as she poses for an issue for cosmopolitan magazine image source: cosmopolitan.com)

South African musicians and the industry http://www.kasitimes.co.za/tag/musicians/

Proper recording labels in South Africa lack effective PR and communication skills as many talented musicians in South Africa are not given the opportunity to perform at luxurious events like the sports awards. The main problem in this is the fact that they do not possess the proper coverage that they solely deserve as artists. The industry lacks creativity as bands like the parlotones are only likely to get booked at a few venues inside their own country. Its also saddening that they do not get recognised when it comes to performing at events like the SA sports awards ceremony. Having to even mention an international artist and paying over millions for one to perform at an event hosted by the government should spike a debate around the state of the music industry in South Africa. The music industry can not be held responsible but further improvement is needed to promote our local artists in South Africa to grow the PR and music industry that we have in our country. Unions should be formed to help establish talent and to also maintain and grow that talent.

(One of South Africa's most successful rock bands "the parlotones" image source: themuseinmusic.com)