Nthatuoa Koeshe
MUSIC producer and entrepreneur, Sechaba “Sir Schaba” Moqoko, says local artistes should use the current Coronavirus induced lockdown to start investing in their craft to ensure that it is good enough to sell online.
Sir Schaba told the Weekender this week that artistes who solely depend performances for income will be some of the most affected as the majority of events have been cancelled.
Sir Schaba launched the country’s first online music shop, YME Tunes, last year. YME Tunes is tailor-made for the Lesotho market and Sir Schaba says if artistes start selling their music online, then they can entertain hopes of raking in money in the long run.
“I believe this is time for our musicians to start considering digital platforms as a source of income because people listen to and stream music online even during the prevailing conditions,” Sir Schaba said.
“I have been advocating for artistes to sell their music online whether they are upcoming or established and I am hoping this will help them focus on producing better quality music compared to what we have been seeing over the years.”
He said while most artistes prefer distributing their music for free thinking this would in turn increase their bookings, this has failed to work over several years.
“Throughout the lockdown, our creative industry will be one of the most affected industries because all gigs have been cancelled. Imagine what would happen to artiste and deejays who solely depend on the income from performances if the lockdown would go in for six months.”
He said YME Tunes is tailor made to make it easier for Basotho to purchase their favorite music through Mpesa and Ecocash to cater for those who may not have Mastercards.
“It was obvious that not every Mosotho has a debit or credit card which other international music platforms use as payment gateways hence YME Tunes is tailor made ideally for Basotho who use Mpesa and Ecocash,” Sir Schaba said.
