Five to 15 years ago, we would not miss a CD launch for ANYTHING! We would sneak out of the house for a CD launch. We would save money for a CD launch. We would discuss an upcoming CD launch literally everywhere.
At school, university, church, choir practice…etc. It did not even matter whether it was for your favourite musician or not. The fact is…it’s a CD launch.
Finish and klaar!
A CD launch was the cornerstone of the music business. A CD launch was a guaranteed success for almost every type of musician. From upcoming to established artists…a CD launch was a cash cow. It was a necessary exercise and a brilliant piece of business. You see your favourite artist on stage, and
get the option of walking away with the actual copy of the new album?
HEAVEN! But that was five to 15 years ago. In this day and age, dare I ask…is a CD launch still relevant?
I don’t think so. I think a CD launch is a very yesterday way of thinking, and it demonstrates that you either did not move with the times, or do not have a team that would advise you with brutal honesty. No artist should be having CD launches in this day and age. It’s an old concept that worked during a certain era.
However, it will not work in today’s times. Perhaps it will work in primitive areas…but it will definitely not work in urban places like the coast and the capital. There are a lot of factors that have me convinced that a CD launch does not work in 2024. The number one factor is that the market rarely consumes music via CDs these days. One could argue that it depends on the target audience. Perhaps your target audience is at the tail-end in terms of age, and that target market being stubborn with technology…prefers to maintain consistency, regardless of the technological advances. But are our musicians really that deeply tuned in, in terms of Research and Development?
A good chunk of new model vehicles do not even have CD players. Which should be a demonstration that the world and by extension Namibia is moving away from CDs. Today’s era is all about streaming. I declare that I still need to equip myself with the needed knowledge to fully pronounce myself on the subject matter of streaming but all I know, at this stage, is that a good chunk of Namibian musicians (especially the veterans) are not on streaming sites.
If you are a musician and your music is not available for streaming…you either need to quit the game, or seriously invest in a team that will get your brand up to speed with today’s times. The question now becomes…what are viable alternatives?
One viable alternative is an intimate listening session, where fans get an exclusive to listen to the album at a said venue. I say intimate because as a fan, you’d want to consume the art for what it is.
Performing new songs in a “CD launch” setting will not get the essence of the song across. Unless you are a world class performer.
How many Namibian musicians do we have who are world-class
performers? I’ll leave it at that for now. You are more than welcome to disagree with me via a tweet or “story time” on Tik Tok using the hashtag
#IndustryLoop.
Until the next Loop, we say #GMTM
Need an MC? I’m YOUR guy. Hit me up…naobebsekind@gmail.com