The whole RTE saga got me convinced that musicians are just downright stupid. No for real? I mean, what other reasonable explanation can one possibly conjures? I’m sorry (not so sorry) about painting every Namibian musician with the same brush but honestly, that’s just how life works amae.
Just last week I wrote about how Namibian musicians simply refuse to understand how radio works. Today it’s apparent that Namibian musicians are refusing to understand how record labels work! Isn’t it amazing how Namibian musicians are always victims? Like always bruh?
“F*ck Radio…they ain’t playing our music”. “F*ck NASCAM…they ain’t paying our monies”. “F*ck newspapers…they ain’t writing about us”. “f*ck TV, they ain’t covering our sh*t”. “F*ck event organisers…they pay foreign acts more than us”. “F*ck Jesus…he didn’t bless us with enough talent”.
Ok, the last one was a little too much but you understand what I am poking at right? Why are Namibian musicians always kama the victims? And something that I’ve always said and I will keep saying…these grievances are not even propelled by fans or the ordinary Namibian. These are musicians pushing this absurd “they hate us” agenda on their own. A record label is a business. Wikipedia teaches us that a business is an activity of making one’s living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). Music in this case is a record label’s product. That’s the commodity.
It simply just does not work like that. A record label is supposed to create a product that is appealing to the market. A record label is supposed to settle expenses from this product that they created that is starting to make money for the label. A record label is supposed to make money from this product that they created.
No record label will do anything for free. In what world do you live if you think you just getting sh*t for free? In Namibia…musicians believe a record label is supposed to pay for studio time, pay for marketing, pay for features, pay for interviews, pay for lifestyle habits, pay for clothing, pay for photo shoots, pay for accommodation, pay for fuel, pay for music videos and pay for consultancy for nothing in return.
Are you f*cking stupid? Like the owners of the label are kama splashing all of those thousands of dollars on you because they like you? No dumb f*ck…its an investment. Wikipedia once again teaches us that an investment is to allocate money in the expectation of some benefit in the future.
In this case…the record label would want to make all of that money spent on your brand, back. Once your brand as a musician picks up and starts making money…that money will first have to settle all expenses incurred in making you… then divide it up into a percentage that was initially agreed upon before it reaches your pocket. That’s just how it works! It’s not rocket science.
Week two of Industry Loop and I’m already stressing at the stupidity that is a Namibian musician. Music is a business. The internet is there. Google and understand what the music business is.
Until the next Loop, we say #GMTM
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