2018-01-19Staff Report 2 I had a torrid experience once last year when an event organiser wanted me to agree to a fee that is reflective of my social media numbers. I explained in vein why that does not make sense in the Namibian environment. I respectfully declined because my ability to MC is not tied to my social media numbers. Lil Pump has a 100 million views on YouTube, does that make him better than Eminem who has 10 million views to his latest video? Somizi has over a hundred thousand likes on Facebook, does that make him a better choreographer than Viro Links? Or because Bonang has over a million followers on Twitter, does that make her better than Josy Nghipandua? Heck nah fam!!! The numbers game does not work in Namibia. Maybe it does in South Africa or Nigeria but not in Namibia. That’s why Namibian music videos don’t reach millions of views because the numbers game is just not a thing in Namibia. You can’t tell me Gazza has to settle for a fee reflective of his social numbers because he hasn’t hit a million views on YouTube yet. I am including YouTube in my argument because it’s a complete picture of what an entertainer is supposed to have. A Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram account and a YouTube channel. In Namibia you pay an entertainer according to experience, recommendations and sheer ability. If its dololo on all three fronts than maybe you can give that whole “pay according to numbers” story. But if an entertainer has experience the size of Kilimanjaro, recommendations that is as powerful as Tate Sam’s influence and ability compared to J66’s thrust game, than what is the problem? Pay the entertainer what they are quoting. I don’t understand how event’s organisers are quick to pay a set fee running into hundreds of thousands of dollars, flights, accommodation for a whole entourage but do not want to pay a Namibian entertainer that ticks all the boxes which will not even make a quarter of what the event organiser will have to fork out for South Africans. Please do not come to me or any entertainer with Social Media numbers excuses. Webster hardly has social presence…are you telling me you are going to demand that he quotes you according to his social numbers? LOL. Kom ons bly net nxa rerag. Let’s stop undercutting Namibian entertainers and anything Namibian. This is what we do. We are entertainers. We’ve got the experience, we come highly recommended and have the ability to not only complete but thrive at the task at hand. The social media numbers argument thus in Namibia is null and void! Until the next loop, we say “GMTM”! Oldie of the week: Laukey ft D-Jay Letter to the future NSK is a professional MC. For bookings, email naobebsekind@gmail.com @naobebsekind (twitter) 2018-01-19Staff Report 2
