Fidel Nambundunga says the music industry can only be revived if big artists collaborate and pave the way for the upcoming ones.
Entertainment Now! sat down with the Namibian old-school artist, music business consultant and one of the greatest music promoters of the 90s to talk about how the music industry has declined and share ways to revive it.
Nambundunga has established the music careers for some of the biggest names in music in the country such as Lady May Africa, Berthold, Killa B, Slick the Dick and many more.
Reminiscing on the good old days, the soft-spoken Nambundunga said the industry was full of talented and hard-working musicians, who used their skills not only to make money but also to groom artists below them.
“It’s so sad that nowadays artists make little or nothing at all from music. They manage themselves and they have poor marketing skills, which was completely different in our days,” he said. He said, in his day, they made an income from music and if current artists walk in their footsteps, they can make a success out of music.
The ‘Takamisa’ hitmaker believes that for the industry to grow, artists must understand and research the theory and business side of music, which would also help their music grow.
He said, “As an artist, I do not need to limit myself to be a singer or rapper only. I need to also look for other business opportunities within the industry because when the music stops, you should have at least benefitted from it and can make something out of it.”
He gave the example of how successful artists such as Oteya, Gazza, King Tee Dee and many others are, saying it is because they have perfected the art of music and have taken its business side seriously, which he said is uncommon among many of the current artists.
He also stated that music stars in the country today did not make it on their own, but because of artists that came before them that cared about the industry and worked together to push one another to greater heights. Among many issues that Nambundunga mentioned, which have affected the industry, are drugs and alcohol that he said have also killed the talents of the greatest artists.
“Because of poor management, artists have turned to substance abuse, which has led to poor performance and their talents died,” he said sadly.
The 40-year-old eloquent speaker, who looked unwell as he was elaborating on the downfall of the the industry, said, “A lot happened and we wish we could save the foundation that we have started but artists have become greedy and selfish and they refuse to help others. Something that we never did to them when they were upcoming.”
He said the only way the music industry can be revived is if artists, corporates and club owners come together and find ways of supporting the upcoming artists.
Him and other artists are also working on a new programme ‘Golden Oldies’ to bring good old songs back in the industry, he also said, the initiative will be of great help for artists to sell their music. Entertainment Now! caught up with one of the most celebrated singers of the 90s, Felix Johannes widely known as Shikololo complained of how the industry has slowed down, saying new artists have restructured the music.
He advised current musicians to go back to the basics of music and produce quality music that can have a great impact on the industry.
“We cannot deny we have amazing artists but only a few have mastered the art of music, the rest are just taking chances and diluting the taste of music in the country” the ‘Ekondombolo’ singer shook his head.