PATIENCE MUSA
Zimbabwe’s entertainment industry has been thrown into disarray.
It’s now almost two years since the industry was brought to a halt owing to the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has proceeded to put together the biggest heist of the century.
This has profound repercussions.
Concerts, shows, and music festivals were all shut down and all the joy and fun moments that only music can bring were stolen, lost, or plundered.
While the world is still reeling, somehow, most of the industries found new ways of staying in business and so did the entertainment industry. Well, kind of.
Some have gone into virtual concerts.
But, the giant question mark is can we say though, that virtual concerts give the same amount of pleasure as live concerts?
That musicians still make money from these virtual performances.
How many people would pay for a virtual concert?
The 19-month hiatus brought on by Covid-19 has left a lot of performing artistes in a fix.
Has anyone out there been wondering how musicians are managing?
What do you do when you wake up one day and you can’t earn a living the best way you know how?
When your ‘job’ has been ‘stopped’?
Selmor Mtukudzi said she has been managing through- “virtual performances and I recently started a business online where I sell groceries.”
Not all artistes have been fortunate.
Popular jazz artiste and bassist Josh Meck has had to resort to “selling different items to generate an income.”
“There are a lot of funds in the government and international organisations. The ministry should be more hands-on and request funds to help artistes who have musical projects that do not attract physical crowds but more of online audiences,” he said.
Ammi Jamanda an Afro-fusion musician popular for her sound live performances has had to sell and deliver clothes online.
She also had help from family, friends and fans.
All the while Zimbabwean artistes have been calling for the powers that be to open the industry and allow artistes to look after themselves and their families.
Mono Mukundu didn’t beat about the bush.
“The whole world has opened the entertainment industry except Zimbabwe and a few other African countries. It seems like everybody has forgotten that musicians also need to survive. Hunger is much a bigger pandemic” he said.
Selmor Mtukudzi said: “A lot of artistes will quit and get into other things. There will be no industry to speak of. Jobs will be lost, and livelihoods will dwindle.”
With artistes calling for the government to open the industry one must wonder what precautions they have in mind. Are there any precautions that revellers can take that can lower transmission?
Agga Nyabinde suggested that artistes be given the green light to host at most 100 guests and they strictly adhere to Covid 19 guidelines.
“Numbers can be reviewed depending on the infection rate in the country. The artistes can also be assisted to host virtual events,” she said.
“The set-up cost of a good quality events facility can be a burden to artistes if they try to host it in their individual capacity hence the need for interference of the corporate world and the government.
“With this arrangement, they may not fetch as much as they want but they can be able to sustain their families and those that depend on them. In other countries festivals have resumed, with Covid 19 protocols being followed.”
If there is alcohol involved can revellers continue to adhere to the social distancing and masking rules?
Will one have to move away from other people just to take a sip of something?
If restaurants are allowing their clients to remove their masks and eat what difference is there?
Pablo Nakkapa had this to say: “Covid-19 can attack you whether you are at a club or not.
“Chances are almost the same as boarding a ZUPCO bus. Also, how much alcohol must one drink to forget that there is Covid-19? I think there should be ways to allow and at the same time controlling the amount of alcohol one consumes, that is if it’s proven that indeed beer makes people forget rules”.
Trust Jeldous an award-winning musician contradicted in the alcohol debate.
“After an individual gets drunk, they end up losing control of themselves, thereby forgetting to adhere to the Covid guidelines.”
That is the concern; alcohol has been a risk factor all over the world during the pandemic leading to an increase in domestic violence.
Is the government aware of the existence of a group of musicians who do not collect royalties as they do not own any music but live on performances alone?
What is the solution here?
Are we a country that prefers our artistes poor and in a constant state of beggary? Is the industry’s contribution so little that it can be ignored for so long or is the contribution and potential downplayed for fear of what ‘it can be?
