The Sunday News
Thembinkosi Khumalo, Sunday Life Reporter
LOCAL musician Jeys Marabini has said government should regulate the amount of foreign acts in the country so as to protect the local entertainment industry.
In an interview with Sunday Life, Marabini said more could be done to uplift local acts.
“So far, I think promoters need more players to uplift the industry.
Also, the places to showcase talent are very few.
We need more venues and more gigs.
No one will know local artistes unless and until promoters provide gigs for local acts.
Challenges will always be there, whether the economy is good or bad, they will always be there.
What is important is that you have to find a way out so that you can stay relevant to your fans.
Bulawayo musicians are doing very well.
I have seen young people who are coming into the industry and I really appreciate and applaud that.
However, the upcoming artists need to know that in order for one to be appreciated, he or she should do music that relates mostly to their people.
“These days we have a problem of mostly South African artists coming into the country and taking money out.
The government should intervene in terms of making sure that we have a structure that deals with such acts.
Right now, the public is consuming South African content, from television soapies to music more than local content and people really pay huge amounts of money to attend shows by South African singers.
The depressing part is that as local artists when we say we have shows, people will say they do not have money.
So, if our own people do not show up, no one will respect us outside the country,” Jays Marabini said.
As an ex-promoter, Marabini said he was concerned about how local artists were not given enough space to make themselves relevant to their fans.
Marabini also said that originality will make local artistes relevant to fans.
“The reason why I am still relevant to date Is that I play original music that people relate to.
Also, I work hard every time as a musician.
I think of new ways of marketing my music every day.
There is no magic in music, you simply work hard because there are a lot of musicians out there, therefore, you have to give people a reason to choose your music.”
