POLOKWANE – The provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, together with the SABC-Limpopo combo and the Limpopo Music Association took a bold step in staging a two-day music summit at the Oasis hotel over the past week.

The summit, aimed at seeking permanent solutions to the plight of Limpopo artists, began on July 6 and continued until the following day. According to the spokesperson of the MEC of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Mr Mmbangiseni Masia, this first music summit in the province was part of the deliberate strategy to improve the industry, so that its socio-economic potential is realised. Discussions at the summit focused on artists’ contracts with recording companies and their promotion through airplay with broadcasters, music artists’ development and sustainability strategies.

Developing artists also had the opportunity to learn from successful, experienced, Limpopo-born artists. Masia claimed that the artists, for whom the summit was organised, recognised the fact that, whilst government and other stakeholders should play a major role in the industry, artists themselves should shape their destiny. This should include running their affairs in a professional and businesslike manner, and always striving for quality. The department made a commitment to assist artists in the anti-piracy campaign, as that comes out of the realisation that music piracy is impacting the growth of the industry negatively.

MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture Mr Joe Maswanganyi said that the summit seeks to address issues that affect the growth of the artists in a practicable manner. He added that the summit was not about discussions as his department will ensure that issues raised are dealt with accordingly through a programme of action to ensure that artists, in the long run, are the major beneficiaries in the industry. “The programme will be monitored from time to time to ensure that there is action on all issues raised,” he said. When addressing representatives from the broadcasting industry, the Independent Communications Authority (ICASA), the Music Rights Organisations, recording houses and both developing and developed artists, Maswanganyi said: “We are not only engaged in discussions, but we want to ensure that we painstakingly embark on a programme of action to cement whatever progress has been made in the industry as well as resolve issues that are prohibitive to a forward movement.”

The MEC, who claimed that the music industry generates more than R900 million annually, said that, without having to recycle the Solomon Linda story of Imbube fame, artists in the country have gone and still go through painful experiences in which they are not fairly rewarded for their creativity. “Some of the artists live in misery and do not find economic meaning in their creativity, but the summit strives to find practical solutions that will change this situation for the better,” he said. He said that the creative work of artists would be in vain if relevant stakeholders did not play their major roles, adding that broadcasters must contribute by exposing the province’s rich talents.

He said that the summit was also aimed at reversing the trend by which artists are aligned with particular broadcasters because of the language used in the lyrics as that defeats national unity that is being built. “If the language of listeners is used as a reason for this, why would this not apply to artists singing in foreign languages that listeners can neither speak nor understand?” he asked.

Some of the issues raised by artists as complaints include recording deals as they complain that com-panies are robbing them, that they have been continuously given a low rating and are consequently given raw deals. It was also said that some under-rate themselves, while others over-rate themselves. The summit also seeks ways in which artists will stop relying on government activities, but to confront the realities of the music market own their own.

Representing the Limpopo Music Forum, Bishop Roxley Masevhe thanked the department for organising the music summit.