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 Babsy says he met a friend in 2001 and contributed some money to buy CDs and audio-cassettes for resale. He set up a shelter at the Main Mall - just in front of the Botswana Book Centre. “We contributed some money to buy the CDs and cassettes as we did not want to be involved in any loan,” he says.
They started with a staff of three salesmen, which has increased to 10. He says that when they started, by-law officials gave them trouble, but since they had followed the right procedures to be where they are, the officers no longer have any reason to bother them. Babsy says that they order music from neighbouring countries, depending on peoples’ tastes. The stock arrives every week.
The main rule or requirement to be an employee or member of Ko Setlhareng.Com is to have some background in music and to be a big music fan. “Most of us here have a passion for music and we all grew up listening to all kinds of music. But if one does not have a musical background, we can teach them how to do things our way,” Babsy says. Their stall sells all types of music. Many music lovers throng to it because it provides oldies that are very hard to find in the market. “We sell all types of music. You can go to every music shop in town but if you can’t find what you are looking for, they will recommend that you visit Ko Setlhareng.Com and if you can’t find it here, then you have to give up.” Babsy says with confidence that Batswana really appreciate their service, especially their prices. Ko Setlhareng.Com helps artists promote their music. Some of them like Sthepha and Vee are members of the shop.
The shop does not only sell music. It also helps upcoming artists since it has a connection with Eric Ramco records. “We help upcoming artists who leave their demo tapes with us and we listen to them to see if they are worth recording. We then see if we can find them sponsorship to release their album and when everything is done, we sell their music to the public,” he says. While copyright is everyone’s concern, especially those in the music industry, Babsy feels that there is need for government to strengthen copyright laws to curb piracy of music cassettes and CDs.
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