Music online distribution underutilized
Dumisani Ncube | Tuesday September 13, 2016 15:42
“This goes back to the business aspect, a lot of local musicians do not take their craft seriously, they spend money recording singles and then give free downloads. This has led to a culture whereby music consumers are now used to getting free downloads instead of purchasing music online. If only they took music as a business they would be selling it, ” online music distributor and publisher Itumeleng Garebatshabe said.
He however stated that of recent a few musicians have been selling their music online which has also led to local and international consumers purchasing the music. He noted that the major challenges for consumers is that they do not have adequate knowledge when it comes to purchasing goods online
Motswako rapper Touch Motswako is one of the few artists that have attempted to sell their music online. “Last year I put my music online upon selling the music I had to check the consumer statistics. The Botswana consumer statistics reached up to only one percent while other countries such as Malaysia and South Africa reached 20 %,” Touch Motswako said.
The rapper noted that after that incident he believes that Batswana lack the knowledge of purchasing which leads to them not getting used to buying online and just enjoy free downloads. He also noted that institutions such as BOMU and online music distributors should sensitise both musicians and consumers on online distribution.
Last year after a music online distribution, Naomi Music, was established it saw a number of upcoming and established artists putting their music for sale on the platform.
“Batswana do like the idea of purchasing music online but they prefer free downloads as compared to buying it. It is also determined on how aggressive musicians are when it comes to marketing the content they sell online,” Sabelo Masasa one of the founding directors of Naomi Music said.
Masasa stated that his opinion was based on the rate at which music is being purchased on Naomi Music. Statistics on Naomi Music also show how often the site gets visited and the numbers are below par.
Despite the blame being put on the general public for enjoying free downloads veteran musician and producer BK Proctor believes that the internet era is still new and fresh in the country and people are yet to get used to the whole platform and how one can even get used to buying music online.
“Awareness is the problem, our people do not even know how to use accounts such as pay pal. It is a matter of time till they get used to the whole idea. The other thing is we do not have much digital distribution platforms locally, ” BK Proctor said.
With many arguing how they can crack into the international market, through online distribution Deezer’s Head of African operations urges that for one to boost their sales online they should take advantage of social media networks to market their content.
“Social media is one of the most powerful tools that people are not using in a formal manner to market their music. Artists should digitise and sell their music on digital platforms. Technology is making it easier for consumers to purchase any product from anywhere at anytime without any hustles that will prevent them from doing so,” Ezra said.
Many consumers in the country have pointed fingers at network providers stating that data bundles are expensive which slows down their buying power online.
Digitally, musicians have made more money through selling ring tones. In Africa the selling of ring tones is much dominating compared to online distribution.