Only one benefits most from Tlax
Spira Tlhankane | Thursday May 4, 2017 15:36
While South Africa’s Cassper Nyovest initially inspired the idea, the main reason is to prove a point that local artists can pull a crowd and fill up the National Stadium without a foreign act.
Over the years ticket sales have been continually fleeting in music shows, especially with the absence of a foreign act. If Kast fills up the stadium with local acts, this will benefit the music industry going forward and Batswana will finally believe in their own musicians.
This can quantum leap live shows and possibly reduce more flops and the corporate world might start investing in the show business.
The cost of putting together a big gig like this is high hence the reason Kast walked all the way from Maun to Gaborone to raise funds to ensure the event’s success. This heroic move touched Batswana and many artists began to pledge to perform for free while sponsors started coming in.
If Batswana could come in large numbers and fill up that stadium, Kast is going to make a lot of profit and even enough funds to stage the next instalment of Tlatsa Lebala.
Kast could generate enough revenue through ticket sales and he would not have to cover stadium costs because the Ministry of Youth empowerment, Sport and Culture Development (MYSC) would take care of the stadium cost of P265,000.
For upcoming artists this would be beneficial because it offers them exposure as their only payment.
Local artists will subsidise the Tlatsa Lebala as a collaborative musical activity event with their free performance, but Kast remains the main beneficiary no matter the outcome.
Kast has outlined countless times that the event is for local music rather than individual artists.
“This is about Batswana, this is for everyone who showed interest because no artists can fill up that stadium alone, we need each other,” Kast told Showbiz last month.
Despite all the positive outcomes the event might bring to the industry, in the end the profits of Tlatsa Lebala will go to Kast’s foundation while some of these performing artists will go back to pushing the hustle.
Some of them could be making money somewhere else like Dramaboi and others, but on that day local artists will sacrifice their efforts to support local music and Kast.
Tlatsa Lebala is now a big brand and since it will now be an annual event, Tlax as it is also known will grow even better in the years to come. The event is currently the most talked about all-local lineup festival in the country this year.
The artists will surely demand money in the upcoming instalment but for now Kast will have the biggest smile after Saturday, and perhaps deserves it after walking 1,000km.