Artists cry foul as DJs allegedly snub local songs

GASEBALWE SERETSE
Staff Writer | Thursday October 28, 2010 00:00

Moarabi 'Testify' Mushumehi, a gospel/ motswako artist, said that although his song, Motsotsonyana has been well-received, he still feels that his album does not get enough airplay. 'We gospel artists are the most affected because our music gets played on Sunday and even then it's played on certain Sundays,' he told Showbiz in an interview.

Testify complained that certain musicians dominate the airwaves, which is unfair.  The artist further said that as a Christian he cannot bribe DJs to play his music because it is against his religious beliefs.

A kwaito-kwasa artist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said ever since he released his album, which he believes is hot, his songs are hardly played on radio.  He decried that even though he has availed it to all radio stations in the country, DJs and radio presenters are reluctant to play it.  He also claimed to have been approached by some radio personalities who told him they would play his music only if he bribed them by paying payola.  'How would I be able to pay payola when my music is not given the necessary exposure?  I do not sell a lot of albums, so where do they expect me to get the money to bribe them?' he lamented.  The artist further blamed the powers that be in the broadcasting industry for killing local music by shunning it.

A woman who manages a new house group that has recently released its debut album shared the kwaito artist's sentiments that DJ and radio presenters want to be paid before playing music of unknown artists.  She said some want to be paid inkind since one radio boss propositioned her, promising to give her group favours if she accepted his proposal.

'One radio station told us that they could not play our music since my group is not known.  They said we must first promote ourselves and become famous before they play our music, which is ridiculous,' she said.  The young woman further said that one radio station even snubbed her group's music, claiming that their clients do not like that kind of music.  As if that were not enough, a radio boss also blatantly told her that no radio station was going to play her group's music.

Sidney 'DJ Sid' Baitsile, who is a programming consultant at Duma FM, told Showbiz in an interview that there are a lot of factors that may lead to some albums not being played on radio.  He said first and foremost, each radio station has its own policy as to what kind of products they want for their listenership.

He further said that once an album is received it is checked for production and broadcasting quality and if it does not meet set standards, it may not be played on radio.  'Some artists come up with shoddy jobs and expect us to support them, which is sad,' he said.  DJ Sid said that if he had his way every local song that meets standard requirements would be played on radio, adding that some radio stations go for certain genres only.  He added that he has noted that some established artists tend to get more airplay than their less-famous contemporaries even if they produced the same quality of music.

'That is a worldwide trend and even I do not know why that should be the case,' he said adding that he believed that for one to have a break, he or she might need to be at the right place at the right time.  Like DJ Sid, another radio personality Thuso 'Thusoski' Letlhoma said that a lot of what is played on radio is determined by policy.

 Both claimed that they knew nothing about the payola that some DJs and radio presenters were said to demand from artists.