Musicians in piracy war

SHINGIRAI MADONDO
Correspondent | Thursday August 1, 2013 00:00

Botswana's music industry has grown tremendously over the years.The boom of recording studios has made it easier for artists to record their music, videos and other art forms.Technology has eased the storage of material in many formats and removed the difficulty of sharing and distributing.But while technology has been a stimulus to the production and distribution of art, it has also made it easier for pirates to replicate and distribute artists' work. And local musicians have not been spared from the raging piracy.

Botswana has fallen prey to piracy like other corners of the globe. This has resulted in some artists falling by the wayside. But some artists have refused to succumb to piracy that has proved disastrous to the arts industry.DJ La Timmy, real name Timothy Sabuta, is one of the artists who have joined the war against piracy.The Kasane-born musician said he has resorted to releasing singles alone such that one does not spend much on recordings.'Piracy has made our lives so difficult,' lamented DJ La Timmy who also does emceeing and disc jockeying at public events.He said those in the habit of pirating artists' works do their illegal business at will. DJ La Timmy said it has become difficult for musicians to sell their music themselves but it is not helping.

'Our consumers have fallen in love with buying pirated stuff. And it is proving hard for us to win their hearts again,' said the worried DJ.DJ La Timmy recently released his latest single, Nanzala Vuke. It is his fourth single after Ke bona motho, Refilwe and My Babe.Atasaone Molemogi, popularly known as A.T.I. of Batho Bame fame, has also resorted to releasing singles. He recently released another single titled Sabliff.'I want this to reach the national anthem status. And it remains to be seen because piracy is giving us sleepless nights,' said the famous A.T.I.Thato Matlhabaphiri concurred, saying releasing singles is the only option. Popularly known as the Big SCAR, Matlhabaphiri is also contemplating focusing on singles.