Musicians in piracy war
Thursday, August 01, 2013
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.
It highlights the need to protect rights such as access to clean water, education, healthcare and freedom of expression.President Duma Boko, rightly honours past interventions from securing a dignified burial for Gaoberekwe Pitseng in the CKGR to promoting linguistic inclusion. Yet, they also expose a critical truth, that a nation cannot sustainably protect its people through ad hoc acts of compassion alone.It is time for both government and the...