| Sanii Makhalima's Big Plan for Zimbabwe |
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| Wednesday, 16 December 2009 12:35 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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When Sanii Makhalima landed in Harare on Sunday 13th December 2009 after several years of absence from Zimbabwe he had a big idea- to take all the new music in Zimbabwe and make it impossible to pirate. Last night (15 December) he presented his idea to an audience that included dozens of musicians, producers, representatives of the National Arts Council, the board and staff of the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association and the Minister of Information & Publicity, Hon Webster Shamu.
Most piracy takes place through computers. Music pirates stick a CD into a PC and burn multiple copies of it simultaneously using easily obtainable CD burners that usually can produce up to 20 cds at a time. By cutting out computer use of music CDs, Sanii hopes to choke the greedy throat of piracy. His idea couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. The music industry in Zimbabwe has recently been gearing up to fight against piracy. The Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (ZIMRA) has rebranded, reconstituted itself and has launched a campaign to get information out to people about piracy, including through a new website with copyright information. A number of artists have just compiled a CD consisting of songs denouncing piracy. The iron is hot and Sanii wants to hit it. If his idea takes off, the rewards for his fellow artists- and for his company- will be huge. Every song played in Zimbabwe would be legitimate. Every CD sold would be the real thing. Every cent paid for music in Zimbabwe would benefit the industry- ideally. There are a few challenges though. One is that by preventing CDs from playing on computers, Sanii risks alienating the thousands of music lovers around Zimbabwe who mostly listen to their music on PCs. He also cuts out of the market those people who buy CDs legitimately and then make MP3s from them to listen on their digital music players, car radios, etc.
^ Sanii (holding mic) shows the Minister of Information & Publicity, Hon Webster Shamu (in grey suit), and other members of the audience how his product works. To the left of the Minister is Mr Nicholas Moyo from the National Arts Council. To his right is Memory Marimazhira, a prolific composer of songs in the Catholic Church. “In every war there are casualties,” Sanii told the Zimbo Jam, “and unfortunately that’s the case here as well.” Sanii presented his new software at Soul City in Greencroft (formerly Plaza de Castilla), at a function to mark the launch of a CD titled Stop It, featuring ten songs from different artists, all denouncing piracy. The CD was produced by the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association and is marketed and distributed by Diamond Studios.
^ Rapt attention. As you can see, the artists were definitely interested. Gospel singer, Joyce Simeti (pink outfit), and fellow musicians pay attention to a computer screen as Sanii shows them how the anti-piracy product works. Those present, including the Minister, Hon Shamu and the Deputy Director of the National Arts Council Mr Nicholas Moyo, seemed impressed by his application. Now that he’s got the attention of the right people, Sanii faces one major hurdle- to get the recording companies to actually use his software. - By Fungai Tichawangana Share this bit of jam with your friends:          
3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved." |
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The Urban Grooves singer who has spent the last few years in South Africa and is back in Zimbabwe “for good”, told a captive audience, made up mainly of musicians, that there was finally a way to make sure their hard work did not profit someone else. He has set up a new company that is marketing a software product that makes it impossible to read an audio CD on a computer.
Who among our artists in Zimbabwe does not have pirated CDs at their homes?
I want to let Big Brother Sanni that piracy is here to stay. Gees are goingFrom the Picture Archives
Delighted Children. German band, La Brass Banda, performs in Mbare during HIFA 2009. This year, the festival takes place from 27th April to 2nd May. |
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