Most musicians in Zimbabwe who were meant to release albums this year are not sure of whether to continue with their plans or not as the indefinite national lockdown makes it difficult for them to stage launch concerts, as per tradition.
However, some like Jah Prayzah and Agga Nyabinde have decided to release their new stuff and have invested a lot in digital distribution.
Another artist who was also caught up in the lockdown storm with new content is Gary Tight.
The lad dropped a brand new album ‘Nzira Yangu’ on March 13 but he could not do much to market it by hosting gigs as on March 30 the nation went into lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus.
Fortunately, Gary has managed to feature on a number virtual concerts hosted in the past 10 weeks and managed to market his new content.
Zimbo Jam caught up with the musician and he shared with us how the Covid-19 induced lockdown has affected his musical prospects in 2020.
“Our plans have been affected in terms of shows and band practices,” said Gary. “This Covid-19 lockdown period also affected our savings as a band. We still have to look after our members. We rely on shows for most of our revenue.”
But there is also a positive side too highlights Gary.
“This period has been good. We have engaged with the audience to understand ways the music can get to them. With constant use of social media platforms we have learnt to pay attention and involve our listeners in the music making process to give them what they want,” he shared.
The former Churchill scholar says he is spending time understanding digital marketing.
“During this period we have invested a lot of time in digital marketing. We are very active on social media. Also, our music is now available on most major digital music streaming platforms.”
With revenue flow very low, Gary and team have had to cut unnecessary spending.
“Our survival plan as a brand is to save more and look after our band. We will focus on reaching out to a bigger audience like growing our fan base. We can do this by continuing with our social media engagement.”
Moving on, two months have gone by since the album was launched and Gary’s manager, Grammy Mtetwa says people are loving the new material. But he states he needs government to assist them financially.
“From the government we need financial assistance to cushion our depleted savings to keep the band members alive and also ensure that we have enough to practice as a group. This assistance will go a long way for us. We also need instruments and places to practice at affordable rates,” said Mtetwa.
Whilst some acts have said 2020 is a wasted year, Mtetwa has other views.
“Honestly it’s not a waste but a stepping stone. We have learnt so much from engagements with people on social media. This period helped us to be closer to our fans and pay attention to their recommendations. We also leant a lot on our funds management. It’s not a waste although we could have done some things differently,” remarked Mtetwa.
