Haji Mohamed Dawjee
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The culture of capturing music with the use of apps and filesharing services available for free on the internet has resulted in a slump in CD sales. Have record labels become obsolete and are musicians becoming self-sufficient?
ust like print media see their survival under threat due to the innovation of technology, so too does the music industry in its traditional landscape. Times have changed and so has music. Our generation is no longer bound to the purchasing of CD’s for the sake of quenching their musical thirst. With the advent of the MP3, the iPod and other digital gadgets, music can now be stored, purchased and collected through the internet. Many mainstream artists have opted for independence from their signed record labels and chosen instead to use internet hubs such as MySpace or other social networks to promote themselves. Kgosi Kgosi is a freelance song-
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writer and trumpeter based in Pretoria who works with many independent musicians. “Recently more people in the industry are using the internet to launch their music,” he says. Kgosi argues that the South African recording industry is still booming, but says sales have taken a slump. “This is not only due to the fact that CD’s are so expensive here, even in comparison to Europe and America, but as musicians we’re realising that consumers download pirated music anyway and so it might be better to just offer it to them legally on the internet.” Websites such as YouTube are being used as a method to not only advance the careers of
established artists, but to launch the careers of a new breed of musician who is adept at taking advantage of the digital, no-strings-attached, low-cost environment. But does the birth of this digital revolution in the music industry render record labels obsolete? Mp3 vs CD Local songbird Simphiwe Dana recently stated via Twitter that the advantages of having technological tools are making it easier for musicians to market themselves, but added: “They will always need help and cannot do it on their own.” Transit Records, a record industry news website, reports: “MP3 downloads are responsible for