Why Kenyan music is not crossing borders

“Step out of the box!” This seemed to be the resonating message by the panellists of the first 2015 Catchup series hosted by the Arterial Network at the Goethe Institute, Nairobi earlier this month.

The panellists at the forum, which brought together entertainment and creative industry practitioners, included some of the leading entrepreneurs in Kenya’s creative economy such as veteran producer and label owner Robert “R-Kay” Kamanzi, video director and Link Video Global CEO Jibril “J-Blessing”, Blessing as well as Makadem the “Ohanglaman”.

In his presentation, Marek Fuchs, who manages the celebrated Sauti Sol quartet, also shared his experience on the group’s journey to certified “continental star” status, offering useful insights to showbiz upstarts in the process.

According to Marek, Sauti Sol’s success can be summed up in the work ethic and determination of its members. This, more than anything else, is what has set them apart from their peers on the local music scene.

Music business

“We are learning something new every day. But the overall basics such as working harder and smarter are very effective in the music business,” says Marek.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But how come the results are not reflected in the quality and ratings of other established or upcoming local entertainment brands?

Granted, showbiz is an extremely volatile and structure-less venture, with no clear road to success for the budding entertainment entrepreneur.

But while most creatives would consider this flexibility advantageous, the indisputable fact that Kenya’s mainstream pop scene continues to rank poorly against regional competition demands a different approach from local players.

One that, according to Marek, will have to be a joint effort between all the parties involved.

“Many local artistes are still not skilled in the art of entertaining, branding, social media and image strategy,” he explains.

“I think this gap is currently narrowing, but the problem is that our music industry is still immature. Artistes in other African countries like Diamond, Davido, Wizkid, Chameleone, Big Nuz enjoy a lot more grassroots, corporate and government support. The work has to come in from many angles.”

Unhealthy competition is perhaps the biggest hindrance to the growth of local entertainment. With everyone scrambling to become the next break-out superstar, there seems to be little knowledge sharing amongst, or between, established and upcoming entertainers.

Ideally, such collaborations should result in mentorships and linkages between seasoned and young industry players but instead, each falsely views the other as a threat to their prospects of registering success.

While many young entertainers struggle to get their music and videos on regional platforms, for instance, the older ones seem to have no problem getting their music on rotation, but for some reason are unwilling to share the ins and outs of it all with the upcoming stars, and sometimes, even peers.

An example that was given was the initiative by RKay to take on J Blessing as his protégé when the young producer was cutting his teeth in the trade.

This not only enabled J Blessing to sharpen his craft, but was also a catalyst to the careers of today’s gospel industry leading lights such as Willy Paul and Bahati, who benefited from J Blessing’s handsomely rewarded mentorship efforts.

Artistes like Juliani always cite Kalamashaka as having played a mentor role in the beginning of their careers.

Such collaborations, according to Makadem, would also enable industry newcomers to avoid the obstacles and mistakes encountered by those who went before them, thereby helping to eliminate such barriers altogether over time.

The absence of a homogeneous music culture has for long haunted the debate on the need for a “Kenyan” sound. As Marek observes, Kenyan artists seem to have an issue with branding their music as there is no specific national or local culture.

Well try “…being authentic, ‘popify’ traditional tunes, make use of traditional instruments, style yourself and develop a social media strategy. Show the unique aspect of East African music and culture! That will give you the unique packaging you’re looking for,” he advises.

Scaling showbiz borders would require a little more than that, though, he notes. “Be entertainers and musicians in your full spectrum, have a solid social media strategy, take calculated risks, be strategic, current and develop your personal style more.”

Equally, the existence of broadcast, media and DJ cartels that prejudiciously lock out talented artistes in favour of their moderately able, or (often) less capable cronies, continues to water down the quality of Kenyan music that finds its way to the ears of listeners (read would-be fans).

The result is our inability to generate enough quality products to captivate an audience that has been generously exposed to quality non-Kenyan content.

Then we blame them for refusing to be subjected to mediocre playlists in the name of supporting “local content”.

“Currently, the roles of the fans, media and corporates are not that strong because, truth be told, the content isn’t strong enough,” observes Marek.

Indeed, the incessant finger-pointing between entertainers, fans and the media over the unstable fortunes of Kenya’s popular music scene is easily resolvable.

It requires only a differentiation of roles between music(ians) and the process of making music, then presenting the showbiz that results from their interrelation.

Industry veteran Nonini shared these sentiments on his Twitter timeline this week.

He adds, “We have all been through this phase our younger counterparts are demonstrating, where one gets absorbed by the hype and fame that accompanies the show. What defines the maturity of an artiste is when they overcome this and focus on the business.”

Simply put, musicians are entertainers. They are in the business of selling emotions, thus their incomes directly depend on how people feel about them and what they have to say and show in their songs and videos.

Their main focus is, and should always be, to ensure that the audience can relate to them, and thus to their message, words and art. In doing so, they create a brand that is appreciated by the people and their execution of this duty highly determines the success of the artiste.

Packaging

Structures such as music labels and artiste managers exist to package the art in an appealing way to the audience to ensure this.

From the artiste’s moniker, music, look, publicity and interactions, they are tasked with developing and maintaining the success of their artistes’ brands, in the process establishing a celebrity factor around them.

“The team focuses on business, logistics and strategy, and the artists should focus on the music. It doesn’t have to be that black and white, but the roles should be divided along these lines. It’s very important.” opines Marek.

With the crossover potential exhibited in 2014, this year promises to be a defining period for Kenya’s showbiz scene. With better policies, more corporate involvement and by embracing competitive professionalism, the spark of Kenya’s showbiz potential seems ready to blow.

“The music scene still has some way to go before we can call it an industry the way it was here in the ’70s and elsewhere currently,” says Marek. “2014 was already a great year for the industry as a whole, so 2015 will be very exciting.”

And if all else fails, “Thinking out of the box helps,” he suggests.

@iWITTness