Lucius Banda’s Free Shows loathing

On 14 October, 2017 Lucius Banda decided to use his Facebook wall to detest what he called a common practice in Malawi where people seek free entry into musical shows.

He went on to deduce that this is not due to poverty because people who do this come by car which has obviously been fuelled and upon getting into the show they buy a lot of beer.

What he abhors is that it is clear to such a person that only paying to the artist to gain entrance is what they hate. Sometimes where positions are reversed where the patrons might have a grocery shop, they cannot give free loaf of bread to that artist whatever the case and it would even sound funny if they were to ask for free bread.

He goes on to pour his heart out by wondering why people feel comfortable to enter shows for free despite knowing the artists have loads of overheads to take care of. He then marvels at Malawians’ lack of spirit to support arts.

In his wisdom Lucius believes if all the fans were paying at the door during such shows then Malawi will have her own export quality musicians like is the case in other countries around Malawi.

He goes on to cite Nigerians, Tanzanians and Zimbabweans where he says musicians grow because people are ready to support.

Lucius made this Facebook post barely hours after rapper Fredokiss had held a free show at Masintha which made the venue bulge at the seams.

Rightly so, his post attracted a comment from Mchiteni Nthala II who urges Lucius to organise a free shows sometimes; his argument is that music is not meant to be sold always as there are a lot of people out there who are his loyal fans but cannot afford the gate entrance fee.

Repay them by holding a free show by borrowing a leaf from Fredokiss, who according to him does not have money but has managed to hold a free show in Ndirande as well as at Masintha, he argues.

He then further says Lucius can also do the same by holding free shows in Mhuju - Rumphi, Kabudula- Lilongwe, and Mayaka - Zomba.

Lucius however is still adamant by inviting the contributor to his constituency in Balaka to see for himself what happens on his ‘gate’ [the entrance to his residence, I presume] where what he will see will make him cry for him. Lucius argues that he doesn't give back to people using shows.

 There were several subsequent comments

One Charles Percy Gama says it's indeed a matter of concern that after investing a lot in advertising, getting supporting artists, venue hiring and organizing a show, somebody comes with all family members and friends to enter for free. When the artists get poorer and stop performing and switch to vegetable farming or bicycle tax business the same people will snide at them for lack of vision. He says it's high time we supported our artists.

Another comment from my namesake Gregory Chisomo Likalamu argues that Lucius needs to ask Gwamba or Fredokiss to establish who pays for the venue because at the end of the day music is not only for money, but for fun too.

He further states that since Lucius is a politician it’s not surprising that he is egotistical and therefore will only hold free show that will be to his own benefit or when someone pays for it. He argues that Fredokiss is paid with love and not with money.

As a journalist, one would expect me to enjoy free entry which I don’t. I have never been to a show for free even when I will write an article for such artists. However Lucius response is mixed up. He serves two constituencies; a political and a musical constituency and whatever corporate social responsibility activities he does as an MP cannot tick on his check list as an artist.

Several reasons have been offered on his post. But I still believe whether Malawians love free shows or not, he owes it to them and one day it cannot hurt to pay them back as an artist and not a politician of Balaka North.

Malawi urban music takes over

A seemingly simple question this one might look considering the genesis of what is now known as urban music. Not that it provides us with the opportunity to define what it is or is not, but it is all clear that Lucius Banda will be considered as the traditional archetype of our local music.

That it is on one hand, but on the other hand, Tay Grin exemplifies what ought to be known as the urban type of music.

Now what is bringing me into this talk this week is observation made over a period of two subsequent weekends.

There is a new joint in town – Blantyre – called Dusk to Dawn where one Friday, Tay Grin decided to organise what he called Afrima nomination party. 

He simply used the social media without going to the traditional advertising platforms to announce about the event. What followed is the jam parked dance floor where patrons parted with K2000 to gain entrance.

It should also be mentioned that performances started from midnight to morning and patrons kept trouping in all this while. There was lack of parking space outside the club and it clearly shows what this means when we compare it to this.

Come the following Friday, Lucius Banda and Zembani Band also performed at venue and the story was different as it failed to park to its capacity.

There are different schools of thought that are emerging in order to explain away this disparity. But I should say from the onset that this does not mean Tay Grin is better off as others are arguing.

I think it all goes down to the niche audience that these two artists separately appeals to. It is becoming an extremely painful reality that the urban audience is taking over the space.

Because the urban is more appealing to the youthful population which is becoming a dominant force it is clear as they say in marketing that 'consumers of niche products become product advocates more often because they feel more connected to the product and realize it was made for them'.

A good example is the free Ndirande show by Fredokiss. He parked a venue in a way that no meeting, be it political or religious could achieve. With politics and religion you know their manipulative power where they will try to profess popularity by parking vehicles with people that they ferry to such spots for obvious reasons. For Fredokiss it was just consumers of his niche products walking by foot to the venue.

       

What it means for traditional musicians is that this is the market to explore. Lucius has tried to feature hot musicians every time they are taking the music industry head on.

Recently, Fredokiss who is also known as Ghetto King Kong released latest hit song “Njira Zawo” which features Lucius Banda. This is the rendition of Lucius’ “Ali ndi njira Zawo” and if anything one would think that it should have been the other way round.

What is happening right now on the market shows that a very big boundary is developing, on one side there is the urban niche audience and on the other there is the traditional one. Again the venues also matter because it looks like the way Dusk to Dawn is designed it makes urban music lovers identify with it more than the traditional music followers.

If it were at Motel Paradise for example, would the Lucius Banda, Tay Grin comparison remain the same? At the risk of being wrong I would want to believe otherwise. It does not at all compare the two on the strength of their musical talent but it rather speaks of the shifting in fortunes for various reasons.

Unfortunately the urban niche audience has internet while the traditional remains there in the past where newspapers and radio announcements mattered.

The industry players perhaps need to rethink.