Jai Banda, the entertainment addict

Close to three decades Jai Banda has made headlines in Malawi's entertainment cycles. Very few know that he is a lawyer.

I started hearing radio adverts going as 'I am not a doctor, I am not a soldier, I am not a lawyer, I am just an entertainer' back in the days when Bright Nkhata and Makasu Band were hogging the spotlight in this country.

We might fault his touting the wattage of his equipment, the style of his organisation or argue that his most hyped best lighting system adds nothing to the music shows that he promotes. One thing we cannot look down upon is the fact that the country's entertainment industry owes him a lot.

There was a time that Jai never took my criticism kindly. Someone had organised a choir festival where over 30 performers were expected to perform from 7am to 7pm.

I was not reluctant to talk about the music equipment owned by ‘Mr. Entertainer’ himself.

My argument then was that equipment is like human beings when it comes to getting tired. Equipment cannot perform at its full capacity for six non-stop hours without showing some fatigue.

Main instruments that project quality output are supposed to come with substitutes. I had observed during this particular show that at around 6pm when 

The Ndirande Anglican Voices were taking to the stage, the equipment had lost their sharpness and was sounding hoarse and tired. The performance had to be stopped briefly.

The next day Jai extend an invitation to me to go and appreciate how much he can afford all what I had talked about.

Basically I brought this aspect just to show you how passionate Jai is to music. 

You cannot be doubting his love for the industry when you consider the list that he has been involved with having grown up within the neighbourhood that legendary Oliver Mtukudzi lived In Zimbabwe.

Just to mention but a few Jai has worked with States Samangaya and Police Orchestra, Ethel Kamwendo Banda, Ben Michael, MBC Band, Evison Matafale, Billy Kaunda, Lucius Banda. He continues to work with the Black Missionaries and all the modern great.

Having sacrificed his time to the local industry at the expense of his family, Jai decided not to just surrender and leave the stage as he concedes that years of sleepless nights are now catching up with him and he can now feel it all through.

He has decided to give the entertainment industry his own son Tonderai to take it from where he would have left off. Ever since Tonderai started I have continuously seen Jai still taking charge. It clearly shows as there might not be much take home rewards, it is very clear that his addiction to the entertainment industry is more of a blessing that it is supposed to be otherwise.

I once commented about John Nthakomwa of the Mibawa Entertainment that he is one investor that the Malawi music industry desires his replication.

Within a short time yes Nthakomwa has invested immensely in the industry. Jai's contributions might not be seen in the same light as what Mibawa has achieved in a very short period of time.

More of what Jai has achieved cannot be measured. It cannot be touched. It cannot be compared. He has done great to the industry at the time when no one ever took a serious thought about the entertainment industry.

He emerged at the time when people used to associate it with Chamba smokers. The musicians at the time were only called when it suited the corporate world. Once their end was achieved the musicians could be dumped and they cared less what their lives would turn out to be until the next time when their services would be required again.

For Jai, he has always been the all-weather friend to the industry and for that this the column makes him the inaugural recipient of its life time achiever award.

Stella Mwanza’s mismanaged career

Malawi’s music has some subsets within its wholeness. Within these subgenres we have its influential players. If I mention Black Missionaries for example, then what will quickly come to mind is that these can be lumped together, in their own subgenre, with Wailing Brothers and Lilongwe based Soul Raiders.

If I mention Joseph Nkasa, then Thomas Chibade, Moses Makawa etc will join this subset. The same way Mlaka Maliro and Billy Kaunda will form one subset.

Most of these are dominated by male artists. But while the other subsets have had female players coming in and going the Nkasa, Chibade, Makawa subset has rarely entertained any female challenger, until Stella Mwanza came on the scene. 

Tracks like Musandilaule, Chidodo, Chimbayambaya, Mdanitsa, just to mention a few took the music world of Nkasa’s ilk by storm.

Her music and music videos were being produced by Harry Kazembe of Rhem Records as well as John Nguluwe of MC Studios Entertainment. These have produced all the greats including Skeffa Chimoto and Lucius Banda.

Now Stella Mwanza has gone into hibernation and perhaps like Mirrel Nkhoma she will never come back.

There was a time when she had a manager, someone whom she entrusted to manage her career but it all ended up into a disastrous ending.

According to a write up by lawyers of creative arts, there are four different kinds of representatives that may represent recording artists, performers, and songwriters in the music industry and these are personal managers, agents, business managers, and attorneys.

Of course I know with the Malawi scenario none of these are there to show the way. One other female artist that I know relies heavily on her manager is Sangie. Like Stella in her time, she is never allowed to speak or strike deals only when her manager says so.

Now back to the said write up, it says Personal Managers are there to advise and counsel the artist on virtually all aspects of the artist’s career.

Thus the duties of a personal manager may include dealing with the artist’s publicity, public relations and advertising; assisting in the selection of the artist’s material; devising plans for the artist’s long term career development; choosing the artist’s booking agent, road manager, lawyer, accountant etal and overseeing the artist’s relations with each of them.

The personal manager’s other duty is also to provide counseling to the artist on what types of employment to accept; in some instances, acting as a liaison between the artist and the artist’s record company.

For all this to work personal managers are usually paid a commission of 15 percent to 25 percent of the artist’s gross receipts from all of the artist’s activities in the entertainment industry (recording contacts, publishing contracts, endorsements, television and movie work, etc).

Of course this commission, which may increase depending upon the artist’s success, is in addition to reimbursement of the personal manager’s travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in representing the artist.

If you check the above duties, there is no where written impregnating or sleeping with the artist because in the music industry worldwide this often happens and to an extent end up killing the budding career.

Now when you look at how, for example, Miracle Chinga is struggling at the moment, would you say she has a personal manager that is looking-glass to after her affairs? Are we going to be surprised if two years down the road she will still remain a shadow of her late mother?

Now if the music industry is not going to start reorganising itself and begin validating who becomes a manager of our artists, we are going to end up with a lot of Stella Mwanzas in this world.