Music to our ears?

IT WOULD be instructive to poll visitors to South Africa and ask them what they consider the sound of South Africa to be. It may be even more instructive to ask South Africans to identify the sound of our country.

There are those stations that play local music, but in an hour of programming the work of South African artists would be few and far between. This is so because the vast majority of commercial radio stations, for commercial reasons, have made music from the US and Britain the staple of their playlists.

The SABC has this week thrown the radio programming hour on its head by allocating 90 percent of the content played on their 18 radio stations to local music. The music would be across all genres, with a special focus on kwaito, jazz, reggae and gospel.

The move has been described by SABC chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, as “radical”. But South African artists have welcomed it.

Singer and songwriter RJ Benjamin told the Cape Argus in the wake of the news yesterday: “I feel like a lover who’s been cheated on for years, and now they’re saying they’ll be faithful. Part of me says this is an amazing, historic ground-breaker, but the drastic turnaround also has me asking, ‘What’s the catch?’ ”

Benjamin is right to be sceptical. What happens if the experiment doesn’t work? Will the SABC revert to form if commercial losses ensue?

LOCAL musicians may be more convinced if the SABC can show its move has longevity and is less engineered. The broadcaster should contemplate playlisting new artists for them to benefit from the exposure, which ultimately will translate into commercial success.

The SABC and other commercial radio stations in the private sector should also invest in the local music industry in a meaningful way, beyond just playlisting local music.

The SABC’s bold move is a first step in the right direction, and should be welcomed. But only sincere attempts to empower local music will create a sustainable industry for artists.