Masemola tells of her road to success
THE road to success is not always a smooth one. Just ask Tumi Masemola.
Her company, Black Brain Pictures, has produced award-winning local shows such as City Ses’la‚ Ses’ Top La‚ Abo Mzala and Thandeka’s Diary.
During an interview with Daily Dispatch sister publication, TshisaLIVE‚ Masemola opened up about the financial troubles Black Brain faced in 2008‚ saying it was due to the recession and broadcasters were not willing to commission their productions.
“And at the time‚ SABC was about 80% of our turnover,” Masemola said.
“This was from 2008 to 2012. So‚ for four years‚ there was nothing.”
Masemola also admitted that when they formed the company‚ they were young and reckless with money.
“People had to see that we’ve made it. Now we own our company‚” she quipped.
To pick themselves up, Masemola said Black Brain had to diversify. The company branched out into other avenues, such as corporate and advertising.
“That led us into doing strategy work as well. Our first client was Masana [a petroleum company]. They liked us‚ and liked our energy and enthusiasm‚ even though we didn’t actually know what we were doing.
“And yes‚ we learnt. It was a matter of taking what we know from TV and applying it,” she said.
In addition to everything else they were doing‚ Masemola‚ her husband Mandla Ngcongwane and singer Riot were working on their music as Gang of Instrumentals and released a chart-topping track‚ Woza December‚ which made waves across the country.
This track (and album) played a huge role in removing Black Brain from its financial troubles.
“Woza December [did] very well. We used that money to pay for everything for Black Brain.
“A lot of people don’t think about music being something to fall back on‚ and we did,” Masemola said. — Tshisalive