DJ FRESH OFFERS SURVIVAL BASICS
Being the flavour of the moment is not enough. This is one of the biggest lessons that many creatives, especially those in the music and entertainment business are learning the hard way. In fact, they need to tap into that hype, diversify and create multiple streams of income. Artists must tap into their loyal fan base, and conceptualise ideas/ businesses that will earn them extra income.
Sharing his pearls of wisdom at the just ended sixth edition of the Botswana International Music Conference, renowned radio personality, DJ Fresh highlighted that right now musicians did not have any gigs that were bringing them an income due to the Covid- 19 pandemic, and that they needed to wake up to the fact that they can use their brands to survive as well as leverage on their rich pool of contacts. The virtual edition of the event was held under the theme: Life Inside and Outside the Covid- 19 Bubble.
His statement rings true. Never has it been important to diversify. This week, parliament extended the State Of Emergency by a further six months. The SOE will come to an end in September. The picture on the ground is very bleak for many of those who heavily relied and were dependent on income earned from performing or organising gigs. It will be a while before many can get a gig, or even organise one. In the meantime, it is imperative for them to put bread on the table for their families and pay the mounting piles of bills, which is what Fresh is echoing.
Giving the example of musician & entrepreneur, Odirile Sento, who recently launched his bottled water business, Maveeta, Fresh highlighted that for the artist this was a difference between whether he has a roof over his head or not. “That is the difference between whether he has a house by the end of the year or not because there are no gigs at the moment. And he is taping into his loyal fan base to earn income,” he said.
He also said that artists must offer their fans, and fans will already be ready to consume anything that they are selling. “You will be surprised at how many people are ready to buy anything from you,” says DJ Fresh, who also highlighted that the world revolved around the internet and that this offered artists with an opportunity to have an insight about what their fans wanted in order to service them. With years in the entertainment industry as a DJ, he says that last year, he had a slap of reality when he realized that what he has been doing is not enough. And that there was a need for performers like him to build beyond their hype/ flavour of the moment.
“Unfortunately for many who are in the industry, they think that it will last but it won’t. Even after my years in the industry, I realized that what I was doing was not enough,” he said.
He further said that one thing that the Covid- 19 pandemic has exposed most if not all in the creative sector is the fact that the industry is not ready for emergencies. Often times, people talk about what one would do in the eventuality that one loses a job. Conversations will centre around issues of whether one has enough money to last you for the next three months. And those that had the luxury to save, can save for at least three months as contingency, in case something happened. But when Covid- 19 happened, it caught many literally with their pants down, he said. In the early days of Covid- 19, he says that many people assumed and anticipated that the present situation that sees many spending months without any form of income would only last a few months and nothing more than what is currently happening.
Giving an insight about his journey, he explained that he relocated to Johannesburg in December 1994. DJ Fresh, born Thato Sikwane, pointed out that during his successful career, he has been blessed with good fortunes, and that this has allowed him with the opportunity to save money for a rainy day. “I had the good fortunes of having long periods on which to build, so someone such as myself, I have been able to save. I have been able to have contingency in place so that if I don’t have an income, my kids don’t feel it. For me that has always been important. I have always believed in the fact that you don’t have to earn a thousand bucks in order to save. Even if you earn ten bucks, are you able to save twenty five percent of that ten bucks, and live within the 75 bucks, he said.
“It is not necessarily about how much you are earning. And I think a lot of us in entertainment took all of that for granted. You are getting gigs all the time, people love you and you think that this tap will never dry. And then enter March 2020, and all of us were caught with our pants down,” he said. He also said that
when this happened, a lot of people literally moved back home, or back to a 9- 5 if they could find it because all of a sudden, you realise that mom was right about finding a proper job.
Speaking at the official opening of the event, the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Tumiso Rakgare applauded the event organiser, Mr Modibe for having the drive to put together an event of this magnitude in these trying times. He further shared that the road to unveiling the National Arts Council was going very well, and reiterated that plans are at an advanced stage.
“Üpon its formation, it is expected that the creative arts sector in Botswana will be empowered to excel,” said the Minister.
He also encouraged all creatives to partake in the BIMC through various social media platforms as the topics to be discussed were of great relevance as they covered issues of: Life inside and outside the COVID- 19 bubble and Copyright Law, among others. The Policy SpecialistArts and Culture, Gao Lemmenyane encouraged the creative sector representatives to come together and stand united. “The Ministry is continuously engaging the creative sector associations to ascertain how best the creative sector can be transformed into a lucrative industry which will employ large numbers and pay them accordingly.”