They said their music was hardly played on the national airwaves, as ZBC favoured musicians from Harare and Bulawayo.
A number of talented outfits have emerged from the seven districts of Manicaland, but failed to achieve national claim after being starved off radio publicity.
Two Keys band, a Dendera outfit which boasts a richly composed album titled Ruvengo (Hatred), has received overwhelming public response in the province the same cannot be said nationally after the album fell short of radio airplay.
Two Keys frontman Lameck Mutero said, “We appeal to radio broadcasters to give us a chance on the airwaves. We know Chipanga is the godfather of Mutare but he is not the only musician here. It’s always Harare or Bulawayo at the expense of other deserving provinces. If it’s not Tongai (Moyo) it’s (Alick) Macheso yet there are other able musicians lacking radio exposure. All musicians are supposed to get equal airplay regardless of where they come from.”
He said Power FM and Radio Zimbabwe were the worse offenders. “You cannot assume that the public wants a certain musician because that very same singer became popular as a result of radio publicity. We feel left out and abandoned,” he said.
The most sought after musician in the province is Juicer Mpostori, who is riding high with his amplified second project Cease Fire (Zvinhu Zvacho) and DVD album.
“The guys at the radio are treating us unfairly. They hardly play our music and at times they ask for kickbacks to do so.And for some of us here in Mutare it’s hard to liaise with them. Your song might be played once and that is it,” he said.
He painfully confided that he was forced to depend on piracy for publicity since there was no room for his music on radio.
“I was forced to rely on piracy as a marketing tool since the radio is not affording us a chance to be heard. Personally I do admit that piracy did more for me than radio.”
Another hip hop artist, J Flow, said it was difficult and costly to promote music to the radio DJs because the radio stations were all based in Harare. Musicians from there know the DJs at professional and personal level. No wonder most artists are relocating to Harare,” he said.
Kingstars Ochestra leader, Zephaniah Karidza, castigated the local radio stations for their bias, unprofessional conduct and failure to cast their net wider.
“They should not look at name or location of the musician. Play music that is upcoming. We are wallowing in obscurity. We will never grow because we are starved of radio publicity,” he said.
Post published in: Entertainment