By Sindiso Dube
The last two years have been gloomy for the arts industry and saw most artists shelving their music due to Covid-19 restrictions that came with the suspension of live musical shows.
The last quarter of 2021 saw shows being held under strict Covid-19 regulations. However a few would break the law and hold performances after curfew times and exceeding maximum numbers.
Many artists predict a better 2022 that will see them releasing music and holding live shows.
Others have expressed the need to turn their brands from just artistry to entrepreneurship and owning platforms in the age of Covid-19.
Mbeu released an album, Manera in November and hopes to market it through live shows and visual.
“2022 is an exciting year for us, the dynamics of music are changing due to the spread of the novel corona virus. We are excited to be in the trenches again and we see ourselves doing a lot of shows and pushing for the culture of family shows that will be adhering to Covid-19 regulations and curfew stipulated times,” said Mbeu.
“We will be marketing our latest release, Manera (Album) that we released in November. That will be our key activity and we will be releasing videos from the album, with our first video dropping in February. We have a special collaboration that will be out on January 21, we cannot divulge the name of the artist, we want to surprise our fans, all I can say is it’s going to be huge.
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“We will be releasing new music when we are convinced that we have served and exhausted the market with Manera. We want to share the album Manera with everyone across the country. We want to perform it live before we start releasing new music.”
Comedian and Umahlekisa comedy club founder Ntando Moyo said they want to enhance their digital footprint in 2022.
“As Umahlekisa comedy club, we are expecting to enhance our digital footprint and explore more on social media and other online platforms. We are looking at our anniversary which is coming in March and we want to hold a comedy festival to celebrate our fete,” he said.
“On a personal level, I want to grow my brand and diversifying it to consultancy, and administrative work that means there will be less performances from me this year.”
Rapper and founder of Masofa Panze Art Consultancy Noble Stylz said artists should venture more into owning platforms rather than concentrating on content production alone.
“2022 presents a new landscape for creative, the digital age made a very rapid engulfment for our space which has its serious advantages and challenges. The synergy of ideas and processes to execute are key to survival and growth in our realm,” said Noble Stylz.
“On a personal level, I look forward to ownership as a key thing to many of the projects I will embark on. Institutions will surely outlive artistry and I am going to bank more into owning spaces and market share. It will also be key to partner with platforms who are onto the same path and increase equity.”
Amapiano and house star Mzoe 7 who managed to perform in the United States of America last year said he will be broadening his brand more into business.
“We are growing the brand, moving it up to entrepreneurship and not limited to music. I am in collaboration with X Studios in Bulawayo and Gwanda. We are creating a platform that will make it easy for artists to record their projects anytime even if they don’t have money at hand. I will also be producing and directing television shows and a movie in collaboration with Keaitse films” he said.
Zambian-based rapper Sinbad 90 will dish out videos and also try out new genres.
“This is an exciting year that will see me featured on a song with one of Zambia’s finest artist but I won’t be revealing the name till everything is on track. You should also expect more videos from my side and I will be fusing hiphop with other genres. I bet many have never heard me sing, I will be singing this year,” said the Boyz Remukute hit maker.
