South African Artists Are Being Robbed of Fruits of Their Labour!

For most people around the world, the music industry represents glamour, fame, riches and influence. On the inside though it is famously opaque, litigious and corrupt. If South Africa is to create a vibrant local industry that will benefit aspirant musicians, then far more transparency is needed. 

South African musicians say the local music industry has gone into a catastrophic decline, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Whoever controls the money, controls the industry. And part of the reason why the local music industry has declined over the last decade, is because of the confused and contradictory reporting and lack of accountability around the money that is being made, reports Niki Moore for GroundUp.

South Africa's arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa is already facing anger from the public for ineffectively supporting the arts during the Covid-19 lockdown. In February 2021, artists signed a petition calling for his resignation. Some say the current scandal is indicative of the culture ministry's larger failure to support its diverse arts scene over the years.

GroundUp's investigation looks at decades of mismanagement by government and industry players who have failed the musicians of this country, which has left South African artists producing half as many songs in 2021, as they produced ten years ago.