MBABANE –What is your worth?
What are promoters looking for when considering booking an artist and how do they gauge how to pay them? In the aftermath of COVID-19 and a full year of not being able to attend gigs in a normal capacity, people are celebrating the return of events and being with other fans, so there has never been a better time to hone in on live performances, but what does one need to know? This publication had a chance to speak to local promoters to get more information on what goes into booking and paying of a local artist, but first where does the money come from. The two primary ways bands and solo musicians make money from gigs are; taking a cut from the ticket pre-sales and taking a guaranteed fee. It is common to have one or the other agreed and whether you push for a cut of ticket sales or a guaranteed fee for playing will depend on the circumstances. For instance, if you are playing a gig in your hometown and can count on lots of local fans attending, it would be prudent to get a cut of ticket sales. If you are the headline artist, your cut should be high and reflect the fact that the vast majority of people are coming to see you (the venue will make plenty on bar sales).
Costs
If you are playing in a town you have never played before in, and you are in the early stages of your career it might be wise to take a guaranteed fee, just to make sure you at least cover all your costs. This is where things get tricky locally, where most headliners are foreign artists with a worldwide brand and are entitled to a way larger pay than the local acts and according to promoters and event organisers, here is why. Solani’s Shisanyama’s events manager, commonly known as Dope Deep mentioned that the artist’s brand mattered a whole lot when it came to the money that they were paid when booked for a show at the establishment. In the same light the artist himself mentioned that even though artists are paid according to their brand, it is usually way less than they actually deserve. “The artist’s brand value vs the scale of the gig and how popular that artist is and how many people they’ll attract to the gig matters a whole lot. Also how massive the gig is, will the artist be a main attraction or a contributing act, also to cover travel costs and a performance fee, are all the facts to be considered, unfortunately we are still facing a huge challenge locally, artists are not paid according to what they truly deserve, promoters seem to pay at a rate they think the artist deserves, which in most cases will cater and cover costs for getting to the event, and there’s no profit at all. A huge concern for local artists which should really be looked into,” said Dope Deep.
Zulu D, a DJ, entrepreneur and promoter also echoed similar qualities in order for artists to be paid. He said: “It depends on what value that artist or DJ brings to your event. Does he or she have followers who would actually come to support him/ her, because talent alone is not enough, especially from a promoter’s perspective and then it also depends on how much expenses it will costs the artist to perform at your show. You don’t need to know the actual numbers, but you can do a rough estimate. So you combine these factors and come up with a price you can both agree on,” said Zulu D.
Investigated
This comes as a revelation as this publication once investigated artists pay, after a few artists had complained about being under paid especially compared to international acts.
Business Insider SA once released an article, where they mentioned that a top South African musician earned anything between R10 000 and R250 000 per performance. However, most artist enough expected to earn roughly R1 500 to R3 000 per show, until their brands are big to be worth, big money. This is the one thing that the locals would fuss over, mentioning that they would generally get E1 500 or E2 000 at most, while international acts would receive over E30 000, great accommodation and hospitality. A huge challenge in the local industry is the fact that it is not regulated, this was mentioned by another events organiser, Tammy Dlamini also known as DJ Toxik. “Artists will charge or negotiate based on their celebrity status and how many events they have played at and how big they were.
For OG’s in the industry, they charge a larger amount which is the same across because of the experience they have accumulated over the years. What also matters a whole lot is the set-up, because a festival will pay more than a club hosted show,” said DJ Toxik. Dlamini also mentioned that SA artists have made a great name for themselves even travelling across the globe, solidifying their brands. In SA, a popular DJ like Black Coffee, charges an average of R100, 937.00 per hour. This fee may be higher or lower depending on the event, location, and time of day. For example, a wedding during peak hours on a Saturday night may cost more than a corporate event during the day on a weekday. Black Coffee is one of the most in-demand DJs in SA. He has a unique style that combines Deep House, soulful vocals, and African influences.
Nominated
His music has been described as ‘emotional, spiritual, and uplifting.’ Black Coffee has won numerous awards, including the Best International DJ Award at the 2017 DJ Awards. He has also been nominated for a Grammy Award and a BET Award. If you’re looking for an unforgettable experience, Black Coffee is the DJ for you. His fees may be higher than some, but his music is worth every penny. He’s one of the most well-known and sought-after DJs in the game right now, charging up to US$300,000 per set, which equates to E5 379 435. The variations in income and standard of living between local artists and their South African contemporaries can be attributed to the glaring structural, psychological, and behavioural differences between the two markets. Structurally: SA has an established arts economy, as all essential structures were put in place and are functionally. These include governance structures like the Department of Arts and Culture, regulatory structures like the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA), royalties collection societies like the Southern Africa Music Royalties Organisation (SAMRO), as well as a wide range of media platforms, at both national and community levels, that have content monitoring software used to generate statistics for ratings and royalties collection purposes.
The deliberate political will at central government level to treat the Arts as a formal sector whose contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) can be measured and recorded has enabled their industry to flourish.Perception/Psychological: The general small economy mind-set usually leads to a subconscious appreciate of everything that’s from a bigger economy than ours. People tend to assume all products made in SA are of a better quality than those made locally, yet ours are equally good. This mind-set then transcends to all other sectors including the arts. We have seen promoters and corporates hiring SA artists who charge an arm and a leg at the expense of our own artists due to what they perceive as better popularity for the former. This also speaks to the need of a regulatory framework for the arts so as to protect and advance local arts ahead of imported arts.
Establish
If we perceive or label ourselves as inferior we will become inferior. A mind-set shift, therefore, has to prevail so as to establish and develop the arts economy of Eswatini.
Behavioural: Our artists’ own behaviours and lack of arts business skills and knowledge poses a challenge to the arts economy of Eswatini. Notwithstanding the lack of structural support, our artists need to stop treating their work as a ‘hustle’ (side jobs). They need to formally register their labels as companies, they need to manage their social media personae, and they need to decline being short-changed by promoters or companies who negotiate down their quotes; among many other things. Arts associations like SWAMA, together with the mother body ENCAC, should conduct focused trainings; establish arts tours and exchange programmes; and establish an Arts Fund that will assist artists to access arts business loans.