SA: Maize meal brand, Metro FM launch campaign to support artists

Shay’na nge White Star (Shine with White Star) seeks to enable local artists to shine their light into the lockdown gloom. The campaign launch also featured a panel discussion comprising musicians Langa Mavuso and Judith Sephuma, who is also the campaign advocate, as well as SAMRO licensing general manager Manqoba Kubheka, South African Music Awards spokesperson Lesley Mafokeng and White Star marketing manager Mokhele Makhoti. 

The campaign will be broadcasted weekly on Metro FM’s Sunday Soul Therapy show by radio host Msizi Shembe starting on 6 September at 1pm. The one-hour show will air for 13 weeks and will allow listeners to enter competitions and win prizes, among other things.

“White Star has a long and joyful relationship with local music,” Makhoti said. “As the impact of the lockdown on performing artists – especially emerging artists – deepened, we wanted to do something meaningful that would benefit them and help lighten the mood in this uncertain and stressful time.”  

Sunday Soul Therapy will give local musicians an opportunity to perform live on air and to reconnect with their audiences. The first show will be headlined by Mavuso who is best known for his chart-topping songs ‘Mvula’ and ‘Sunday Blues’. Other featured artists will be announced in due course. 

“Most importantly, musicians and singers will benefit from being featured on the playlists as well as from the streaming and downloads of their music,” Makhoti said. “The idea behind the campaign is that the more South Africans listen to and support local music, the more local content will be played on radio and TV, helping all our favourite artists to ride out the COVID-19 storm.”

Speaking to Music In Africa, Sephuma, said: “It’s a great initiative and in this time of the pandemic we need every resource we can get to make sure that South African music grievances get heard and to make sure that music does not die out. Its very important and its exciting that we actually have support from our very own White Star.”

Mavuso said: “I think that it’s important to have a brand that pays a space like Metro FM for that hour to just play local music. I think they are setting a precedence or example of what it could be like if 100% local music was played all the time or maybe just at a higher percentage. I am excited to be a part of it and let’s see how they can further develop the initiative in terms of supporting artists, especially emerging ones, to be exposed to the general public through this platform.”

COVID-19 experiences

Sephuma and Mavuso also spoke about how COVID-19 affected their livelihood and shared how they have been getting on with their professional lives during the lockdown restrictions. 

“COVID-19 has forced me to change my mindset about the music industry, about where I am as an artist,” Sephuma said. “It has forced me to work hard, to do things differently and to do things in a uncomfortable way more than anything to adjust to what is happening now. It has taught me to adjust the way I perform, to adjust when a client calls me and they want what they want, you don’t have a choice to actually say ‘ok, if it's not going to mess up with my brand I will do it.'

“We still need that income to come, we don’t work for the same amount of money that we used to work for, but the thing is there is something coming in, which is actually something that we should be fighting for to have that income coming. So no matter what it is, do not have pride and keep fighting for all these huge moneys, they will come.” 

Mavuso echoed Sephuma’s sentiments: “COVID-19 has been a really challenging time for us all and it brought about huge anxiety. We wondered if we should still release music and continue with the plans for the year, and I think slowly as we got into it we started to become more innovative and we began thinking about our audiences and how we can still connect with them. 

“It also made us think harder and we had to figure out new ways to create an income. Obviously, we have lost our direct incomes, which is shows, so we had to kind of run to SAMRO, SAMPRA and CAPASSO to ask for those royalty cheques because now we need that bailout. ”