Kenya music industry is 'out of tune'

Lack of musical knowledge

Kenyan producer Tobias Ochieng’ Odhiambo, who is better known as Shunkyz, says most young musicians have no background education in music, which is always a challenge for producers who have to school artists about basics.

“As much as I am the producer, I expect an artist to present to me meaningful lyrics,” Shunkyz says. “Songwriting is a skill that you are taught and thanks to technology there are online music courses one can enrol in. When a musician comes into studio for a recording session, the first this I do is have a look at his lyrics. For those whose lyrics are unsatisfying or plagiarised, we sit down to rewrite or rearrange the existing lyrics. This is a waste of time and money for the musician. Therefore, if a musician can master the art of songwriting, then my work as a producer is made easier.”

The dean at Kabarak University School of Music and Performing Arts, Mellitus Wanyama, says the lack of music education in Kenya begins with neglect at governmental level.    

“The government has not really put in place enough facilities to support music education in Kenya,” he said. “Our neighbours in Tanzania have always included music education in their curriculum thanks to the Arusha Declaration of 1967, which paved the way for the inclusion of [traditional] music through dance in the school curriculum as a tool for promoting culture.”

Shunkyz also says that because there is a lack vocal training and and knowledge of scale theory, singers are becoming increasingly dependent on technology – particularly autotune – during the recording process. “If someone cannot sing then it becomes taxing to make the song sound good. Without good vocals, creating an instrumental becomes challenging as it is very difficult to get the right melody, which eventually makes mixing very frustrating.”    

Lack of media support

When the media does not support local musicians, the industry as a whole, including producers, suffers too. Kenyan musicians have always blamed the media for not supporting local content. In 2005, musicians took to the streets requesting for the formulation a law that would force radio stations to play 70% local content. This is yet to happen.

“If songs that I produce do not get airplay then there will be no exposure for my work,” Shunkyz says. “For most musicians, feedback from the public determines when next they will be in studio. There are musicians that I recorded two or three years back; until now they are yet to record more music because they have never received airplay, which means lack of business for me.”

Shunkyz says this situation has forced many producers and labels to dig deep into their pockets to pay radio presenters and DJs to play their music – an illegal practice that is widely known as payola. “As a musician unless you are well off or connected within the media industry, you will always pay for airplay. This situation gets even worse for female musicians who end up being sexually harassed,” Shunkyz says.

Piracy

Music journalist Bill Odidi says that during the disco era of the 1980s, the Kenyan music industry suffered a major decline as piracy became prominent, forcing many international record companies to close shop and leave the country. Since then the Kenyan music industry and the relevant authorities have been unable to tackle piracy. Musicians today, however, have learnt to use piracy to their advantage as much as possible by allowing pirates to distribute their works in return for publicity, which often translates to full venues when they perform live.

On a positive note

Shunkyz, who has also worked with musicians from the DRC and Tanzania, is happy with the addition of more royalty collection bodies apart from the Music Copy Right Society of Kenya (MCSK). He says the introduction of SKIZA Tune by Safaricom is a great boost for musicians, as they can now receive monthly payments from the mobile service provider.

“The Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK) offers its members health insurance. Musicians do not pay any fee, instead PRISK (the Performers Rights Society of Kenya) makes monthly deduction from the royalties accumulated by the musician in liaison with the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP). The government has for the first time cooperated with the musicians, apart from paying them to perform during their campaigns, and most politicians have complied with the KAMP-PRISK political campaign licence,” Shunkyz says.