Most Kenyan creatives have for long suffered in the hands of powerful cartels

Talk about existence of cartels in Kenya’s entertainment industry has been rife for many years. This has seen many artistes, among other creative talents, waste away from their flourishing careers, while others just get.

All this happens whilst just a few persons live off the sweat of others in the name of gatekeeping. The aftermath is a huge number of the industry players living a destitute and bitter life, with no redemption in sight.

In his famous YouTube-based show dubbed Clearing The Airwaves (CTA), former singer and actor Richard Njau aka A-Star has interviewed many top artistes, most of whom are former signees of once influential music stables Ogopa Deejays and Calif Records.

They’ve all shared their frustrations of individuals who exploited their state of naivety and lack of knowledge, especially in matters copyright and finance management. Top crème talents were signed into labels and were milked dry by some unscrupulous ‘gatekeepers’.

From the dingy River Road-based studios to the posh ones in Nairobi’s gated communities, contracts were signed with no lawyers present to offer any legal interpretations. And so, by the stroke of pen, many talents sold their souls and indeed royalties to these self-vested shrewd entities.

“When you talk about cartels, people envision what they see on TV, but they are everywhere. When I started my journey as a musician, we were selling cassettes and you were then signed to an individual who was your agent, producer and manager.

He would pay all studio expenses with most of them owning a studio and when it came to money, the artiste usually got less than a third of the total earnings,” recalls Kikuyu benga singer Mwalimu Muigai wa Jane.

Change without  change

While the transition from the cassettes to compact disc (CD) players was much awaited, he says, the results did not change the musicians’ fortunes as expected. Instead, the fortunes still went to the agents.

“A while back, it was common for a River Road-based artiste to sell more than a million copies of their CDs, as we would have people going round the estates in cars in almost all big towns.

These people controlled who sold most; they had the then state-of-the-art copying machines that would duplicate thousands of copies of CDs per hour, and they had the means to distribute the same music even in the countryside.

Competing with them was just a futile effort and that is how piracy wreaked havoc at the expense of Kenyan artistes,” he says, adding that the digital dematerialisation of music posed a threat to the cartels, as they could no longer use their then powerful market muscle to monopolise access to buyers and listeners.

The said cartels have also taken the full advantage of the existing colonial era laws to further exploit the suffering industry, where any sort of change has seen ugly wars of words, accusations and counter-accusations waged in boardrooms.

This has occurred many times in the Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) where it is in the public knowledge that the so-called cartels have perfected the art of drawing first blood and cry wolf later, creating a mirage in the public.

“I have been in management positions in these CMOs and I have witnessed first-hand how cruel these individuals are.

They have preyed on artistes’ royalties and found ways of making it work for them. While most of us get into these elected positions with full trust of fellow members, once you get there, it’s a complete different story. It gets to a point where court orders are the order of the day,” former Music Copyright Society of Kenya chairman Japheth Kassanga intimates to Spice.

Finger pointing

A while back, Coast-based artistes used to point fingers at their Nairobi counterparts whom they accused of looking down on them.

They did not end the blame game there, as they always complained of not getting the same representation when it came to matters showbiz and airplay. This outcry was given the term “Nairobi Baridi” (cold Nairobi).

“When I started as an artiste in Mombasa, everything was just centred in Nairobi, especially the shows and airplay. Most of us were given cold treatment by show producers and certain deejays controlled the playlist with an iron fist.

However, as the industry grew, especially with devolution, Mombasa became bigger and to our surprise, a number of people have made the show business their own business. They control who gets the corporate and county shows,” actor, model and performing artiste Davis Luvaha alias Rojo Mo opens up.

Rojo Mo, who broke into limelight following his hit song Ameke ft Chikuzee, has now ventured into acting where he has starred in a number of TV drama shows and telenovelas among them Maisha Magic’s Selina. He says the acting industry is not riddled with monopolistic approaches as those in the music industry.

Those in the gospel music industry continue to cry foul over a coup by cartels, whom they accuse of mercilessly exploiting the industry and milking it dry.

“A decade ago, artistes affiliated to gospel music had the limelight, and the whole structure had been well placed for this.

We later saw groupings such as System Unit and Genius Entertainment grow into big outfits that controlled airplay and shows.

If you were not in either, chances of you getting airplay were minimal and some of us had to turn to secular shows to get the much-needed airtime. In corporate spaces, it was the same story, and that is why after the rise and fall of Groove Awards, no one has been able to fill that gap,” says gospel singer Dan Mogore.

Veteran music producer Dr Eddie gives his two cents on the matter saying: “Music business, just like any other business where there is big money involved, there will be people who will try to monopolise things, making sure every deal goes their way.

This impacts the industry greatly and when these forces are strong enough, they will push their agenda and that’s why you will find a certain group of individuals dominating all available commercial and media spaces. A while ago, music was not available and accessible to many people and you would find only a few artistes being overplayed and they would get the most sumptuous contracts from the corporates. This was pushed by a few people, but when internet came, things really changed because more people had access to good music.”

However, there are some artistes who feel that this is just an excuse made by their counterparts. “People say that certain markets are locked by some people, but at the same time, this is just a lazy reason not to work extra hard. If something is not working for you in a certain environment, you can change to where these so-called cartels don’t exist because we live in a capitalistic world,” says Mombasa-based rapper Kaa La Moto.

Rapper and former Calif Records signee Jimw@t is of the same opinion. He says the many years of experience he has accumulated have taught him to do his thing and get support from those who feel his vibe. Those who don’t, he says, he has no qualm with them.

Untamed talent exploitation

In the fashion and beauty pageantry, there’s a dark side to it too that has put many talents to waste. From sexual propositions to bribing judges for a chance to be crowned the fairest of them all, pageant hopefuls have seen it all.

While the crown comes with fame and glamour, this has also provided the perfect platform for sexual predators to exploit those who clamour for all that. Beauty queen and former Miss Bomet Faith Chepkorir says the industry has seen many young women and men fall victims of these individuals who come in the name of franchise owner or personal sponsor.

“Once they have their eyes on you, they will use every trick in their book to lure you to their beds, as they promise you wins, endorsements and of course money. In Kenya, the people who own these franchises enforce isolations and strict controls and have leveraged on this sad state to make sure they continue to hold reigns of the pageantry world.

It is common for these managers to place beauty queens in certain tables, which at times is pre-arranged and pre-meditated in exchange for certain favours,” she tells Spice.

Annitah Mbuguah has for many years worked in creative spaces and fostered inter-institutional dialogues for government institutions and the private sector. She says there is need to invest into the infrastructure of the country’s creative industries.

“We need to provide sound basis for future competitiveness in the country, strengthening of social sustainability, awareness rising of public regarding contribution of the culture and creativity into prosperity and well-being of the country and future generations.

We need to be patient while investing into the sector, in regard to getting benefits from private-public partnerships,” she says, adding that when this happens, it will help weed out some of the systematic issues that has for long dogged the sector. 

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