Why the South African Music Awards suck

Now that the brouhaha over the South African Music Awards (Sama) at the Sun City Superbowl has died down, we can say that they were a waste of time.

In fact, songstress Lira, who was presented with four major awards — including Album of the Year — should have rejected them. But that would be expecting too much from a recognition-hungry South African artist who has been misled to believe that success is money and fame.

It is not just Lira who should have rejected the awards.

The same should have been expected of fellow winners and nominees in all categories, including TearGas, Rhythmic Elements, Brickz, Rebecca, Gang of Instrumentals, Siphokazi, Zamajobe, Judith and newcomer Andile Mseleku.

It’s time South African artists, especially from the black community, recognised that the Sama agenda represents an attempt to get them to suck dummies while others smile all the way to the bank.

If you think about it, what exactly does winning a Sama mean except to create a false sense of super-achievement and empty glory?

I am amazed that this competition, which promotes obsession with a pseudo-celebrity culture and meaningless success, has been going on for 15 years.

We must admit that for such an event to go unexamined for more than 10 years means creative intellectuals have stopped thinking. The Samas urgently need to be subjected to critical scrutiny.

I aim to do just that … at the expense of losing influential friends in the music sector.

But our artists, especially musicians, need to concern themselves with programmes that give a true sense of affirmation. The Samas fail to respond to circumstances which see them not only die as paupers but their creative output put on the backburner to the promotion of products that come from the US and Britain.

In fact, there are neither workshops nor intellectually stimulating exchange sessions at the Samas that enable artists to understand who they are and why they are so poor.

What makes it worse is that rarely has there been a platform created for a key-note address by the minister of arts & culture or anybody who talks sense, for instance.

These speakers would address the question of why South African artists and their music is not played on our radio stations and share ideas on how they can own their own products.

Instead, artists have been conditioned to be atomised, segmented individuals who refuse to join the Creative Workers Union of South Africa.

What they know is how to spend hard-earned money on designer labels to look good for one night and pose for sensational tabloid photographers.

Today’s artists — including most people in the music sector — appear to possess a diminished capacity to answer the question of who they are and what their role is in the new society.

It has taken someone like Fikile Mbalula to galvanise them into action and mobilise them into focusing on consolidating the gains made by the ANC in the last 15 years.

It is tragic that the growth of individualism and self-obsession has had such a huge impact on local artists. They suffer from this hunger for affirmation and recognition to such an extent that they are willing to accept plastic awards.

Can anyone tell me how much a Sama is worth?

There is an urgent need for critical discourse about these things and artists are obliged to take a lead to respond to this dire situation.

The whole glitter and glamour focus of the Samas is linked to the objective to fool artists into thinking they are “happening”. This development represents an attempt by record company owners to avoid confronting the issue of the ownership of the music business and why South African music has no big budget to promote itself at home and abroad.

It is for this reason that the government — through the ministry of arts & culture, for instance — has taken steps to not only sponsor the independent record labels to organise themselves into Airco (Association of Independent Record Companies) but purchased Downtown Studios to help artists own their creative products.

These are not just therapeutic techniques to consolidate ANC political power but attempts to give South Africans a wake-up call to take the future into their own hands.

The tragic story of Brenda Fassie — one of the greatest artists in the 20th century music scene — should be used as an example of what happens to musicians who do not study the small print in their contracts or get carried away by the number of awards on their shelves.

Sadly, MaBrrr is an example of what happens to an artist who is deceived by the glare of celebrity floodlights. Now, artists like Lira et al should not just be eager to dress up in designer clothes to be given empty VIP treatment at the Sun City hotel.

Instead, they should begin demanding that the Recording Industry of South Africa (Risa) — the major Sama sponsor — “solve” the problems that await them when the music no longer sells.

The focus should not be on the handful of artists who appear on the SABC smiling and thanking their poor mothers and cousins but on those who have fallen by the wayside because record companies are not doing enough to support them.

It is only when artists like Lira et al reject the Samas and demand genuine “support” and empowerment from the record companies that their quality of life will improve.

The manner in which artists are collaborating in their own oppression and exploitation creates the impression that they are not creative intellectuals.

Let’s admit it, the Samas are proving to be a disadvantage to artists.

This disadvantage is frequently depicted in the amount of money spent to provide booze and create the circumstances that make them believe they are successful when they are not.

It’s time young artists like Lira et al took a step back from the glitter of fame and focused on their work conditions and what the future holds for them.

The big question to ask is: where will Nhlanhla Nciza, Thandiswa Mazwai or Lira, for example, be in 10 years’ time.

This is not so much about spoiling the fun and entertainment in the music sector as it is about drawing attention to the poverty of thought and economic disadvantage that is prevalent among our artists.

To be part of the solution, it’s time artists spend less time at Sin City for a weekend of self-delusion and focus on the role they can play to make the government-sponsored Downtown Studios project work.

That is where their better quality of life lies.

The whole Sama experience is the opium of the music industry that is meant to keep all the artists fooled all the time.

It is time to wake up, now!

Artists must ask: what is Risa going to do to help artists take ownership of Downtown Studios?