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For the past two or three years, the country has seen an influx of musicians recording their music. And just recently, every musician coming out of studio makes sure that apart from selling the traditional audio tapes, there should be a provision for compact discs (CDs).
So fashionable CDs have become that when you do not join your friends in CD discussions, you are perceived to be backward. The same is true with VCDs and DVDs — they are the in-thing.
But for the musicians who sell CDs, are they just flowing with the dictates of the market or avoiding piracy? Or do CDs help them make a quick buck since they sell them at a higher price than audio tapes?
Seasoned musician and producer Paul Banda said the development is mainly a response to market demand.
“There has been an outcry for the past four years for people to record music on CDs but we could not do that because the market was so small. This time things have changed, more people have CD players and musicians have to satisfy this group.
“Again, CDs have good quality output and this is what people want. However, musicians spend less yet they make more money with the CDs. So they [CDs] offer big business,” said Banda who owns Imbirani Yahwe Studios in Balaka.
However, Banda dismissed claims that CDs are safer when it comes to piracy.
“In fact, with them it’s even worse. The problem is that one can rarely differentiate the quality of a pirated CD from the original unlike with audio tapes. The proliferation of computers has actually made things worse,” he said.
Another producer cum musician Joseph Tembo echoed Banda’s sentiments that the preference for CDs is generally because of money.
“If you sell one CD, it is equivalent to selling about five or so audio tapes. This shows that with CDs, you make more money by selling few copies. The other thing is that demand for CDs has grown mainly because people want quality things,” said Tembo, adding that there is no control of piracy in CDs.
He said most people are abusing the rights of the musicians by dubbing CDs and mixing songs from different musicians, leaving the artists in the cold.
“Even the DJs whom we give copies of our music reproduce and mix them anyhow. So CDs are not safe,” he said.
Musician Mlaka Maliro said he would prefer to sell his music in CDs because that is the only way he can account for his sales.
“Just imagine, when I sell about 1000 CDs, it means I have about K1 million. This is good because even the production costs for CDs is lower than the market price,” said the artist.
Musicians Association of Malawi (Mam) interim president Wellington Chatepa said in an interview on Wednesday the only edge CDs have over audio tapes is quality.
“People uphold quality and this is guaranteed with CDs. On the other hand, it is in line with modernisation. If you go to Europe, you will not find tapes but CDs and this is slowly coming here.
“However, you will agree that the majority of Malawians, about 80 percent, are poor and live in rural areas and cannot afford CDs, so audio tapes have to be maintained,” said Chatepa.
Davie Masache, a resident of Ndirande in Blantyre, said he would prefer CDs to audio tapes because of quality and other facilities that accompany them.
“With CDs, there are no hassles like rewinding for minutes. You just press a button and play the song of your choice whether it means repeating it for a number of times. Actually, you can programme it to play only your favourite songs,” he said.
Even DJs prefer CDs to audio tapes because they are not difficult to programme.
Power FM 101’s Patrick Kamkwatira is on record to have said CDs make his life easier in the studio. He also said their quality is high.
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