Counting the cost of music

2008-10-03 13:32

Duncan Alfreds

Cape Town - Few would dispute that South Africa has a depth of music talent, but there are barriers to aspiring musicians taking the limelight - most notably funding for equipment and recording studios.

"We came into our bang with day jobs and didn't draw money from the band for two years," Andy Mac of Flat Stanley tells News24.

"We invested in the best decent equipment that we could afford because terrible equipment can destroy a good band," he adds.

Ironically enough, now that the band is gaining popularity, companies are providing some equipment at not cost, says Mac.

The strategy that Flat Stanley used when they couldn't afford equipment was to hire equipment from reputable dealers, but as Mac says, even that didn't always go according to plan.

Strike deals

"We lost money on some of our early gigs, but the idea was to hire equipment and strike deals between the band and suppliers," he says.

Up-and-coming bands have their own problems with music equipment, and they have to come up with creative ways to solve the problem of equipment costs.

"We borrowed equipment and bought what we could afford," says Dillon Chegwidden of Heaven Under Ground.

"There's nothing worse than trying to perform and having to fight your equipment on stage," he adds.

He believes that musicians should work "cleverly" to get sponsorships and that equipment in South Africa is expensive due to import costs.

No viable music manufacturing

Newton Wetter of the music equipment retailer Paul Bothner Group agrees.

"Much of the music equipment that we bring into the country is expensive and while importing from China might save costs, we're very wary about the quality of the Chinese product," he explains.

Wetter contends that there is no viable South African commercial music manufacturing and as long as that situation persists, the costs of equipment will continue to remain high.

"Our biggest seller is the guitar because everybody thinks it's a cool instrument," he says.

He does give an indication of where he thinks the music industry is headed in general terms.

"We can see from our sales that the number of synthesisers has dropped significantly because most people who have a computer can do music production - because it's cheaper than the more traditional production methods.

More talent discovered

"We're selling many more audio monitors and controller keyboards because these can be programmed to produce music with the computer.

Asked whether he thought that the technology has resulted in more quality music being produced, Wetter says: "There's been a massive increase in volume, but not in quality of music."

He does, however, concede that the technology has allowed more talent to be discovered.

Andre Darling of Sweat Shop Recording studio says that studio time costs about R1 800 per day which is more affordable for musicians starting out than the estimated R4 000 per day in bigger studios.

Bands have some hope that they will be heard, but perhaps cost will ultimately determine who the public hears.

- News24