By Sibusiso Dlamini | 2021-07-30

THE surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country over the past few weeks has created enormous uncertainty in the entertainment scene.

This has also led to questions without any obvious answers. Will more jobs be lost? How will artists adapt, and most importantly, how will the local scene which was already struggling to provide a liveli hood for its players manage to overcome the financial repercussion of not just the global pandemic, but also the political impasse witnessed over the past few weeks, are just some of the questions that all players must be scratching their heads about.

Today, the Eswatini Observer Entertainment Desk attempts to bring a discussion on what the next moves could be, which areas to consider, key actions to take, and questions to ask.

This of course is not to suggest that these suggestions are the ideal solution – there are many different scenarios, and while it may not have all the answers as of yet, what can be done is plan, be pro-active and act with foresight to better position ourselves for a stronger and more resilient future.

Entertainment shut down

The month of April 2020 played itself out in novel-like style.

With only a few weeks before the 15th edition of the biggest concert in the country, which happens to be arguably one of the biggest contributors to our economy – the MTN Bushfire Festival, the then Prime Minister in the late Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini ordered cinemas, live entertainment venues, and all areas of recreation to close and those which were allowed to remain open found themselves with very few or no customers.

This left all players in the industry absolutely gobsmacked as gigs were not just cancelled, but nobody but God had an idea of when any re-opening would happen!

Road to recovery

Fortunately, just as characteristic of any disaster movie, it ends or at-least shows some resolution, and after a few months in the dark, the industry was gradually re-opened, but instead of causing a sigh of relief among the players, it proved the broader reality.

Firstly, making live venues physically safe for employees and consumers proved to be a significant challenge, as only a very few were better placed than to endure the changes driven by the COVID-19 crisis, but many of them were struggling with segments facing structural decline.

Additionally, to the new physical limitations that threaten venues for the scene’s biggest shows such as the aforementioned Bushfire Festival, the Standard Bank Luju Festival, the FNB SmoothFest, the House Music Festival, the Swazi Rally and the one which was one of the brewing ones, the Pop Sunday, corporates have also been hit hard and may not necessarily be looking to splash cash in recreation or towards entertainment.

Data challenges

Amid continued transition to adapting to the new normal where everything has gone digital, local artists have been met with a number of challenges as the costs of data in the country limit the market, which means monetising the space is proving to be a huge challenge, and this is also affecting the budding content-creation scene, which is also a vital partner in developing artist and the scene as a whole.

Swazi Boy tried to get be more visible and even recruited new talent in Mtha and Shakes, more podcasts were birthed such as the TEA podcast and ROAR with Bhubesi, and more youngsters got introduced us to their YouTube Channels (who can ever forget that memorable La Dludlu smash or pass video!), but with the populace struggling with poverty and the financial implications of the pandemic, buying data or connecting to the internet is still a luxury for the majority, and this means these platforms creating content independently struggle to cut through and subsequently with maintaining consistency.

Sound leadership and innovation

With the latest political impasse in the country, more companies have made significant job cuts and business changes to survive the initial disruption, and as they transition from response to recovery, they are developing strategies that can position them to be more successful after everything subsides.

This is one thing that has always been a downfall of the local scene.

There are no defined leaders that can walk the talk and there’s absolutely no effective communications amongst all players – from photographers to show organisers and how we could all move forward.

Associations such as SWAMA will need more new faces and thinking than just Zoe Nonde to regain the trusts of artists and to facilitate a united movement.

There’s still a lot that needs to be done at policy level, with the Copyrights Bill being an example.

The recovery phase will likely require for all players to come together, have the determination to confidently move forward and more importantly, to break old models and build new ones that support a return to growth.

This crisis is an opportunity to force change and create a renewed industry, but this means the youngsters within the industry need to identify their own young leaders, empower them, take decisions and move with a common goal.

Time to win the consumers 

While it is very true that the local market needs to have a mind shift with regards to how it perceives the local scene and its players, the players themselves need to win the locals’ hearts once and for all.

As everyone re-evaluates and experiments with how they live, work, and play now, it is imperative for the scene to have a robust movement.

The industry can no longer rely on old methods, this is the time to reinvent the wheel!

Only by doing so can we unlock new opportunities, capabilities, and experiences that can expand not only the revenues, but grow the scene into an industry that does not depend on internationals.

Yes, the pandemic has not only exacerbated the challenges that the scene faced, but no messiah -not government, nor the gatekeepers, not the SWAMA president will address those challenges and determine how to create a new conducive future for the players where we can all grow and thrive, that responsibility lies on all of us.

So for once, can ‘Tini Twitter’ stop pointing fingers and get into one big discussion about how we can all play a role in rebuilding the Entertainment scene in Eswatini, out futures all depend on it! 

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