Story by Patience Nyagato

Local artists are optimistic about an imminent music sector growth owing to measures put in place by the government to develop the creative industry, chief among them the Zimbabwe Music Strategy launched late last year.

Artists who spoke to the ZBC News crew said if available strategies are fully implemented, 2023 could witness a boom in the creative industry.

Musician Agga Nyabinde said, “There is a strategy for commercialising music which has been a challenge. Artists were struggling to sell their music because of things like piracy. So, we are now looking forward to selling electronically according to the strategy and we are looking forward to the implementation of the strategy.”

Producer Clive Mono Mukundu said, “The music industry is based on strategy, so, this year I’m expecting change because the past years we have been struggling. I’m expecting authorities to do more on piracy where Zimbabwe is among the highest in the world.”

Artist Mkoma Panga noted, “We are expecting artists’ livelihoods to improve, especially with the support we receive from the government.”

“I think 2023 is a year of recovery. We will surely recover the industry this year,” Agatha Murudzwa said.

The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe has hit the ground running in terms of implementing the five-year policy document that was launched last year.

National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Communications and Marketing manager Rodney Ruwende said, “We are scaling up the implementation of the music strategy. We have assembled stakeholders who will be supporting the program of music in the digital era. It will focus on exploiting the digital platform so that Zimbabwean musicians can make money from their music.”

Meanwhile, artists are upbeat that the introduction of local music-selling platforms or distributors will positively impact their livelihoods.