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Entertainment Reporters
A recent statement by Harare City Council authorities that people that sell original arts products on the streets risk being arrested has put artistes in a tight corner. Artistes that spoke to The Herald Entertainment said the statement leaves them in a proverbial situation of being pressed between a rock and hard surface since they had resorted to selling their own products to evade marauding piracy.

Council spokesperson Leslie Gwindi said the artistes were breaking by-laws through illegal vending and making noise on the streets when they play loud music to market their songs.

Musicians and actors have been selling their products on the streets for a long time since piracy hit them hard. The artistes are also trying to bypass established distributors whom they accuse of short-changing them.

Gospel musician Kudzi Nyakudya called on relevant authorities to facilitate an enabling environment for artistes to sell their products without risking arrest.

“We must be given means to sell our products somewhere because piracy is killing our revenues, so as long as there is the problem of piracy we must continue finding means to get returns from our hard work,” Nyakudya said.

Amos Mahendere  believes allowing musicians to sell their music on the street was a step in the right direction which would see them musicians reaping maximum profits from their work without having to wait for “ages” in order to receive royalties from recording companies.

Normally, artistes receive royalties from recording companies on a quarterly basis and there have been deep suspicion that the recording firms were not transparent enough when it comes to revealing the actual figures of the albums that they would have sold.

However, the decision by the artistes to go it alone and bypassing the recoding companies seems to be a major cause for concern for the recording firms who are now feeling the heat as the artistes are now posing as stiff competitors in the music business, according to Mahendere.

“There is now ‘war’ between the recording companies and musicians since the musicians have now woken up from their deep slumber and have realised that they can actually do it all for themselves, be it in recording, duplicating, releasing and marketing their music.

“If you take a walk along First Street or any other street for that matter, you will see musicians selling their own CDs because they have realised that they can’t wait for three months in order to receive royalties from recording companies, and in most cases, these royalties are just a pittance.

“Piracy created this development. As musicians, we lose sleep creating and composing our music and then put our money into it but at the end of the day we are getting nothing from our sweat.

“There are people who are driving good cars and are living large because of pirating our music and if these can do it, why can’t we the creators benefit from our intellectual property.”

He said being arrested for selling music on the streets would be a huge blow to artistes that were trying to make ends meet.

“Imagine, I am the originator of my work and when I go out on the streets to sell it in its original form, I get arrested while pirates continue with their business. I am a lawful citizen of this country trying to earn a decent living from my music and it is described as a crime.”

Artistes that have taken to the streets to sell their own music include Clive Barangiro, Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave, Pianos Jaravaza, actors Daviad “Sabhuku Vharazipi” Mubaiwa and Lloyd “Mabla 10” Kurima.

Jaravaza argues that as long as upcoming musicians receive little chances of being marketed and distributed fairly by established distribution companies, then the issue of selling their works by themselves will always remain pertinent.

“When a big name produces new stuff you get it all over within seconds but when its new guys you struggle to get the stuff anywhere. So we should be allowed to sell it in the streets until the issues are resolved,” he said.