The South African music industry is in crisis. Recent data suggests that the industry has declined by an average of 13.2% per year for the past 5 years. The industry seems to be unable to accept responsibility for this state of affairs and consistently blames external factors for its woes. A new look at the marketing strategies for the industry is urgently required The primary objective of this dissertation is to raise the debate around current marketing strategies, to show that these strategies are not able to facilitate growth in the industry, and need to be radically reassessed. Anticipated results were achieved during the interviews that were conducted. There is a general belief throughout the industry that the reason for the decline is beyond the control of retailers or suppliers. Blame was placed on the increasing sales of cellular phones, gambling, the national lottery and piracy. None of the interviewed stakeholders considered a change in marketing strategy to be beneficial. It is recommended that marketing strategies be reviewed. The tendency to operate on a 'product and price' advertising strategy should be removed, and a strategy put in place that responds to the wants and needs of consumers. This strategy should include a great degree of personal relevance for the consumer. Retail stores should focus on establishing brand identity for their stores rather than focusing on product and price. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

This thesis seeks to gain a holistic understanding of consumption issues in the popular music market, such that it needs to account for the influence of 1) technological factors, 2) institutional factors, 3) cultural factors, and 4) an ontological aspect; as these are identified to be the most prominent aspects in the literature on the market. While there is a bourgeoning literature on the market, there has been little formal attempt to link such issues in a comprehensive fashion. The methodology applied provides a critique of the literature on specific consumption theories which have apparent pertinence to the music market. Each of the sociological, psychological, and economic theories (neoclassical and radical) is found to be too generalized to provide such an understanding, in that many issues concerning the music market would need to be eschewed if these theories were to be applied in an orthodox fashion. Moreover, the theories tend to point towards each other for the possibility of a credible, holistic consumption analysis. The most useful and all-encompassing consumption theory reviewed is the systems of provision approach advanced by Fine and Leopold (1993), in that the approach aims to be sensitive to the difference between commodities in terms of the economic and social processes and structures by which they become commodities, and thus it can allow one to consider adequately the four requirements identified above for a holistic understanding of the market. This approach is then applied to the western music market with the aim of 1) testing the approach identified, and 2) making a specific comment of the market. The market is found to be characterized historically by three distinct periods, each with distinct systems of provision (i.e. each with the four factors identified above relating to each other in a certain manner). It is proposed that preference formations in the final period identified have been institutionalized to a large extent, and there is a low probability of change occurring. The systems of provision approach is argued to be beneficial in highlighting which aspects of the existing consumption theories are relevant to the market at a point in time, and to what extent. Thus the richness of the approach stems from its ability to gain a holistic understanding, and to identify theoretical discussion topics, such as those concerning political economy. The approach is then applied to the South African music market, using the same historical methodology, in conjunction with current empirical evidence from the market. Doing this allows one to test the generality of the systems of provision approach, and to attempt to make a comment on the South African market. The techniques for obtaining empirical evidence are argued to be sound, but resource constraints prevented the research from reflecting a holistic view of the market. Nonetheless, a rich perspective is provided from interviews with prominent agents in the market, and thus the chapter is argued to provide the beginning of an understanding of preference formations in the South African music market, in which little research has been conducted (Stella, 2005).

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts(Arts and Culture Management) 2017 / American film producer, Jason Berman reminds us that music is something the rest of the world wants to listen to; our job is to make sure they pay for it (Matzukis, 2013). When a piece of music is written, a legal right to it comes alive and is vested in the songwriter (author), but if that piece of music is later recorded, a totally different copyright vested in the record company comes alive (Matzukis, 2013). Unfortunately, it appears that the majority of local music role players, particularly composers, producers and performers, are not sufficiently equipped with legal knowledge and common understanding of the music trade’s secrets, its ecosystem or the music industry value chain. The lack of knowledge and exposure is attributed to historically manifested control of the music markets by record companies owned by foreign multinational conglomerates. As a result, a large number of famous and popular local musicians have died penniless. This scenario is painted vividly in an online article titled “Why do our artists die poor?”, which cites Brenda Fassie and Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde as examples of artists who died poor because of bad decisions they made in their career, despite their fame and wealth of music compositions. (www.you.co.za/entertainment/why-do-artists-die-poor/#) In South Africa, the major constraints on the launching of a musical career are access to trade knowledge and the means of production, such as recording facilities (Jordan, 2009).The Southern African Music Rights Organization’s empirical research shows that international music still dominates the South African music market, with 74% of music sold and played on broadcasting and public platforms (Samro, Notes, November 2014, p 13). As a result, the majority of local independent music composers, producers and performers are forced to share the remaining 26% of the music market. This situation worsens when widening the scope to include music role players who are located outside of urbanised provinces such as Gauteng and Western Cape, because most of them lack access to adequate and professional recording studios; lack basic knowledge on ownership of compositions and sound recordings rights; lack the skill to interpret the copyright laws; lack understanding of contractual issues between the artist and record company; lack understanding of the exportation trade; lack the means to submit their audiovisual works for airplay and lack adequate resources to build their brands for competitiveness. Since 2006 the South African music industry has seen an increase in government expenditure on and investment in musical institutions, at national and provincial levels, which are defined in this study as “music hubs”. In 2006, the Eastern Cape Audio Visual Centre (ECAVC) was established in East London (Eastern Cape Province); in 2009/2010, the KZN Music House was established in Durban (KwaZulu-Natal) and in 2008, the Downtown Music Hub was established in Johannesburg (Gauteng Province). The rationale to establish these music hubs is to ease access to the means of production for a large number of local music composers, producers and performers. The purpose of this impact analysis study is evaluate to what extent these music hubs are fulfilling their redress and transformation policy mandate to be beacons of hope for the local music industry. The theoretical grounds of this research study are premised on the concepts of transformation to create access for previously marginalized groups and black economic empowerment for local music role players. This research will unpack how these music hubs, in South Africa, can be used as tools for redress and to transform the music industry into an equitable market for all role players. Although government, at national and provincial level, shows commitment to establishing musical institutions that aim to combat the challenges facing the local music role players as outlined above, it is regrettable that the two music hubs (case studies) in the respective provinces are battling to position themselves as provincial music industry center pieces that create a competitive provincial music ecosystem and network to connect and empower local music industry role players. In 2009, the former minister of arts and culture, Pallo Jordan, in his speech at the launch of the Downtown Music Hub, indicated that the purpose of establishing the music hubs was to lower the barrier by making recording facilities, music manufacturing plants, music distribution channels and music stores more accessible to the most qualifying music role players (Jordan, 2009). This means that if these music hubs are understood as the music development trajectory in South Africa and well implemented, they have the potential to help local music industry role players become more competitive and perform on global music market platforms. / XL2018

This dissertation investigates the working experiences of musicians who play original music as a form of employment. The study describes the venues and locations of music performance, including music clubs, concerts and festivals. This is done from the point of view of a concert-goer who is aware of the labour processes occurring at these shows, as well as the infrastructure and support necessary to make such events occur. The music investigated is original popular music which does not afford the artists any other forms of sponsorship apart from the earnings received from performances. The musicians interviewed are thus people who play music as their sole form of income, or aspire to be this position. The experiences of these musicians, as gleaned from loosely structured interviews utilising open ended questions, allow the study to make some generalisations about what it takes to play music as a fulltime form of employment. This is the focus of the study, particularly the fact that music is not only a skill and talent to be developed, but also that music is a unique job which has it's own stresses, strains and rewards. Problems experienced by the musicians, as described by the musicians themselves, cast a clearer understanding of the way in which this form of work is run. The actual mechanics of music performance, such as the prohibitive costs of equipment, and the dealings with club-owners, are discussed. Technology is evaluated in terms of its impact on music performance as a career. Some record companies were also approached in an attempt to understand the constraints and problems faced by these commercial enterprises. The perceptions that these companies have of local original music artists is contrasted with the perceptions that the artists seemed to have of the companies. This makes for interesting comparative material, and allows the study to identify some obstacles between artist and industry. The study concludes with a description of the local music industry and a discussion of some of the reasons why it has developed in this way, as well as a look at some suggestions for change. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.