Idols SA: the number one lighthouse...







  South African Idols 2010 runner up , Lloyd Cele (left) and South African Idols 2010 winner,  Elvis Blue

Who would have thought that Lloyd Cele, the South African Idols 2010 runner up and Elvis Blue, real name Jan Hoogendyk the South African Idols 2010 winner would end up on the music spotlight? I guess we will never know what the future holds for us. This pair has made it this far and normally upcoming artist do not last this long. I guess it is about the passion for music and fighting for their dreams.

Lloyd was nominated for best pop album at the MTN South African Music Awards which took place on the 30th of April 2012 and grabbed the award with pride. On the other hand, Elvis was nominated for best adult contemporary album which he proudly took home.  Idols has introduced stars of the world and music does lighten up people’s lives after all.

 “My life has been completely changed since I was the runner up in Idols 2010. It’s been a whirlwind, and I have never looked back. So many amazing opportunities have come my way, and I have been sure to grab them all with both hands!” said Lloyd.

If the media did not broadcast idols on both Electronic Media Network (M-Net) and (South African) Mzansi channel from Digital Satellite Television (DSTV), the viewers would not have voted for them. If the media did not play songs written by our music artists, the audience might not have known about them. If journalists did not write about them, readers would not know who they are and where they come from. If Public relations practitioners (PRP’S) were not part of South African idols, I wonder who would have planned for the competition. PRP's are professional planners for major events, they solve a crisis, and they speak on behalf of the organization. Hence: The media is the watchdog of the society, the journalist is the police officer and the Public Relations Practitioners are the spokespersons of the organization.

  





What a night mare!

Zahara's saga is truly creating bad publicity for T.S records

The seven times South African Music Awards (SAMAS) nominee, Zahara real name Bulelwa Mkutukana is contracted to TS Records, co-owned by Thembinkosi "TK" Nciza and Sibusiso Leope, aka DJ Sbu. Zahara is known as a hard worker who has fulfilled her dreams in the South African music industry. If she studied for music or had studied further this saga might not have occurred because I believe that if she was educated she might have known how to control her money more effectively and know her exact income for every month.

Her siblings, Nomonde and Mbangedwa would have treated her with respect and not run to the media to tell the nation that they are starving while Zahara is in Johannesburg and enjoying her life. It is hard to believe that her mother is also part of this mass I mean that they should have handled this incident by informing Zahara how hurting they are through the phone.  R200-R300 is enough for Zahara’s mother to spend, not for the whole family. zahara's siblings did a great job by exploiting the story but they should have left their hunger out of this.

Is Zahara truly working with sweet sharks? I heard rumors spreading around saying that T.S records is famous for ripping their artists off. T.S records should be worried about its reputation because nobody wants to work with criminals no matter how desperate they are to succeed in life! Sorry Zahara, this is daylight robbery if ever you are paid during the day. Welcome to Johannesburg since you are from the Eastern Cape region.

I feel sorry for Zahara, she is doing so well and all she needs to think about is her family that needs to be fed by her while her recording company is controlling her money, shame T.S records you are a group of selfish people. Now this is what I call bad publicity. I wonder what T.S records has to say about this…

Public Relations South Africa: The sky is the limit

  

 

The MTN South African Music Awards logo
source: http://lwmag.co.za/music/mtn-sama-2012-nominees/
  



It is that time of the year of acknowledging South African talent in a stylish manner. Public Relations is taking the media to a different sphere. Without Public Relations Practitioners (PRP’s), Stakeholders and the target public would not be aware of the event that will take place on the 29th and 30th of April 2012. The event showcases a musical platform that needs to be embraced in order for musical artists to feel honoured and appreciated.

PRP's are always keen to involve the target audiences in every event that takes place Within the industry. A press release was created by the Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) PRP’s, informing the target audience about the 18th Annual MTN South African Music Awards SAMA ceremony which was a communication tool that was used to communicate to the public about the event in order for the event to be successful in terms of voting for the best musical artists the public favours the most in certain musical genres.

 Nominees were nominated by the public because the public is officially the target audience so they need to be involved from the beginning of the process in order for the event to gain an input or participation from the audience. When you watch television lately, you will notice that certain artists are advertising the event so that the public can also get to witness their favourite artists perform live. Do not miss an opportunity of a life time. This is the best place to be. Make a plan to get to the Sun City Superbowl which is located in North West, South Africa.

For more information visit, http://samusicawards.co.za/

Sponsorship beneficial credit

The South African gospel melodic choir named Joyous Celebration has reconnected with MTN as the sponsor of the group. On the 21^st of April 2011, Jabu Hlongwane, the founding member of the gospel ensemble said, “We are truly blessed to have MTN as our sponsor. We feel that the partnership with MTN will help realise our collective vision and dream for this year’s celebrations.” Serame Taukobong, chief marketing officer of MTN SA also feels the same about their sponsorship/partnership with Joyous Celebration. “Using our MTN Play platform, we will promote the MTN Joyous Celebration sound to our customer base, while growing the MTN brand among a new fan base” Taukobong said.  Hlongwane says that it has been wonderful to produce their 15^th and 16^th album and he has never seen such talent which means that the past seasons where just the beginning of a new journey.

 “When we take somebody new into the group, they learn from us and then they feed from the old members and then the actual Joyous ensemble that you see on stage is a mix of old and new members all in one,” Mkhize said.This proves that without sponsors there is something that musicians will lack in terms of publicity. Sponsors make the impossible, possible. Joyous Celebration is going on a journey; I must add that there is progress in the South African Music Industry.

There will be auditions for those who want to become members of MTN Joyous Celebration which will be held this year (2012).  This year’s auditions will include mini workshops on the music industry that have been designed to educate candidates who take part in the audition process. These mini workshops will also provide tangible pointers for the auditions; dates will be announced later on. For more information on MTN Joyous Celebration, please visit www.joyous.co.za or http://www.facebook.com/messages/?ref=mb#!/joyouscelebration

Public relations faces dilemma

On the 13^th of August during a concert at the Indiana state fair, a tragic accident occurred when a stage collapse was resulting in seven casualties and more than 58 fans sustaining injuries. As a result, the band Sugarland is now defending itself via court attorneys against claims of negligence. (http://blog.matternow.com/2012/02/)

The band is pointing fingers on the victims and claims that they are not guilty or at fault this statement was provided by the attorneys. Nobody consulted the public relations practitioners on the tragedy so that damage control can be done.

Public relations practitioners could have made sure that a media conference occurred to avoid the negative rumors that are spreading about the negligence of the public relations practitioners, I mean public relations practitioners are there for a good reason which is to speak on behalf of the company which is the band and to make sure that the fans are happy under any circumstances. The band should never lie about the incident because the more they lie the case becomes more serious and shocking. The media has the story published on the headlines and I must add that the public relations team would have done a better job in controlling the dilemma but only they know how they plan to control this issue.

Immediately following the tragic event, Sugarland expressed sympathy for the victims and their families involved and has continued to do so throughout the legal filing. The rule of crisis management is not to blame the victims. Unfortunately, Sugarland and their legal team are now caught up in a blame game which will most likely end up in a jury trial. (http://blog.matternow.com/2012/02/)

Heather Yaxley, blogger for the Green Banana said “But I’m beginning to believe the majority of modern practitioners view PR as a non-intellectual trade, where craft skills count most, along with a friendly personality and a preference to spend time churning out releases and Tweets rather than thinking about anything more important they should be doing.”(http://jmc417.personal.asu.edu/wordpress/)

success, power and glory

Black Entertainment Television (BET) is a media broadcasting company  that motivates the black youth globally on achieving their goals. Just because you are black that doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to express yourself through music. BET is giving musicians a platform to express their talent through music. Music is a powerful source of communication people can ever think of. Music is who and what we are. Musicians write music not just to make money but to be heard. musicians use music to reach out to the public in terms of sharing their feelings, emotions, situations and social issues with the public. I believe that when people share their problems with people they love, it gets easier for people to move on to tomorrow rather than being stuck from the past. All in all, music tells a story.

E.g. Chris Brown and Rihanna are reuniting through music as they are collaborating on the song titled birthday cake. They are telling us, "the target audience" of their music that they are now dating which they are doing through music. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bonnie-fuller/rihanna-chris-brown_b_1293536.html) Musicians are using music to express their feelings, congratulations Robyn (Rihanna) on using your rights for your happiness through music.

Has the music industry turned its back on the beautiful black women? It’s a relevant question given today’s music charts. The Billboard charts are filled with many  African-American woman, but today if you look you’d be hard pressed to find such diversity in today’s market. (http://www.bet.com/news/opinion/sound-off/color-coded-is-the-music-industry-playing-an-unfair-game.html)

BET does not only focus on the black race but focuses on musicians as a whole because this is a big industry and everyone who is talented is more than welcome to achieve his or her goal and show potential through BET. Nikie Minaj is making money, all thanks to  BET by striving to make it big for the people.  The awards ceremonies, hosted by BET encourages musicians on working hard and doing the best that they can and in achieving that, they get an honourable award in return.

The impact of piracy in the global market

Piracy is destroying the music industry which has a major influence on the music industry’s economic growth. People are committing this crime to put food on the table and to support their families. This does not mean that they can take other people’s products and make them their own. Musicians are going all out to release hot and powerful music albums so that the messages reaches through the consumers or the target public. People are aware of this crime but they still tend to support the people who commit this crime.

Purchasing CD’s and DVD’s from local music stores can be very expensive but that shall not be a lame excuse for committing crime. People are coping and selling CD’s at a low price of R10,00 forgetting that someone worked very hard to get the album on track and produced. Just imagine if the original copies where sold at a low price such as R10,00 don’t you think that it would affect the music industry’s economy? And it would also affect the musicians as a whole. This is unfair technology was not invented to be used for committing crime but was invented so that we can communicate globally.

Piracy is killing the raw talent of people like Zahara, Zonke, Lira, Kurt and many other musicians who are passionate about the industry. Why can’t we just buy music? Music producers and companies asked. Why can’t we just start a new wave of total pride in original music? (http://www.gpjobs.co.za/?p=223)

While people are terrified of global warming, I am terrified of the piracy that has the potential to kill the music industry – what a sad world that will be. (http://www.gpjobs.co.za/?p=223)