If you have listened to Namibian musicians complain, it is always about the Namibian Society of Composers and Authors of Music (Nascam). People blame the organisation for low CD sales, lack of gigs and poor radio play. It’s as if…

When you tell someone in Namibia you are a songwriter, they usually assume you just write lyrics. A four-line verse here, a two-sentence chorus there, and some chants and ad libs are all they imagine. The technical definition is actually…

So, you’ve landed a solid gig. You’ve curated your repertoire, and then your client asks, “Can you play that one from Brenda Fassie …Vuringera or something like that? My boss loves it.” So, can you learn the song and play…

So you organise an event, hire 10 performers, and we all assume the goal is to sell tickets. Then you throw your entire budget and promotional weight behind just one of them, because, well, it is your event and you…

We met at the car wash, and you sang a song you were excited about, hoping I’d help you record it. Since I have a strong memory, I left you there and went on to record the song and released…

A musician dies, is buried and everybody goes back to their routines. Then somebody asks the question nobody thought about while the musician was alive. “So, what happens to the music?” It sounds simple but it isn’t. While I can…

It probably feels like we are going in circles, but this is one of those things we need to go over again. A song sounds like one thing. When it comes to ownership, however, it is really two things: the…

What happens when a younger, trending musician heads into the studio to record a forgotten masterpiece by a legendary artist who doesn’t make music any more? Magic happens. Suddenly, a song that was gathering dust starts earning royalties all over…

It is 19h00 in a dimly lit garage in Windhoek West which has been turned into a recording studio. The room smells of stale chips and Russians from Tom Thumb and energy drinks. Then there is the unmistakable smell of…

Namibia’s draft copyright and related rights protection bill proposes a major change in how local artists are compensated. The government wants to create a safety net for creators by introducing a levy on physical equipment and services used to copy…

Imagine this. A visitor records a group of people performing traditional music on the banks of the Kavango River, cleans it up and licenses it for a well-funded Nat Geo Wild documentary. They get paid thousands of dollars and come…

As a musician inspired by our traditional music, my heart cries out for those who made music before independence, received nothing for their recordings, and continue to get nothing. While contemporary musicians register their music with the Namibian Society of…