PIRACY COSTS SHIBA AND TRAVELLERS E100 000 LOSS

MBABANE – Piracy has seen local artist Vusi Shiba of Shiba and Travellers lose more than E100 000 in a space of six months.
Shiba who is famous for his song titled ‘Indaba Yesiphambano’ claims to have lost a lot of money through his music that has been sold on the streets.

He said the music sold on the streets was duplicates of his original CD.
Shiba also claims that there are people who have been selling fake CD claiming that it was their own music yet that was not the case.
Shiba has gone to the extent of appealing to ACASWA to find a way of helping him and other artists as they were now suffering because of piracy.
ACASWA is the mother body of Christian Artists in Swaziland and has a membership of over 90 artists.

Worried

In an interview, Shiba said what made him to take the decision of reporting the matter to ACASWA was because he is currently preparing to release his latest album at the end of March and he is worried about the fact that his music would be pirated in less than a month after its release.
“After being told that there were people selling my duplicated music in various places especially in South Africa, I then went to verify in some of the places where I discovered that my music was being sold for as little as E20,” he said. 

Shiba said there were people who were posing as Vusi Shiba and were singing his music and thereafter selling the fake CDs. You find that on a daily basis, that person selling on the street makes more than E5 000 depending on how many CDs that person has printed.
“I have recently been told that my music is now pirated in places like Durban and Eastern Cape. I have followed up on this matter and I discovered that I was losing hundreds of thousands,” he said.

Shiba said he had hoped that ACASWA will help them because they were no longer benefiting anything in the music industry.
“People should understand that it is expensive to record an album and it then becomes painful when you discover that your music is being sold for as little as E20.  I just hope ACASWA will find a way of helping us. We work hard but we do not get anything in return,” he said.

ACASWA President condemns act

MBABANE – Mhlonishwa Motsa, ACASWA President, says local artists were losing a lot through piracy.
Motsa says the concern has not only been raised by Vusi Shiba of Shiba and Travellers as there were other artists who have complained and are seeking help from ACASWA.

“What is happening is really painful. Local artists have been suffering because of the fact that their music is being sold on the streets. We are aware of Shiba’s concern and what he is saying is true.

Losing

Local artists have been losing a lot of money and this has been a set back to the music industry,” he said.
Motsa said as a means of addressing the concerns by the artists they would be going out to educate the public on the importance of buying original copies.

“It is true that there is currently no law protecting our rights as musicians. However, that does not mean we do not have to act. While the law is being prepared, we have to try and educate the public. By the time the law is passed, the public needs to be educated. We will also try by all means to see to it that the law is passed as our artists need to be protected,” he said.

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