Botswana Music Union flexes muscle

Botswana Musicians Union’s (BOMU) efforts to ensure that local musicians go professional and minimise getting ‘ripped off’ are hitting the right notes.  BOMU Secretary General and media liaison officer Pagson Ntsie says the have managed to get corporates  like Fairgrounds Holdings which annually stages ‘Cultural Night show,’  and government entities like Botswana Prisons, Brand Botswana, Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA), Road Safety to book artists through BOMU.

 
“ We came up with this initiative (of outsourcing bookings for our members) because not only is it easy for companies to engage artists through a single entity, (instead of working with artists at an individual level) but it is also beneficial for musicians as their employment contracts will be honoured, failing which BOMU will take the legal route to settle the deal which in most cases artists cannot afford,” Ntsie highlighted.

 
He further revealed that they have already managed to buy the union a combi using the membership subscriptions that were accumulated over the years and was confident that the vehicle will come in handy in the running of the daily affairs of BOMU as transport had always been a challenge.

 
Ntsie shared that they already have bookings coming in for their artists. “We have already secured some gigs for our members like Spiza who is scheduled to perform in Mafikeng, South Africa,” as confirmed by Spiza’s manager, Michelle Gaofano.

 
Reached for comment, the newly established Francistown BOMU wing otherwise known as BOMU District Chapter 3 Chairman MC Maswe said they were working tirelessly to improve the welfare of artists as well as help market artists to prospective clients.  He said his office has managed to secure a road show deal with Blood Donation Association after a successful press conference which was to introduce BOMU to the Francistown community. “We are hard at work and all it is promising as we have managed to secure a road show deal with Blood Donation Association which has Francistown artists under BOMU undertake a project of this magnitude on their own (only North East BOMU artists will be performing.) Hopefully Blood Donation Botswana will in future engage our artists,” MC Maswe noted.