Does mthethwa have a social movement recipe for the SA music industry?

the debate between mthethwa and motsatse on the radio earlier frustrates to no end. both men came across as defensive and ignored the presence of the "real" enemy: transnational corporations!

in defence of the apartheid construct - samro - motsatse (although winning the legal arguments) found himself on the backfoot in the social reality. maybe he should start by placing boardroom portraits in the archive now; unless ofcourse its intention is to present a stark reminder of a bygone era , simultaneously emphasising that indeed apartheid is alive and well? i don't know. what i was more interested in was the petition mthethwa talked about.

how the petition with its 500 names will translate into any real changes for musicians remains to be seen. is this the beginning of a social movement in the music industry; will it employ similar principles to struggles waged by land, electricity, water social movements. will mthethwa draw on APF and LPM strategies? presently mthethwa - as the BMG puppet - lacks legitimacy and many musicians question his motives.

at the same time the ANC and COSATU have always been hostile in their response to the hard work carried out by social movements. so one is not sure how JZ will react to mthethwa's goals. having said that, it also becomes clear that mthethwa seeks gains politically, but some of his methods lack clarity in their articulation; and an already fragmented industry, once again, runs the risk of further fragmentation . this would be scoffed at by some and most definitely cause a giggle among those who sit with powers that dictate our music consumption.

arguably transnational corporations are interested in seeing samro's end, but at the same time the likes of mthethwa need the samro institution. one so wishes that the two men could come to an agreement and work out a way that identifies the "real" enemy as it were! When answering "who is at the root of this division" the spotlight falls on major record companies. These companies are the ones that ultimately benefit from our division. They are the very same companies that thrive on misrepresenting us . let us remember their interests lie in fat bank accounts located far away from these african shores.





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