Electro na Mindzhumba are the dominant genres ka Xitsonga right now. Kambe producers are yet to get their chance to cash-in ka this game.
The following producers have given us hit after hit for the last 5 years, and this is how much they charge;
- R5000 album package – Evans Mabevani Mabasa
- R8000 album package – Prince Rhangani
- R10000 album package – Joe Shirimani
The following producers mainly make Tsonga Electro, while the above produce Mindzhumba.
Tsonga Producers who charge less than R500 per song:
- Solly Makamu
- Hangalasa
- TT Makhanya
- Magezi Chauke na van’wani
The issue is that the Tsonga electro producers are not organized, their music is not registered anywhere, it’s distributed for free and their music does not get much airplay. Community Radio stations don’t pay for music, so they only have MLFM, Phalaphala and Thobela FM – Tsonga Electro has a street tag to it, compilers don’t take it serious. Mindzhumba has heavy weights such as Benny Mayengani, who come with a large following and hype as compared to Tsonga Electro artists with a core market of Swiseveseve and Shebeens.
There is limited money circulating and coming in the industry, so producers are forced to charge less to eat. Kambe, as the Tsonga music industry grows, producers need to fight for a proper piece of the pie or va ha to dya mahlahla…
Research by Mzamani Noah Maluleke
Image Source: Vaseketeri Va Prince Mindzhumbha Rhangani on Facebook