SANDS’ ‘SANDS OF TIME’ PIRATED

With the expansion of technology has inevitably come financial damage of some kind for the artists involved.
In fact this isn’t a new phenomenon by any stretch of the imagination.

Sandziso ‘Sands’ Matsebula, a local artist who has worked tirelessly on his new album titled ‘Sands of Time’, has suffered from piracy of his work when unauthorised sellers sold copies of the album with the title ‘Tigi’, contrary to the original ‘Sands of Time’ title. 

This ended up driving down the price that others would pay for his work and in turn hurt the amount he made.
Like any other place in the world, music piracy is a major concern in the kingdom.

Copyright

This is made worse by the fact that Swaziland still doesn’t have a copyright Bill.
At shops, internet cafes and vendors all over the country at low prices.
Consumers are often misled and convinced to buy, some even think they are doing the right thing, not noticing that what is given to them is not the original work.

For artists in Swaziland as a small country with a population of less than 1.3 million, it is hard to make money through CD sales. Even though Swaziland doesn’t have a Copyright Bill, piracy is still a crime.
Although it does not happen often, police do conduct raids and pirates can be arrested and sentenced or pay a fine of E60.
Most offenders, however, can afford to pay the fine and after doing so, will simply continue with their illegal business.
Bill
On November 6, 2015, a draft of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Bill was submitted to Swaziland’s Parliament before the Ministry of Commerce, Industrial and Trade.
The objectives of the Bill are to provide for the protection of copyrights subsists, and therefore, a protection of expression of folklore.
Many think pirating music is a small act that does not have great effect on the artist or the music industry.
Some statistics found on the Recording Industry Association of America’s website prove piracy not only affect the artist, but a large number of people working for the music industry.

Social media was abuzz as soon as a certain Mozambican was found selling fake copies of Sands’ album, causing people to call upon local authority to look into it.
Credit for taking action towards such was given out to Larry Mhlanga, who when contacted said that he was saddened to see that there are people who are still doing shady business and thus causing local artists not to grow as they make money off these CD sales.
Technology

The point I am trying to convey is that technology, despite its benefits has in the past and will continue to hurt the music industry on a level more personal than the record conglomerates.
Thousands of smaller musicians lose their jobs thanks to pirating technology.
Piracy hurts those who mostly depend on their work for a living and who make music production their passion.
Piracy has real effects and causes real damage in the industry, and I believe that is something we all need to take into account when examining the dynamics between music and technology.

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