Grammy Nominee Daecolm Returns Home To Give Back
Zimbabwe-born and now Los Angeles-based Grammy-nominated musician Daecolm recently returned home to Bulawayo during the holidays to do his own form of gift-giving to local artists. Daecolm is currently riding high after enjoying one of his most successful years as an artist that saw him moving from London to LA, releasing a slew of big singles, and working on Chris Brown’s Grammy-nominated album Breezy.
Zimbabwe-born and now Los Angeles-based Grammy-nominated musician Daecolm recently returned home to Bulawayo during the holidays to do his own form of gift-giving to local artists. Daecolm is currently riding high after enjoying one of his most successful years as an artist that saw him moving from London to LA, releasing a slew of big singles, and working on Chris Brown’s Grammy-nominated album Breezy. Most recently he co-wrote another song for Chris Brown titled It’s Giving Christmas which is holding strong on the holiday charts overseas.
Daecolm was in Bulawayo for a few weeks over Christmas to spend time with his family before he jetted off to South Africa and Ghana to work on new music with a number of A-list African stars. During his visit, Daecolm also worked with upcoming local producer Irvine “Da Kudu” Ronney on some music set to be released later this year.
Before the Grammy nominee caught a flight to South Africa that same evening he sat down with a group of Bulawayo artists for a free songwriting workshop where Daecolm shared a great deal of insights from his illustrious career. The charismatic vocalist and writer shared information on song structure, maintaining your identity, branding and promotion with the artists.
The free workshop was facilitated by Harare-based label Point Black Entertainment as part of The Music Industry Incubator program that they are running with Unplugged Zimbabwe.
“I really love my home country and my hometown. We have so much talent here and I want to assist where possible and share whatever tools I can to help them reach their goals” shared Daecolm. “I have been blessed with opportunities in my life and it is really important for me to reach back and lift everyone else up. That is why I am working with local artists and also giving this workshop, we all have a part to play”
Bulawayo’s own Def Jam signed artist ASAPH who attended the workshop had this to say “It's very cool to hear from someone who's worked with so many international icons. So getting knowledge from someone who's been exposed to such a high level, is always priceless. For me it's showing me the level I can go to as well. If I just put in the work believe it myself. “
Musician Maggie Soul Bird who attended the workshop shared that “It was really informative and as a songwriter I personally need more of these. So I'm really, really grateful to the organisers of this whole event. Thank you. It sometimes feels like it's difficult to be a songwriter who's not a singer but I'm realising I can also make it as just a songwriter and I like I like having that knowledge"
Daecolm on Social Media
About Daecolm
Born in Zimbabwe, raised in London and now relocated to Los Angeles. Coming from the heart of Africa it was no surprise D’s natural flare for the music was soon to ignite. From 14 his Dad had installed the best of the best music gurus into his system. Fast forward to present times he is now working with some of the best artist to name. Everyone right from Chris Brown all the way to his routed sounds Major League & Adekunle Gold. Building his own artistry since young has been no easy road but has gained such a refined vocal and intricate productions that are undeniable. Put Daecolm in any room and there is no question as to why he is one of the most sort after entities to create music with.
Collaborators:
CHRIS BROWN . TY DOLLA$IGN . ANITTA . MARIO . ELLA MAI . JESSE GLYNNE . LABRINTH . ELLA MAI . YK OSIRIS . BUDDY GUY J SOUL BROTHERS III . KEY . SOYOU . HEADIE ONE . YUNGEN . M HUNCHO . ADEKUNLE GOLD . RAY BLK . AJ TRACEY . MO . WAX MOTIF . TIESTO . TCHAMI . MARC BENJAMIN . SK8 MALONEY . KEHLANI . WES NELSON . YXNG BANE . ELIJAH BLAKE . AVELINO . HEX . SNEAKBO . SOFIA REYES . FEDER .
The Music Industry Incubator Will Be A Critical Hosting A Workshop This Sunday
This Sunday (December 18, 2022). Point Black and Unplugged Zimbabwe will be hosting a special invite-only workshop for Zimbabwean artists at The Cresta Lodge, Msasa, Harare.
This Sunday (December 18, 2022). Point Black and Unplugged Zimbabwe will be hosting a special invite-only workshop for Zimbabwean artists at The Cresta Lodge, Msasa, Harare.
The workshop which is part of The Music Industry Incubator program will feature an in-depth conversation with Jack Mashala who manages Amapiano superstar Mas Musiq.
The program will be moderated by veteran broadcaster and MC - Butterphly and will also feature practical workshops from some of Zimbabwe’s biggest talents.
DJ Tamuka - who is undoubtedly one of Zimbabwe’s biggest producers will be hosting a music production workshop where he will take attendees through a live demonstration of how he builds a song from inception to recording and finally to the mixing and mastering stage. This will be a valuable session for any up-and-coming producers looking to refine their skills and expand their knowledge.
SpiritFingerz - the founder and director of Shabach the Band, is an accomplished producer, composer, audio engineer and musical director. He has worked with notable artists such as Nutty O, Enzo Ishall, Takura, Janet Manyowa and many more. In his session on Live Music Production, he will share information on how artists can develop their live performances, how to set up their equipment, musical arrangements, vocals and more.
Attendance for all these sessions will be free! Artists that wish to attend can register via this page or email The Music Industry Incubator Team.
Seats are limited so registration is a must.
Schedule
What To Know About Festivals with Walter Wanyanya
As a leading Music Festival Director in Southern Africa, Walter Wanyanya has been privileged to witness the rise of some truly exceptional artists who have gone on to become internationally booked and respected across the world. Most notably he worked with the late Dr Oliver Mtukudzi.
As a leading Music Festival Director in Southern Africa, Walter Wanyanya has been privileged to witness the rise of some truly exceptional artists who have gone on to become internationally booked and respected across the world. Most notably he worked with the late Dr Oliver Mtukudzi.
In his masterclass, he discussed the following;
Artists must possess undeniable talent and a unique artistic vision that sets them apart from the rest.
Practice and performances will hone their craft through continuous practice and experimentation is crucial.
Building a fanbase is crucial. Engaging with fans through social media, live performances, and meaningful interactions helps foster a loyal following.
Artists need to focus on creating great quality music that stands out from the crowd and resonates with a global audience.
Artists must constantly work on their stage presence and live performances. Captivating audiences with powerful and energetic shows leaves a lasting impression and creates demand for their presence at major festivals worldwide.
Artists should actively seek out networking opportunities and establish relationships with industry professionals, booking agents, and promoters to expand their reach.
During our conversation, Walter mentioned the booking form that he used when promoters were looking to book Dr. Oliver Mtukudzi for a show. YOu can download that below
Understanding Copyright Law With Aurelia J Schultz
This week The Music Industry Incubator hosts Aurelia J. Schultz who is an international copyright expert with 15 years of experience in African Copyright.
This week The Music Industry Incubator hosts Aurelia J. Schultz who is an international copyright expert with 15 years of experience in African Copyright.
She earned her BA in Religious Studies from Carroll College and her Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville. She began her legal career at Creative Commons where she was the first Africa Regional Coordinator. Most recently, she served as Counsel for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office. She has trained artists, industry professionals and government officials around the world and enjoys collaborating with others to improve our global creative industries.
What is A Music Copyright?
A copyright is the legal mechanism that gives you a property right indoor creation. It changes you from a creator into an owner and that's important because property rights are alienable, which means that you can buy them and sell them, lease them, and rent them and trade them.
Summary
00:51 Intro to Copyright
2:14 What is mechanical right
8:40 What is WIPO
10:15 Importance of treaties and how they affect you
16:00 As an artist who is collaborating how is copyright ownership determined
19:20 Who owns the sound recordings
24:00 How long does Copyright last
26:55 How to enforce your copyright
29:49 How to enforce your copyright
31:50 Protecting your copyright
35:00 How your copyright works across territories
40:15 How attribution works
45:01 How to protect your work
46:26 What do Public Domain and Fair Use mean
50:50 Copyrighting a sound using sheet music
Additional Information
Zimbabwe currently uses the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act of 2004 (Chapter 26:05). This law uses specialized language that is harmonized globally to explain who gets what rights in which types of creative works. This specialized language makes it easier for you to get paid when your songs are used or played in other countries, but the downside is that the specialized language can be challenging to learn. Once you understand it, though, you’ll be in really good shape to make music your career and not just your passion.
The most important thing to understand about copyright is that the original creators of works and their heirs are protected by basic rights. They are called “authors” under the law and hold the exclusive right to use or authorize others to use their work. There are certain uses where a copyright owner cannot control the use of their work. These are called “exceptions and limitations” under the law; you may see us mention these from time to time.
Copyright protection extends only to the expressions and not to ideas, feels, grooves, etc. This means that for a copyright to exist, the song has to actually exist in some form. This is why we said documenting the process of creating a song is so important.
What an average listener thinks of as “a song,” the copyright law thinks of as a combination of several different works. Each work can be created and owned by a different person or even different groups of people
In music there are 3 separate rights;
The Composition
This consists of the underlying music, lyrics and melody. These are owned by the composers and/or the publisher.
The Sound Recording
This is the recording of the composition. The copyright to the sound recording is owned by the person who paid for the recording to happen. This is usually a record label but can be the recording artist or another funder. Under the Zimbabwean Copyright Act, the person funding the recording can pay with money or “money’s worth,” which means bartering and other exchanges can count. When you hear someone say they “own their own masters,” they mean they own their sound recording rights.
The Performance
This is a particular rendition of a musical work by a particular performer or group of performers. The performer or performers have rights in their particular performance. The law guarantees performers payment for the commercial use of their recordings. By law, this money is paid to the sound recording owner and the sound recording owner is responsible for paying the performer. If you are a performer and not the sound recording owner, you should negotiate with the sound recording owner and include your royalty percentage in your contract. (Note that there are also “performance rights” in compositions and sound recordings when the composition or sound recording is performed in public, which are different from performers’ rights in their performances.)
When thinking of these rights, think of a set of blueprints for your house. You can create one set of blueprints for a house (the composition) but those blueprints can be used several times over by different builders (performers) to create their own houses (the sound recording). The most commonly used example is that of Dolly Parton’s smash hit “I Will Always Love You”. Dolly composed and recorded this song, then released it in 1973. Kevin Costner fell in love with Linda Rondstadt’s 1975 version and suggested it to Whitney Houston in the 1990s. Whitney Houston’s version became a massive hit. All three of these recordings used Dolly’s composition, and Dolly earns revenue as a composer for all of them. She also earns revenue as a performing artist for her 1973 version.
Music Publishing
If you are involved in the creation of a song as a songwriter, composer, producer, or beatmaker then you are entitled to revenue whenever that composition is exploited.
Some examples of revenue you are entitled to
Streaming
Downloads
Covers
Radio Play
Public Performance
Sampling
Sync Deals
“Music publishing is the owning and exploiting of songs in the form of musical copyrights.”
– Randall Wixen, The Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing.
If you have written an original song, and you have not signed away the rights to those songs via a publishing deal then you own that composition. You have the right to exploit the publishing rights of your music however you see fit. You will also be entitled to collect performance royalties when your songs are played on the radio or in venues (even if you are not the person performing the song). To collect these sources of revenue you need to register with both a publisher like Sheer or SongTrust and also with a CMO
Ownership
If you’re a songwriter who has not signed away any of your publishing rights then you are both the songwriter and the publisher. This is called a self-administered songwriter. You are owed both shares (for the songwriter and for the publisher) of any royalties that your songs generate. However, you cannot just release music and watch publishing revenue trickle into your account, you actively have to collect it. That is why it is imperative that you sign up with a CMO and also consider signing a publishing deal so the publisher can do the heavy lifting to collect your revenue on your behalf.
Coping With The Effects of The Pandemic with Game "Zeus" Bantsi
This week we had artist, event promoter and content creator Game “Zeus” Bantsi to talk to us about his creative journey and how artists can come out of the pandemic with their best foot forward while also putting safeguards in place to ensure their careers are not completely derailed by unforeseen circumstances
This week we had artist, event promoter and content creator Game “Zeus” Bantsi to talk to us about his creative journey and how artists can come out of the pandemic with their best foot forward while also putting safeguards in place to ensure their careers are not completely derailed by unforeseen circumstances
“It really breaks my heart that we have all these assets sitting in these institutions [banks] but it is not really accessible to us as creatives and other vulnerable communities”
Notes
Understand the business of music
Think of your career and yourself as a business
Getting business loans as an artist is difficult. Your collateral assets are your Intellectual Property
Understand how your brand can generate revenue and refine that process
Learn as much across as many skillsets as possible
Summary
7:50 How he overcome Botswana’s small population to cross over regionally
12:50 How Zeus used his education to further his career
16:50 Understanding the business of music
22:05 Can an artist access a business loan?
28:50 How Zeus kept his career going during the pandemic
38:12 Keeping the culture alive
50:50 The importance of learning multiple tools for the creative business
Streams of Income with Mutsai Musa
Mutsai Musa has been running the creative incubator, Quiet Riot Media for 15 years. Quiet Riot Media has consulted for both international artists and large entertainment companies on intellectual property and copyright management, paying attention to protecting income streams and generating long-term revenue for creative projects. Recent clients include Apple Music Africa, Universal Music Publishing Group Africa, Sony Music Africa, Interscope Records (USA), Platoon Africa, LVRN Records (USA).
Mutsai Musa has been running the creative incubator, Quiet Riot Media for 15 years. Quiet Riot Media has consulted for both international artists and large entertainment companies on intellectual property and copyright management, paying attention to protecting income streams and generating long-term revenue for creative projects. Recent clients include Apple Music Africa, Universal Music Publishing Group Africa, Sony Music Africa, Interscope Records (USA), Platoon Africa, LVRN Records (USA).
In our chat with Mutsai, we discussed the various ways Zimbabwean artists can earn revenue as artists and what they can do to increase their earning potential.
Summary
Summary of Earning Channels
1. Mechanical Royalties (Sales)
2. Publishing Royalties
3. Merchandise
4. Live Show Income
Workshop Summary
4:35 How artists can be considered for Digital Service Provider Playlists
Playlisting is the new radio and is a key part of getting your music discovered
Your distributor plays a key part in getting playlisting
Use UGC social media content platforms to promote your work
Make sure your song is on radio
10:04 How to pitch yourself and your music
Have an EPK and marketing plan ready before you release a song
That EPK should clearly state your DNA as an artist in 1 page
WHO you are. WHERE you are going. WHAT information and data about you is available.
13:25 How to pitch yourself to festivals
14:11 The types of revenue available to artists
Maximise show revenue when it is available
Look into publishing as early as possible
23:11 How revenue is generated
26:06 The importance of working with others and building a team
“Working alone is not beneficial. Would you rather have 100% of $10 or 50% of $100”
Learn the fundamentals of the business
34:10 How to approach brand endorsements
To get a brand endorsement you have to add value to the brand in question
Brand endorsements are not a viable source of long-term revenue because brands are in business to sell products and not support artists
37:32 How to prepare your brand to become one that earns revenue
Make yourself and your music easy to find. (Search Engine Optimisation)
Website, Biography and press pics
Market and promote yourself
41:30 The questions you need to ask a potential partner before you work with them
Who have you worked with before?
What do you know about the following;
Distribution
Publishing
Sync Licensing
Marketing
Artist Management
43:40 How to prepare marketing and promotion budgets
49:50 TikTok presents the biggest opportunity for artists
For reference here is the video from VOX that tracks the importance of TikTok
Editorial Note
At the 70-minute mark, an audience member and Mutsai made mention of Zimbabwean collection societies. Though they advised that no revenue is being generated locally and signing up for ZIMURA is not advisable, we would suggest that as an artist you DO sign up to ZIMURA for local collections and regional CMOs like SAMRO and CAPASSO for international collections. It is important that artists are active members of ZIMURA to ensure they have a voice in improving their operations.
This workshop was supported by the United States Mission to The African Union.
Performing as A DJ with RayDizz
RayDizz is one of Zimbabwe's leading DJs and performers who has graced the stages of The Ministry of Sound, Marquee Las Vegas, Big Brother Africa, Vic Falls Carnival, HIFA and opened up for some of Africa's biggest stars.
RayDizz is one of Zimbabwe's leading DJs and performers who has graced the stages of The Ministry of Sound, Marquee Las Vegas, Big Brother Africa, Vic Falls Carnival, HIFA and opened up for some of Africa's biggest stars.
In this conversation he shares his advice on how young DJs can get started in the industry, build a brand, what equipment to use and where to legally source music.
Summary
4:45 How To prepare for a set
11:40 What are tone and pitch plays when DJ’ing
12:35 What equipment a new DJ needs
Controllers versus CDJs
16:18 Reinvesting in equipment and the need to budget
21:20 The importance of management and booking agents
23:50 The viability of collaborations
27:20 RayDizz advice for upcoming DJs
37:05 How to get on a show promoter’s radar
40:40 The importance of YouTube as a teaching and promotional tool
39:55 The use of Record Pools and other legal purchasing platforms