Basotho, Let's Sell Our Music

Recently I have seen a few Basotho artists having this tag "now available on iTunes, I say a few because truly it is a chosen few, not that local artists do not wish to or are not ready to sell music. In fact, if there is anything local artist wish they could do to sell their music I bet they would have long done it, so what is the problem? The problem is we don't know how. This article is about how we can best optimize music sales online, especially on apple stores.

Selling you music is not an easy. Every day, new albums and songs are released. This large competition can pose a challenge to upcoming musicians because they are not established in the music industry. However, with today's technology, more digital platforms to help indie musicians sell music have become readily available. iTunes, for example, has become an amazing platform to better your music sales and increase exposure. The best way to sell music globally would be digital distribution, sounds interesting? Well, follow these tips on how to sell your music on iTunes.

Using an Aggregator

There are two ways to sell your music on iTunes. You can sell them directly through the store or you can sell them through an aggregator. Locally we have very few aggregators but online aggregators such as SongCast, CDBaby, Afrobreakers can ease the work.

 An aggregator handles the business dealings with Apple–and other digital platforms–on your behalf for a commission (a cut of your earnings). Aggregators take all the distribution stress while you relax in the studio with nice shawties like King Solomoni, or Jiji F oa Ledimo a jang bana, however, keep in mind that your overall income will be lower than it would be if you dealt with everything on your own.

Search Engine Optimization

Once you have made your mind on the content (music) you want to sell, you need to make sure that the digital files are encoded with optimized metadata so they can easily be found on search engines. Many local arts don't understand the importance of this, but it is quiete crucial to ensure that your album is listed in the correct categories and that it can be easily found when searched for in a search engine. The following should be considered when encoding digital files:

Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation: This is as important in the music industry as it would be in any other industry, large or small. Making sure your digital files are written correctly is key to optimizing them for a search engine.

Spacing: Pay attention to spaces. If say for example one space is accidentally placed before your song or album title, eg. If "Basali Basali" is written as " Basali Basali", it could make it difficult for people to find the song through a Google or Yahoo..

Genre: By popular demand, iTunes focuses on main music genres rather than niche sub-genres. Encoding your digital music files with an overall genre is key to sell your music on iTunes. Instead of Stlofa listing his genre as Mokorotlo which no one outside would relate to, it would be best for him to select whether he lists his music as hiphop or kwaito, this are widely spread genres that can help him sell more music.

Album Cover: All digital tracks should be encoded with the album’s cover artwork. As a graphic designer, i have with a few artists that wanted to put music on iTunes, one of them being MoNitta, of many problems that Mo' faced when he was getting jis music on international digital platforms, the album cover was one of the simple looking yet trickiest things to do, the size of the album cover picture is very important, I don't know why but I recommend 3000pixels by 3000pixels, it seemed to work for us. Keep in mind that people are visual and by doing this you can improve your overall sales.

$Money Money Money

Coming up with a price for your work can be challenging. We understand that your music holds a lot of value to you because of all the hard work you have invested, but, believe me you, overcharging for your tracks and albums can have a negative impact on how your music sells. As an indie (unsigned) artist looking to get established in the music market, it is essential to follow the industry’s standard digital album and track pricing.

• Album: $9.99
• Tracks: $0.99 or $1.29

Please Understand that we recommend the pricing in USD because many digital platforms prefer monies written in American Currency. 

How many music stores are available in your home town, I'm from Leribe, I can tell you there is not more than five. And all of them sell Famo and Gospel Music, AfroJazz, but these are sadly not the only genres wdo in Lesotho, we have C-Jo, Zhaza Manga, MegaHertz, D2amajoe and many others who do urban genres. Fans or the possible market of these four mention artists hardly ever enter a music store today. I have seen some artists sell no copy in a month. Don't just take music to a music store  and relax, selling music in a physical store today is the hardest thing ever, but with these few tips it can be optimised. First you need to have advertising material at all major stores, for example, a framed A2 poster at Lesotho Music Centre reading, 24; Vector's New Album Available here, some stores even have plasma screens set up for such works, find a profession video maker to make you a clearly effective 30 seconds video that says, "hey, buy my album in here now" or anything really, as long as the message is clear, so clear that you would understand the message in the video just viewing it without hearing anything. Have a strong social media presence, a facebook fan page is the closest of examples, make posts station where exactly your music could be found in each districts, sponsor such posts, did you know you could reach 5000 people on facebook for just $6? Evidently not all the 5000 will buy the CD, but a single post could help you sell at least over 20 copies a day,  Now imagine daily attractive facebook posts, it's not bad, is it?

Are you getting bookings? Paying bookings? Always ask the promoter if he of she would allow you to sell your music at their events, if they do, this is great, they even hook you up with a stall, if they don't, you still carry 10-15 CDs for the "where do I find your music" potential fans, you just be like; here bro, right now, boom, a copy sold. 

Was this helpful? Please share with your friends, tell them also that my Album King Solomoni is dropping on September 29th 2017. The Launch event will be held at Szah "Se-Zah" Restaurant and Launge in Katlehong Maseru Lesotho just next to Maseru Mall shoprite exit circle, just attending the event gets you a free CD of this new Album. Africa's next Big Kid could be from Lesotho, come hear for yourself.

Mr Vrr Pha Hustles Jozi

Reckzen aka Mr Vrr Pha

Many a rapper in the mainstream are there because they had a dream, was it to be famous and have all the pretty girls? Not from what we have learned, a lot of rappers that we hear on our radios and see on our screens are actually there trying to get some green. Money, to feed our families, some to pay for our college tuitions. Everybody has a reason why they need money. Though is the case, this is yet a Far fetched dream. The music is good yes, the videos too, but the pay is disappointing. This past week we found one local rapper doing very well from a distance to get the "insides". 

On a quest to find our locally produced dope rappers, we found a 28 year old Qoaling born artist, Rorisang Khumalo, popularly known as ’RECKZEN’. Reckzen is currently based in South Africa, where he first moved to study. He nonetheless shifted his focus to music after realising  the star that was in him. He is not only a vibrant person but also a goal-orientated person who believes that without a direction, one has no destination. He revealed that he only does simple and non-complicated music that everyone regardless of age can relate to and enjoy, hence distinguishing himself from many local artists.

The Qoaling based artist told us that with his life, he wants to prove that there is no dream too big for a well-focused mind and a determined heart. He is allegedly penetrating through the SA music industry, recently he released a single titled ‘VRR PHAA’ and shot its video which opened doors for him. The middle aged rapper points out that he submitted the video to MNET in success and is hopeful that we will see the video playing on all Mnet channels, with renowned South African Music Television Channel O included. Currently an independent artist, he continued to mention that some major record labels in South Africa have recently been on his tail trying to score a deal with him. He told us that he and his team are still looking for a better deal for him to sign.

On his team he has the likes of Pearl Modiadie from SA, a Mozambique born beat producer Fort Simons, King Joo an executive producer also from Mozambique and a Nigerian sound engineer DJ Peet. Reckzen has two albums that he shared with us; Fatherless and Who I Be, and he is currently working on his mixtape titled ‘Naked Truth’. The ambitious rapper further disclosed that he’s willing to help any rapper in the L only if they stop beefing and being serious about their music. When sharing his experience in the SA music industry, Reckzen said ‘Penetrating through SA industry is a very tough nut to crack that is why when you made it one sings Mama I made it like Cassper Nyovest.

To get hold of him and his music, like his page on facebook ‘RECKZEN’ or his personal account ‘RORISANG RECKZEN KHUMALO, or you can check him out on YOUTUBE

By Lebohang Sefalane

Nthaby & L-Tore; 3 Nights no Sleep

Who does not enjoy the city at night? Or chilled weekend afternoons? Reading this makes it clear you are not one of such, Maseru based rapper L-Tore and radio personality Nthaby Terah of Mxxl have are having fired weekend outings this very weekend, 7-9th July 2017. 

A three day double birthday celebration is what the duo has set up. It all started at Dona@balos last night where a quite tempting line up had been announced, initially having the likes of Mozuzu, CJo, Lereng, Yung Moses and a gifted handful others as performing artists while the DJ table was expecting to be graced Wickz, Zipper, Dallas T, Essh Africa and many others. But it's not over yet, in fact it is only beginning. Today it goes on at the same venue, early bird gate takings will go out as M40 and the later up to M60. It is an action packed show you don't want to miss if you are around Maseru or within easy reach, imagine Juvenile, DJ Tseko, Selimo Thabane, Selector Tesfah, Khebzah, Nuch, Nirex, KTA Kings, Bootz, Thizozo all under one roof! A definite cluster party, bound to be double heated.

Learning about the celebration we had no other choice but to contact the birthday people. Doing this we were only fortunate to find L-tore and Less fortunate when Nthaby was concerned. Speaking to L-Tore, he revealed to us that this is his first public birthday celebration though he is looking forward to many more to come should this one prove successful. He further disclosed that the thought was actually many years old, "We've actually been talking about it for a few years. So this time around we just went ahead and did it." the rapper said. Out of many attendees expected, L-Tore mentioned the media people, bloggers, magazine people, radio stations and everyone else involved be it directly or indirectly involved with the media.

The final question we asked was about things between this vodacom superstars winner, L-Tore, and Nthaby, this was after we had learned from the streets that it wasn't really a a smooth patch between the two. Easily he said; "Well in any working relationship there will be misunderstanding.  None the less, the show will still continue." What more could one ask for? Be sure to show up at Dona@Balos tonight and have a good time, or you can attend the final chapter of the party at The White House next to Litaleng on Sunday where washing your car will get you a free beer!
Enjoy Responsibly
By; Moddaw Oa Mochini

From Zimbabwe with a Dream | KD Summerz

They say music is an international language, it doesn't really matter where you're from, if music in your language the world will hear you out. In the hood streets of Thabong, about eight kilometres from Maseru City Centre dwells a young and vibrant producer and rapper known to his fans as KD Summerz. He was born Kudakwashe Mukuzunga back in Zimbabwe some time in the early 90s, though not specified when, Summerz moved to Lesotho where he now makes his music from. This past weekend we came uninvited to his hood and shared a few laughs, this is how it went down.

Blogger; Yaw Summerz, I hope you're good my brother, today we're on record.

KD Summerz; Oh yeah? Alright bro, bring it on.

Blogger; Yeah King, do you mind telling my readers who really KD-Summerz is?

KD Summerz; Kd Summerz is an artist and producer from Zimbabwe with a diverse approach to music he mainly focuses on putting an African Element to all his work.

Blogger; and when did you start doing Music?

KD Summerz; I started doing music at a very early age. My family is musical so I've had a musical background from as long as I remember. I was already doing TV shows and performing by the age of 7 so I've been in the game for more than 15 years.

Blogger; Nice, and growing up until today, who could say are your musical influences?

KD Summerz; Well my music influences include Jay Z, J. Cole, Lol Wayne, Wizkid, Fela Kuti, Asa, Da Truth, Lira, Michael Jackson,  the list is long

Blogger; Do you have a formal music education?

KD Summerz; Yes I studied songwriting and production with the Beclee School of music. I was a member of Chipawo a performance arts initiative back in Zim, I have attained a certificate of performance arts with the British council and I keep furthering my studies in the field.

Blogger; I see, that makes you a music guru mos, tell me though, what would you say is the difference between you and the next rapper i could meet in the streets of Maseru?

KD Summerz; The difference between me and the next rapper is that I'm diverse and my lyrics are well crafted to fit the target audience. In terms of the sound it's more articulate and different. I'm a voice of the youth you can say.

Blogger; Many a time I have seen performers flop on stage and ruin a beautifully begun performance, what's your secret, how do you handle a mistake on stage

KD Summerz; Mistakes during a performance happen all the time, to the best of us, but all I do in such a situation is to not show it keep going and make it part of the act.

Blogger; Do you think male and female rappers generally get the same opportunities and equal pay?

KD Summerz; Male and female rappers these days get the same opportunities these days although it  has been a male dominated game. But now it's 50/50 the more work you put in the more you get paid and get people to listen to you I mean look at Nikki Minaj, Steflondon, Iggy Azelia to name a few they are making it out there.

Blogger; Which is a good thing i think, but what is the potential income for this career?

KD Summerz; This career has so much to offer, potential income varies with your target audience it's a business. And just like any business it can range from 0 to millions of dollars.

Blogger; looking at African urban music as a whole, and then back to Lesotho, what say you; Is there growth in this field? How do things generally look for new musicians entering the field.

KD Summerz; The field is growing definitely African artists are going global considering now we getting a fair amount of airplay and attention as the urban culture compared to ten years ago.

Blogger; With my years in music I've learned every musicians believes in something, what do you consider your greatest asset as a musician?

KD Summerz; My greatest asset is my mind. That's where my ideas come from, the bars, the rhythms the music... everything.

Blpgger; Could you say you could make it in industries as huge as that of South Africa or Nigeria.

KD Summerz; Yes I will make it in those industries I've been working on my craft to sound as international as possible (giggles), so now I'm tapping into the market with the right strategy for marketing and the sound. I will make it

Blogger; Awesome, given the chance would you work with anyone from South Africa or Nigeria? If yes who in particular?

KD Summerz; I have been working with emerging artists from Nigeria namely Day One, Jiggaman, Mc Femm but on a more brad tip I would love to work with Wizkid, Ten no and Davido. From SA I want the big shots AKA, Casper Nyovest, Nasty C, Dj Maphorisa & Kwesta.

Blogger; What's your take on beef in general?

KD Summerz; I think beef is getting old people should focus more on getting paid than beef (giggles)

Blogger; Don't you think beef could create gang wars such as those of the famous blanket gangs ?

KD Summerz; Yes! Definitely beef can start gang wars we've seen that from time people kill each other and all that buy hey I'm not e beef guy I see it as unnecessary really.

Blogger; Who do you have beef with, and which other local artist would you like to work with in the future?

KD Summerz; No beef on my side fam but locally I wanna work with the best uNeja, Moddaw...

Blogger; Myself?

KD Summerz; ...yes you, (giggles) and Katz, I'm still meeting up with artist from here.

Blogger;What can you say about our music as local artistes, are we there yet, if not, what's missing? 

KD Summerz; Locally we are not yet but almost there. We need to expand and reach other places like SA, the sound quality also needs to improve and meet international standards there's a lot of talent here.

Blogger; Whats the worst that's ever happened to you on stage?

KD Summerz; Haha the worst was getting dissed with a hectic punchline in a rap battle in Cyprus if I ddnt win that battle i wasnt gona get over it (giggles).

Blogger; Whats the craziest stunt you ever did on stage?

KD Summerz; The craziest stunt haha well when I was much younger I would spin of the stage to the crowd not sure I i can still pull that one out haha.

Blogger; What can we expect the next time you release music?

KD Summerz; My next release this month will be my debut album Summerz Eve Its sounding good so far with a lot of collabos with artists from different parts of Africa. 

Blogger;Gig updates?

KD Summerz; Yes I will have a couple shows starting in August to be announced on my Facebook page Kd Summerz, Instagram @kdsummerz twitter @kdsummerz and I'm very excited that I will also do shows outside in Zim, SA, Cyprus and Nigeria and other places in the world hopefully.

Blogger; One word for yourself as an artiste?

KD Summerz; One word is to keep it moving... Music is a difficult industry sometime especially when starting out but never give up and let the music play!

Blogger; Nice, well thank you for your time bro, all the best in your music life and other adventures;

KD Summerz; Thanks Mochini

I have known Summerz for almost half a year now, a humble brother that is, he characterises himself as an afrocentric artist and finds more pleasure in songs with a definitive African Sound, Summerz Eve is surely an album to watch for in the market this coming festive season. To tune to h latest music go to his Soundcloud

LILAPHALAPHA; A RAP SONG

RoboCop

The name Lilapha-lapha is not a new name in The kingdom of Lesotho's entertainment circles, similarlyh applies to the name RoboCop. But as broad as the industry can get, these names are found in two very different though not rival forms of entertainment. Lilapha-lapha, born Bo fihla 'Neko is a Lesotho born comedian who without doubt is one of the most famous comedians this country has ever had, Robocop on the other hand is known for his hard stinging rap punchlines that have over the years led to him beinknown as Lesotho's Punchline king.
Hell broke loose when rapper Robocop announced on his facebook account that he’ll be releasing a single in which he featured a comedian,  LILAPHALAPHA. The HH26 crew did not waste any time, we went into talks with the rapper; Sello ’ROBOCOP’ Molibeli regarding his track with the comedian.
The track itself is named after the character ’lilaphalapha’. When asked why he made such a song he, Robo, told the crew that he believed the song is going to be a key to many doors in his career, he also added, ’Laphisto inspired me to write the song coz we’ve been working closely, that’s how the track came about.’ He further mentioned to us that  with this song, he hopes to explore different  styles of rap, laughingly saying he wants to  switch from the ‘bitter Robo’ to a ‘better Robo’.
In response to why he chose to work with a comedian in an industry full of rappers, he responded, "Music isn’t just about working with rappers, it’s about being versatile. There are so many examples I can make where comedians work with rappers’. The Motleheloa based rapper also emphasised how he is different from any other local rappers, He described himself as a ’go getter’ and unique. Lilaphalapha was produce, mixed a mastered by Carbon Beats and it was co-written by the two stars.
Robocop promised that this is going to be the dopest track of all the tracks he released. His favourite lines  on the track is ‘bare rhyme lia ba fahla (TOALA!) ekare nthoa kobotata’.  The relationship between Robocop and Lilaphalapha seems to have a prospectively bright future as they are already planning high school tours together.  The HH266 crew also found out that Robocop has ended one of the biggest rivalries in our local hiphop circles and has made peace with Megahertz. When asked about it, Robocop showed how it’s only a rumour and he can’t comment on that.`


By LEBOHANG SEFALANE

MAPANAKI, FAKED OR MADE?

One of the profile pictures from the fake accounts named: 

Charley Falimehang

What's the difference between real street love and faked hype? With latter day technology and digital PR, buying facebook likes has been accepted in the hiphop industry as a marketing strategy, so far I have learned that one can't buy comments. So what do you do, you ask your friends secretly to comment and show love, but fake facebook accounts???

Shocking ain't it? Yes, Mapanaki's PR decided to create fake accounts and show love in forms of facebook comments. A few days after their release of LALA Mapanaki released yet another song, "Problems" which I thought was a good song, in fact I was personally impresed by the second verse. I even commented on the official release post of their official facebook page MAPANAKI. It was only a day or two when a close friend asked me,

    "Moddaw are you aware you are the only one who commented on the Mapanaki post? All those accounts are fake and lifeless."

Knowing which post i had commented on, in disbelief I rushed to facebook and checked it out. And with all disappointment I discovered it was true, I followed each of my fellow commentators to their personal accounts and boom!! All the people that showed positive feed back on the comments on the post were all fake accounts. Going to their walls one learns that all of them have no sign of life, yes, fake facebook accounts with one or two profile pictures and no or one post. Now what do you call this? Faked street acceptance, in simple words, fake love. As it remains Mapanaki couldn't get love from the streets so they faked it.

For your own convenience, check those comments on this OFFICIAL RELEASE POST or go directly to those accounts as listed below.
MOSUOE DLAMINI
MOSUOE MPOPO
CHARLEY FALIMEHANG
BICKS TAOLANA
TUMELO LEBAKAE
BRIAN SUPING
And PULE LESHOELA whose fakeness remains unconfirmed but verysuspiciouss, as it remains, Mapanaki could make the streets love 'em so the faked it!!!

Mapanaki or Rhythm Child?

With so much growth in our small hiphop industry, it is not a rare thing to find crews breaking, either from jealousy, misunderstandings, propaganda and basically anything that would make other crew members feel un-easy around others.

Mapanaki with their manager 

Motheea Mpharoane in the centre.

A few years back a small rap crew made it's name in the streets of Maseru, this streetwise rap crew was called Mapanaki, long before the Mapanaki that you know today, though we cannot state for sure, rumour is; Mapanaki was founded by 24 years old rapper and graphic designer Rethabile Kelane aka Brutal Saint, it was quite a large group of more than five and yet less than 10 rappers. They built a name for themselves to some extend it can be said, with songs like "Buka Le pene" and "Chelete" just to mention a few, but it wasn't long before the crew's foundations and were shaken to the core. In 2016 the crew was rewired thereby giving birth to a new hiphop trio Rhythm Child and leaving behind a weakened Mapanaki. For over two months after the split sparks were seen between the patriotic Mapanaki and "the sell outs", it even went to as far as songs being released to address the matter. As we get it from the streets, the problem came with their then manager Motheea Mpharoane (Still manager of the new Mapanaki) who imposed a new way of running which the alleged founder of the rap group did not approve. It boiled down to a harsh split and ever since then the two teams have not seen eye to eye, while Kelane's hands were full with him tryna run and organise the newly found Rhythm child, Motheea was out working day and night with the remaining Mapanaki to create a better group with or without "The Saint" and his disciples. Today Rhythm Child has become one of the best groups in the country musically, that being said however does not mean we should sleep on Mapanaki, truth be told, they are bringing the best project this year when visuals are concerned, with Motheea being creator of the newly launched LNBS soap "Our Times" you know they have a professional on their side when videos are concerned. 

Rhythm Child: 

Brutal Saint on the far Left

Now here is something amazing, this coming weekend, 16th to 18th June 2017, both crews will  release new songs. Mapanaki are finally releasing their long awaited "Lala" and Rhythm Child is bringing in "New Levels" following their most recent release "Do the Wine". Some say Mapanaki will beat Rhythm Child 10/nil because of their organisation and strong held management, yet; others say Mapanaki is no match for Rhythm Child. You find one crew that has become two crews going on a weighing pan a year later and still people are not sure who has the upper hand. I say all we can do now is wait, not for too long though, tomorrow, we will know once and for all who comes in the hardest. Mapanaki or Rhythm Child??? you will decide. 

I am personally a fan of both squads and no matter the reactions of the society on Friday after hearing the two songs, it's nothing but love from me Moddaw oa Mochini and the rest of The DoubleH266 team. We know where hiphop lives