Most artistes’ careers took a hit when the country was locked down due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Since then, majority have been struggling to make ends meet as most clubs shut down and others downsized due to the effects of the pandemic.
But even as the economy resumes and their careers are jolted back to life, a crop of new generation artistes has been making more money and more gigs than the old.
This is because the older artistes are unable to transition from their ways of making and performing music, that loophole has been exploited by younger artistes.
Most club owners prefer to work with the younger artistes because they are cheap and have smaller crews.
Such is the case of Githuki Wa Nyokabi, a budding artiste from Murang’a town who has been supporting his family with proceeds from his performances.
Githuki who has produced about seven songs has a gig almost every weekend from which he makes more than Sh20,000 in each.
All that is required of him is to get a drummer and he is good to go as he can play the guitar. This is popularly called a one man guitar performance.
In some of the clubs, an artiste can be found performing for hours with just a piano and is able to keep revellers on their feet.
His case sharply contrasts Benga maestro Lady Wanja, renowned for her hits spanning several decades including Gathoni, Ukindiga, Nairobi Iri Irima, Itumbi Ria Mbui Mbui and Wihikahike.
Wanja said when her career was at the peak in the 90s and the 2000s, a performance required a full band, which consists of four guitarists, a keyboard player and three vocalists.
Such performances, she said, filled her with joy as the music played was rich. But the bands required high payments because of the number of involved.
Most of the older artistes, she said, have been unable to make the transition to start doing one-man performances as they cannot stand the low quality music produced.
“Now one person with just a guitar can perform and make a lot of money while performing other artistes’ songs,” Wanja said.
“We are now forced to perform one man guitar which changes the taste of music."
The slow uptake of technology among older artistes has further disadvantaged them as people have uploaded their music on Youtube and are earning without benefiting the artiste.
She uploaded her music onto Youtube two years ago and with over 10,000 subscribers on her channel, it has attracted hundreds of thousands of views.
This was after people uploaded her music had garnered millions of views.
Wanja is now considering hiring a team of tech-savvy promoters to market her songs online.
She said agencies regulating the music sector are not doing enough to help artistes earn more from their work.
Though President Uhuru Kenyatta has done a lot to support artistes, Wanja said most politicians use their music to sell themselves and abandon them after elections.
Another artiste, ‘Mzee Young’ Irungu wa Kario who started his music career in 1993 and produced songs such as Njira ya Uthoni, Tugakena Muno, Kirima gia Tumutumu and Tugwika Atia said music then did well.
He said making a song was an enjoyable process as it required intricate work.
The artiste would rehearse for about a month with his band and would have to repeat the recording process every time a mistake occurred.
Producers would not leak music as is common nowadays. Once a song was out, it would be of high quality.
“We used to do performances with the Joseph Kamaru and it paid enough. Life was good. We made money by selling records and shows,” he said.
But with digital, Kario said things changed for the worse. They needed to make the tough transition.
“I was unable to play one man guitar and even if I did, it would be dissatisfying to me,” he said.
He is making minimal earnings from his music now, he said there are gaps in the regulation of the industry that allow people to profit from the hard work of others.
Kario charges between Sh50,000 to Sh100,000 for a show so that he has pay his band.
Kario has been forced to adjust to the new order and has since uploaded his songs on Youtube which he says has been paying him some money.
“I want to get a team that can market my songs online to earn more,” he said.
But Joy wa Macharia, a new generation artiste said their predecessors who have adapted to the changing times are doing better than their counterparts who got stuck in the past.
Macharia has been ttaking the industry by storm with songs such as Mundurume Kieya and Waitherero Kia Murang’a.
She said younger artistes have fully utilised technology to promote their songs and brands.
She said social media platforms such as TikTok have made it easy to market a song and push creatives to stardom.
She said Lady Wanja and her sister the late Queen Jane were her role models and she studied them well to achieve more than they did.
Most of the media stations, she said prefer to play new songs while giving little airtime to classic hits.
This, in turn, causes fans to sway towards the new artistes which consequently avails them more opportunities to perform in shows.
“Some club owners respect older musicians because they grew up listening to their music but fear inviting them for performances because they will charge more," Macharia said.
“The younger artistes are more flexible with their charges and take even Sh20,000 so club owners feel they would be insulting the older artistes by paying them less because they revere them."
Macharia said, older artistes also face the challenge of changing times since they are not be able to compose songs that resonate with the new music fans.
“We are singing songs people want to hear. Things that they are currently experiencing,” she said.
She however said some older artistes have embraced the change and are now visible on social media.
Artistes such as Mburu wa Wanja of the famous Kiara Mbete, Gaceeri and Ndinainuka Thiguku have been performing in nightclubs almost all weekends after embracing one man guitar performances.
Mburu uses his Facebook pages to inform his fans where he will be performing and to popularise his songs.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
