KABARAK UNIVERSITY

NAME OF SCHOOL:
SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND MEDIA
CODE AND TITLE OF COURSE:
BMPT 110 MUSIC PRODUCTION
NAME:
JESSE KAMAU KANYANJUA
REGISTRATION NUMBER:
BMTC/ON/4049/09/24
ASSIGNMENT:
TERM PAPER
. LECTURER:
MR. AMON
DATE OF SUBMISSION
06-12-24

THE CHALLENGES OF THE MUSIC RECORDING PROUCTION INDUSTRY IN KENYA

Digitization took kenyan music landscape by storm. Begining at the turn of the second
millennium, an unprecedented influx and adoption of the digital equipment and
movement from analog to digital which took the cente stage and instead of harnessing
the benefits found in new technology most african musicians cried foul to piracy. An
unstoppable piracy regime rendered the age-old production and recording equipment in
kenya many musicians went bankrupt and some changed their profession and turned to
farming while some production houses became rented churches while some musicians
remained in the industry despite the challenges that came their way and survived on live
show performances . however, with new technology that emerged a new crop of
musicians and producers where the musicians can record anywhere which paved a way
for the new generation. The new generation had harnessed the digitalization process in
africa. The adoption of new technology make things simple as only skills are needed for
one to own music production. The digital era has proved to have increased the
distribution means of music material. The era of digitization has also improved the
movement of information in a shorter period of time as well as enhancing reproductions
The record production industry in Kenya, like in many developing economies, faces
numerous challenges that hinder its growth and competitiveness. Therefore,we shall
discuss the challenges that face the industry. Before we look at the challenges we need to
understand what is recording and how it came to be . Recording is the process of
documentation of sound or performance for subsequent reproduction or broadcast by the
use of gadgets such as microphones, studio monitors and so on. Before 1877, people in
the world had no idea about sound recording and could compose and do live
performances accompanied with musical instruments for example the voice, the piano
and many others. In 1877 the story of sound production began by Thomas Edison who
invented the phonograph. So, the idea went on spreading throughout the whole world
including Kenya through colonization . Song production is a process of overseeing the
whole process of creating a song from recording vocals or instruments to creating
instrumental arrangements, coaching the singer and instrumentalists on how to perform
the piece of melody.

Through the introduction of technology and computers there industry saw that they was
need of introducing softwares that musicians can use when recording for a perfect
recording a studio should at least have the following; a computer this is used to control
most aspects of the mixing process, it is used to create and alter sounds in conjunction
with instruments. Its memory is also invaluable for multi-tracks recording, Digital audio
workstation (DAW)/ audio interface combo this allows the users to record audio on a
personal computer, Studio monitors these are loud speakers designed for professional
audio production applications, Microphones translates sound vibration in the air into
electronic signals and scribes them to a recording medium or over a loudspeaker, cables
which allow to interconnect any audio source to the audio interface, amp or the monitors,
microphone stand this helps to position the recording microphone, pop filter helps to
control or to filter dust, Ear training software this helps the producers to quickly identify
the problems in audio, Amplifiers they help the speakers to produce clear sound. Kenyan
upcoming musicians too have interfaced with the different instruments found in a
recording studio. According to Rutter (2011) further postulate that since the coming of
the digital era, the music industry has gone through some changes and this is mainly
caused by the profound impact of the internet on the music industry. People can now
consume and download music online via YouTube, My Space Music, e music, mp3 and a
host of others. Social networks now revolve around music; people can even enjoy music
bundled into the price of a mobile handset. However, the music industry is now facing an
unprecedented scale of unlawful and unlicensed downloading. For instance, when your
products are being taken for free without your knowledge or consent and on a large scale,
the consequences for artists, producers and all labels are counterproductive. More so, a
drastic change has also been noted in the kenyan music industry especially in the
marketing sector of the industry.

Challenges faced

In an article, “The 7 biggest problems with the music industry?”, Clerk, (2022), explains
the problems in the music industry and contends that the vast musicians make no money
and wonders why the musicians do not benefit much from the internet. Indeed, Citi group
report indicated that musicians only gained 12 percent of 43 billion dollars generated
in the industry. This alarming statistic proves that while the industry is still a profitable
enterprise, its protagonists, the musician who actively produce the richness are left as
starving artists. In addition, Clerk reveals that in the past, high-potential had far time to
grow, experiment, and even fail before coming up with something great. To him a record
label would sign an act for three or four releases and during the amount of time needed to
produce and publish those records, an artist had the opportunity to mature. Today the
industry demands a finished product. Also, upcoming artists too offering the perfect
melodies cost them thousands of monies in order to get something great and there is no
one to help them in the process of maturing which has resulted into their failure and at the
end of it all the industry will never like the losers. According to Clerk music has become
all about the visuals. According to Vallena having tight competition in the industry is
common, but some only see the cherry on top. Vallena stresses that this struggle can
drown out your hard work and kill your ambitions if you’re not eager to compete. This
current study therefore seeks to examine the ways how upcoming Kenyan musicians can
progress amidst the tight competition

Musicians in the recording industry requires buying of equipments such as a computer,

MIDI controller, microphones, installment of DAWS. This equipment is really expensive
and many upcoming musicians can’t acquire it. According to Walter Mukisa and Kiiza
Reagan, a lot of capital is needed to support themselves and to pay producers. All
respondents reported that they face financial challenges to support their production. Other
reported challenges were to do with power cuts which affects the recording session.
Mukisa also revealed that, he sometimes faces a challenge of working with different
people who perceive music career as a competition. Such issues, according to Mukisa
affect the working relationships and the quality of production. It was also reported that
some producers dictate on every aspect of the recording of the song and don’t allow
artistes to contribute on the decisions regarding the style, beat, groove, and other
accompaniment aspects in the song. According to Mukisa, this practice affects the
creative process and general morale and interest of many upcoming artistes

Piracy still remains a significant challenge in kenya’s music industry where unauthorized
duplication and distribution of music deny producers and artists their rightful
earnings( Musyoka, 2020). Despite the existence of copyright laws, enforcement is weak,
leading to a widespread exploration. Most cases many music consumers now prefer to
consume music using the illegal means that is buying from those who mass produce
someone‟s work and resale at an illegal market. It is noted that consumers are more
interested in quantity than quality that is they now opt for a CD of poor quality that is
charged at a certain amount which become s disadvantageous to the music producers
where they lose sales over pirating and illegal buying of cracked music

Mukisa reported that getting the audience one deserves is really a hard. According to him
it is good to work on local performances and other avenues but the upcoming musicians
for one to step up and be the top sellers on the stage the sales can demolorize and
depression starts to creep in leaving them o suffer trying to sell your product while on
stage others might throw tantrums to you meaning that they do not want anything to do
with your music for one to get to the top some advice adding short cuts which takes a lot
of money and time which is not really a short cut to it even if one is your friend still you
have to give some amount for your song to be aired out for example on the television and
the radio stations for the song to achieve success. The solution to the many challenges
faced by upcoming musicians is getting connections. For example, a friend who works on
a radio station or on a television can help to play your song at a lower cost which
enhances the dissemination and the marketing of your music. Mukisa advises all
upcoming musicians to creating good relationships with big musicians. He continues that
every young and aspiring musician should connect with others because it is a vital
resource in ones rise. Mukisa also argues that upcoming musicians need to exercise
patience because the road to success is rough and if one is not careful he or she may find
him or herself giving up. He argues every musician to be ready to help the emerging
musicians in the mastering of their craft. And as such musicians need to start with what
they have in the moment and keep working on their craft. According to him, he find
important for, upcoming musicians should consider to collaborate with other musicians
on the globe and make things happen.

The government also play a crucial role in the production sector by implementing
policies that may or not favour the artists at all from the commission that they get from
their music. Furthermore when the countries economic development is down the sales of
the musicians shows will also flop especially to an upcoming artist and have no single
connection to the people who are already in the industry which becomes hard for them in
starting the artistic carrer to an oppressive nation leaders. Therefore, as artists when
elections approach it is important that we chose the right leaders that will appreciate the
work of art to its fullest and try to encourage the artists and promoting them as they are
achieving what they want in life.

An ethnic divide splits Kenya and because music and song is very much an expression of
language, tradition and cultural identity this affects their music industry, with inter-ethnic
tensions often playing themselves out within the success and fortune and popularity of
music. Currently this means the Luo and Luhya are stereotypically pitted against the
Kikuyu and Kalenjin. Whilst largely managed and channelled these tensions do
occasionally spill over. Most Kenyan’s rise above these issues but it would be fair to say
that there is occasionally mistrust along ethnic lines about those in leadership roles within
the government
In the 1970s the major record labels all had outposts in Nairobi. Along with these labels
came an infrastructure that supported a burgeoning scene of promoters, managers and
publishers. The scope of the industry would have been familiar to those working in
international markets from more developed countries. However in the late 1970s and 80s
this infrastructure began to crumbledue to bad governance and lots of piracy. One-by-
one the major labels withdrew and Kenya began producing its own music on a DIY basis,
using the old pressing plants left behind by the majors.