FFor long, musicians and fans in the country have discussed how local music can break through the international market.
Although such discussions have been sustained, efforts to export traditional musichave yielded little results.
However, that wait is over as seasoned music producer Tapps Bandawe has become the latest Malawian to champion an initiative to export local music to the world.
The producer has built a global online space dubbed Nsimabeats where Malawian music producers can upload their works and connect directly with musicians, producers, artists and brands looking for music beats.
He said the beats which be shared on the platform can generate income multiple times and what the producers need is to create an account, upload their beats and its information such as the genre, tempo and mood. If approved, the music will go live on the market place.
Said Bandawe: “For years, I have seen incredible talent in
Malawi, but no structured way for producers to access global markets. Meanwhile, in other parts of the world producers earn repeatedly from the same beat and their music is licensed across multiple industries.
“The idea behind Nsimabeats is to enable Malawian producers to access the system.”
According to the curator, the producers can also have their own dashboard to manage their beats, monitor performance and track sales.
“Previously, most efforts focused on exposure, tours and promotion. Nsimabeats is different because it focuses on monetisation infrastructure. The content is also always online, globally accessible, built for recurring income, not a campaign, but a system,” he said.
Bandawe said what makes the Nsimabeats different is that they are building a platform around an authentic African sound and Malawi has a role to play in that.
He said they want Malawian producers to bring out the Malawian culture in the music such as the rhythms, instruments, traditional influences and the power of cultural dances such as vimbuza, manganje, nyau and malipenga.
In a separate interview, ethnomusicologist Waliko Makhala said while the initiative is crucial, the quality of work will determine the project’s success.
“Producers should know how they can use the drum from the local beats such as malipenga, m’ganda and vimbuza. That is how we will be able to take Malawian beat to the world,” he said.
