Music as a Catalyst for Improved Livelihood

Abstract

This chapter showcases how a traditional music group, Culture Spears, employs ICTs to promote, preserve, and sell musical culture. Their songs have messages of love affairs, adultery, diseases, and marriage. They use the World Wide Web, websites, and others gadgets such as digital camera, CD, DVD, and video to sell their products worldwide. Culture Spears’ existential goal is mainly that of entertainment and education. Being a group from rural and humble poor background, they did not have instruments when they started. They used traditional utensils to produce sound and balls to beat drums. They could not get a loan from any bank as banks discriminate in terms of economic standing, and it was difficult for them to get sponsorship to record their pieces. Their first cassette was self-recorded using a borrowed radio. The group experienced harsh teething problems but the media, especially television advertised them well and now their sales are very impressive. They have a recording studio. Current challenges include piracy, copying, and reproducing their music from computers to sell, and there seems to be no stringent copyright laws in Botswana. This negatively affects their sales. Another problem is the issue of royalties. Promoters cheat them in many respects.