The Minister of Youth Sport, Arts and Recreation Honourable Dr Kirsty Coventry officially launched the Zimbabwe Music Strategy saying it will go a long way in promoting the arts sector.
Speaking at the launch of the new initiative held at The Venue in Avondale Harare on the 1st of June 2022, Dr Coventry said the move was an important milestone within the local music industry.
“The strategy will add value to artists and the world would be able to recognise our artists’ talent. It is our job to create enabling environments for all of you (artists) to succeed,” said the Minister.
The strategy, Dr Coventry said, will help to ensure there is a sustainable music industry in the country.
The Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Mr Nicholas Moyo said the strategy seeks to transform the music industry from informal to the formal sector.
“We want to ensure that the creative sector, music sector, in particular, is industrialised. This Zimbabwe Music Strategy will ensure reliable and profitable harnessing of digital environments for the music sector”, the Director said.
Mr Moyo added that the strategy will also ensure that music practitioners, and professionals, become part of the people that are in the middle-income group.
“The music industry is evolving rapidly internationally, with a growing appetite for African music. The strategy will enhance the protection of intellectual property, and related rights, in the music sector”, he said
Mr Moyo said the Government will consider a funding quota for female-led initiatives.
“Another pillar of the strategy is to utilise music as a tool for enhancing the country’s image and harnessing the Zimbabwean diaspora for consumption and investment in the sector,” he said.
The chairperson of the Association of Independent Record Companies of South Africa, Mr Mandla Maseko congratulated Zimbabwe for launching the strategy and said there were high hopes it would boost the music industry.
The launch of the strategy marked the conclusion of a two-year project called “Strategy for the sustainable development of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) in Zimbabwe” run by the NACZ with the support of the European Union/UNESCO Expert Facility on the Governance of Culture in Developing Countries.