ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

uganda telecom has sponsored Kirk Franklin

Ugandans have watched famous international artistes perform recently. And there are more expected to come in the near future. From gospel music icons like Kirk Franklin who is in town to all-time reggae kings like UB40 and current world music rulers like Akon, Uganda must be proud to have seen some of the best in the world in a single year. It’s all thanks to the battle among telecommunication companies. When MTN Uganda brought UB40 in February, Celtel Uganda brought Akon in May and now Kirk Franklin is in the country courtesy of Uganda telecom. The UB40 concert was a show to remember and MTN proved to be on top of the showbiz game when they heavily advertised the concert resulting into a sold out concert – with one of the biggest crowds to ever appear at a concert in Uganda. When the MTN curtains fell, most people expected Celtel to concede defeat but that was not going to happen. The red army instead decided to respond by bringing in an artiste as popular: Akon. The Senegalese-American icon disappointed Celtel on two occasions but he delivered on the third one, leaving the Celtel staff most certainly relieved and in chest-thumping mood. The Akon budget over-shot due to some inconsistencies but Celtel Uganda’s Marketing Director Ms Cesear Mloka said financial implications were nothing to bother Celtel as long as Akon performed in Kampala. Akon, who is currently the most sought-after artiste in the world, had snubbed Kenya on several occasions so for his coming here though belatedly, gave Celtel full marks. Besides, the singer didn’t disappoint at the show. Signing local artistes However, even before the battle went to the international front, Celtel, MTN and Uganda telecom had already had a showdown on the local scene. MTN shrewdly signed all the big artistes before their competitors realised what they were doing. They started with Jose Chameleone at a time when the lanky singer was untouchable on the local music scene. Chameleone’s contract with MTN expired recently and the company did not renew it. When he performed at the Celtel-sponsored Akon concert, MTN insiders said it was the last nail in his coffin and that they wouldn’t renew his contract. On Chameleone’s part, he said he was a free agent who could perform at any event, as his contract hadn’t been renewed by then. Chameleone revealed to It’s Friday that his problems with MTN started when he performed at CBS FM’s annual show (Enkuuka) that was sponsored by Warid Telecom, a rival company to MTN, hence breaching a clause in his contract. “The Kabaka had instructed that I perform at the event and being a Muganda, I cannot object to what the Kabaka says, I thought MTN would have understood my dilemma,” he says. Currently he says he is happy as a freelancer who is able to perform at whatever show he wants, though he is contemplating whether to get back into a contract or not. When Bobi Wine emerged as one of the top musicians in the land, MTN added him to their list. “I get my money and the contract is worth it,” says Bobi Wine. When asked whether the contract was not restricting his income and fan base as he can’t perform at rival telecoms’ functions he said, “I call it responsibility not a restriction. Life is full of responsibilities, for example when you are married; you have a responsibility to be faithful to your wife, because she gives you everything. I’m paid my worth and my boys too, so at the end of the day I’m happy.” He was recently the MTN ambassador for their Kabiriti phone, as part of his contract. MTN’s stable of artistes also includes Juliana Kanyomozi who is apparently the hottest female item on the music charts here. She is not complaining about the deal either. “If someone comes in with a deal and they pay what I think is good money, then I’m losing nothing. I’m signed with MTN but I can still perform for other big companies as long as they are not MTN’s competitors. I’m having a blast,” she says. MTN has also signed Eagles Production that has two Pam award winners in Mesach Semakula and Ronald Mayinja. Their list also includes Ragga Dee, Blu3 and Obsessions. Ragga Dee says that sometimes it affects an artiste who is signed to a company when he or she can’t perform for the competitor even when they are offering big cash, but he doesn’t regret signing with MTN. “We all fancy earning easily and there is nothing better than knowing that at the end of a dark spell there is light in the shape of a cheque,” he says. “Even when there are no concerts I still know I’ll go and collect my allowance.” However, there are some artistes who consider themselves free agents and they can perform for any company with no strings attached. “Bebe Cool Peter (Miles) and I, don’t have any contracts with any companies barring us from performing for their competitors,” says Sweet Kid. “I can sing for MTN at 10p.m. and 30 minutes later you find me at a Celtel or Utl event, whoever pays first gets served first.” Bebe Cool reckons that being a free agent is to the artiste’s advantage “although you miss out on big promotions opportunities.” “I love controlling myself,” he says. But even with free agents, some companies rush to book them in order to block their competitors especially when they know about a pending event the opposition is putting up. What the competitors say. According to the MTN Uganda Promotions Manager Aggrey Kagonyera, a company agrees with the artiste on some conditions stated in the contract prior to signing it. “A company has objectives and both the artiste and the company have obligations to meet in respect of the contract,” he says. “For instance the artiste is supposed to represent our brand very well with a good character in the public.” Kagonyera also says that there is a retainer fee that is paid to the artiste as an incentive to keep them away from the competitors. “This [retaining an artiste] is practised all over the world and your wife can’t go shopping in a Mercedes Benz when you are retained by BMW,” he says, explaining why an artiste signed with MTN can’t perform for their competitors. Celtel, Warid and Uganda telecom don’t have any artistes signed with them; however, they keep hiring the free agents whenever they have an event. Celtel Uganda’s Marketing Manager Dan Kaboyo says that using artistes helps the company in connecting with their target audience. However, he says that they don’t have binding contracts with any artistes. “We don’t believe in tying a person to our brand. We wouldn’t like to imprison anybody. We are an open company and we are here to develop talents.” Warid Telecom hasn’t been favoured in this competition and they have ended up using traditional troupes and a few up and coming artistes at their promotions as the big artistes are either signed and can’t perform at their events or the free agents are involved in other commitments. The two Warid officials we talked to were not at liberty to speak on record. uganda telecom publicist Mark Kaheru says that signing artistes restricts their abilities and that it’s not a uganda telecom policy to sign artistes, but they use them whenever they are needed. “We don’t want to restrict talent. Supposing the company doesn’t have a concert for six months, does it mean an artiste won’t perform for six months?” he asks. However, MTN’s Kagonyera is on the defensive saying that their policy of signing artistes doesn’t stifle their talent. “We sign artistes to promote our brand, not to restrict their talent,” he says. When all is said and done, it’s the artistes who gain from the competition, because it all comes down to large sums of money getting into their purses.

Other Stories - 23/05/2008