Hazel Friedman
THE future is looking upbeat for local music as M-Net gets planning on its first pan- African satellite music channel. The as yet unnamed channel will be broadcast from the beginning of September for 24 hours a day. It joins an already substantial international bouquet which includes Carlton Network, BET on Jazz and Zee TV, to name just three of the overseas offerings on DSTV’s 40 channels.
But while much of the satellite diet has been either American or British with a smattering of channels from the developing world, the focus of this music channel will be predominantly African and Afro-American. Thirty percent of screen time will be devoted exclusively to South African music, 10% to the rest of Africa and the remaining 60% to black American sounds.
For South Africans, the quota breakdown means that for the first time in this country, music genres such as kwaito and hip-hop will receive substantially greater exposure than they presently get. Already, production houses countrywide have joined the “local is lekker beat”, and are vying to produce the new channel. Six companies will present their pitch to M-Net in mid-July.