In Harare, music piracy has become a nagging concern. As the issue continues to intensify, one man has been noted as the chief culprit of this illegal activity and it will not be weeks before he is nabbed. For fear of prejudicing upcoming police investigations, ZimEye have decided to keep the man’s name under lock and key. But many already know the man who drives a Pajero on the streets of Harare and pushes stolen music to the streets using desperate street vendors trying to survive by hustling.
As Zimbabwean musicians continue to cry foul over lack of protection on music piracy issues, the situation has denigrated into an even more depressing situation in Harare where any set of three musical cds can be found on the street for as low as $1 for a set of three. Such give-away prices tend to disrespect the work of the artists while sending a message that the musicians can keep singing for other people to keep harvesting where they never sowed.
According to one of the illegal vendors interviewed by a ZimEye reporter in Harare this week, “The piracy in Harare is now an established chain of conspirators where some top guys steal the music even before official release dates and illegally copy musical cds that are pushed onto the streets at get-away prices. Some desperate street vendors sign up and jump on such offers to help push the music to the thirsty public who will buy anything affordable to entertain themselves.”
Some prominent names in Harare were this week mentioned as evidence for such unscrupulous theft of the work of others.  Many concerned music fans have responded with outrage as to how authorities have looked the other way in the face of such abuse of copyrighted materials that go on sale in public places and streets as vendors take everything as normal.
According to an anonymous street vendor, “Even some have pointed to the Ministry of Arts and Culture as not doing enough to protect musicians. Despite paper policies on plans and goals to contain music piracy, no practical or visible action has been done by the ministry as yet. That has been the reason why most musicians hardly make good sales through cds.”
Maxwell Mugadza a concerned music fan who was shocked to see a music album on the street ahead of official release last Christmas said, “It is quite insulting to find that some dealers have the audacity to steal this kind of music and push it on the streets ahead of the owners’ official album launches. Then we have a Minister of Arts and Culture who must address these issues and keep the situation under control. It now appears like the open theft of some musicians’ talent has become norm. This must be stopped.”
Many other fans have also denounced such an illegal practice of piracy.
One other fan also said, “These musicians take lots of time practicing their music to produce quality music. Someone just appears from around the corner and steals the music to sell it for profit while robbing the owners of the work.”
With such a continued trend, one notable man in Harare has been pointed to as making loads of money by stealing music and selling it through illegal vending on the streets. The same man is now under investigation because most of the interviewed vendors are pointing at him as the supplier of the stolen music. While he brags that he is well connected with authorities, the next few weeks will prove him right or wrong because most musicians have now started putting their heads together to see to it that this man is brought to book.
A well respected ZiFM DJ also added that , “The issue is all about protecting our musicians and giving them value for their efforts so that we all get value for our entertainment as they also are able to feed their families. Imagine widows and orphans left behind by great singers like Leonard Dembo, System Tazvida, James Chimombe, Tongai Moyo or Andy Brown. How are these families going to make it when their breadwinners are no longer alive to perform live shows and maybe cover up for these losses?. This is a sad reality.”