Many South African artists have been expressing how their inability to work due to the coronavirus outbreak will affect their livelihoods and their craft.
Thandiswa Mazwai took to Twitter to announce that the Minister of Arts, Culture and Sports Nathi Mthethwa, would be addressing the industry. This comes after she directly asked the minister to speak to the industry as the president hadn’t addressed them directly.
Singer and producer RJ Benjamin responded to the tweet by calling on all South African radio stations to strictly play local artists' music during the lockdown. The award-winning vocalist further explained that he doesn’t only mean the "big" artists but "the artists who have created quality material and still didn’t get playlisted."
Thandiswa showed her solidarity with his statement by agreeing with tweets that called for the same thing in response to her tweet.
Minister Mthethwa has been addressing tweets from the industry’s big names, assuring them he will formally address media members about the "critical issues" of his department’s response to how Covid-19 "is affecting our creative industries."
The minister then addressed the public and announced that the department would be making R150 million available to artists. But did mention radio play, according to reports.
WATCH THE ADDRESS HERE:
