A Tangible Effect On Independent Music
When we launched The Fuss, it came as a necessity based on our experiences as independent musicians in the South African music industry. There weren’t anywhere near enough online platforms championing local independent music, so we created the thing we thought was lacking. We are still fully committed to “exploring, exhibiting and examining the South African cultural landscape through the medium of independent music” and in the almost five years of existence, the blog has evolved to incorporate an e-commerce store and live events.
Considering our background, we gladly accepted the invitation to attend the launch of #KFCSoundbite platform earlier this year. What excited us was that there was another platform for independent musicians being launched which didn’t exist when we were musicians. #KFCSoundbite sees KFC leveraging the reach and credibility of their brand for a platform which connects fans to independent musicians. In a nutshell, the platform allows independent artists to upload their music to the platform and reach new fans.
What is often the naysayers’ arguments against branded platforms like Soundbite is the longevity of these initiatives and the assertation that they don’t have any tangible effect on the industry. The suggestion here is that these platforms are not mutually beneficial relationship with only the involved brand gaining from these initiatives in terms of marketing.
In dispute of the longevity argument, the SoundBite initiative started in 2015 with the Soundbite desks, and all signs suggest that this is a long-term initiative which KFC is fully committed to. Further galvanising this commitment, KFC recently took the initiative from URL to IRL with the first SoundBite live performance event. The event showcases talent from the SoundBite chart allowing them to share a stage with some of the biggest established musicians in South Africa.
The first event took place in Braamfontein on the rooftop of Thirteen Venue last month. We were entertained by Riky Rik, Reason and Rouge who followed a couple of the SoundBite artists who competed for the title of Best Soundbite Artist of the night. While Melissa Raw won the honours – which will see her performing at the NYE SoundBite concert – our favourite moments from the SoundBite acts included seeing Flex Rabanyan perform his chart-topping ‘Dlala’ and Dala Fam performing the DJ Hopestar produced Venda trap-banger ‘Ahi Fambi’ twice at the request of the crowd.
Reason offered one of the SoundBite artists a verse, Rouge slayed it performing her most recognised tracks alongside some new material from her album, The New Era Sessions, which was released the previous day. As with most events he performs at, Riky Rik, stole the show turning his performance into a Boiler Room and inviting the crowd to join him onstage.
Check out some images from the event below and keep an eye out for the next SoundBite event taking place at Pretoria in November.
KFC SoundBite is a local music platform which connects fans and artists. The platform offers fans a new channel through which to discover local music while affording independent artists of all genres the opportunity to reach a new audience and new heights with the potential to perform with the best South African musicians at the Soundbite events. Visit www.kfcsoundbite.com to submit or discover.
