MaBlerh Goes All Debra Patta On TS Records
September 20, 2011 by Brown Shuga
Yesterday Sbu Leope, also known as DJ Sbu, announced through his twitter account that Zahara has officially gone double platinum. In South Africa, double platinum, is 100 000 copies. This is after DJ Sbu announced that Zahara sold 50 000 in 13 days. 9 days later, she has apparently sold another 50 000 units.
Look, I sat behind a desk and studied marketing and therefore I am aware of all the tricks in the book. In as much as I have never worked in the music industry, the marketing tricks are the same, you just tweak it to fit your industry.
Prime example, in 3rd year, we were given a Red Bull case study. This study was basically about how Red Bull created the demand for their product before it even hit the shelves. What they did was team up with concert promoters/event organisers and struck a deal that they will bring empty Red Bull cans to parties and throw them on the ground. So, if you were at an event, you would see these empty cans on the floor and automatically want to buy this product that everyone around you seem to be drinking. When Red Bull finally hit the stores it was an instant hit as the hype was already there. Remembering this lecture I ask myself if DJ Sbu and his team at TS Records are hitting us with this strategy second half?
In the US, they use Nielsen Soundscan to track album sales, in fact, SoundScan is the official way of tracking sales in the US and Canada. Billboard.com also uses Soundscan. Before Soundscan, the method to track album sales was to call stores and capture the number that they tell you and this was subject to error and fraud. SoundScan was introduced and it captures sales to consumers over the tills weekly. Sadly this technology is not available to the South African music industry. Now what happens here is that we are prone to record houses selling us cooked numbers. Some record labels will release pre-order numbers as sales. These are the number of units that music stores have ordered. Not necessarily the number of units sold. What record labels also fail to inform the public is that music stores return unsold copies. So, they can order 50 000 copies from Kalawa Jazmee and only sell 10 000 copies to the public. The remaining 40 000 will be returned to Kalawa.
I am all for artists thriving in this country but I am also against my fellow citizens being deceived. Here is what I believe is happening at TS Records: They are pulling a Red Bull strategy on us. In that regard, they are winning as the hype is already on soaring levels. They restricted supply so that as the hype soars, there are no CD’s in stores. What this does is that it further adds to the hype and creates an even bigger demand. To further the hype and created demand, they released a statement about selling 50 000 in 13 days, sending consumers on a frenzy. Now they are adding fuel to the fire by stating that 9 days later, she has sold another 50 000 copies. Now even my mom that listens to Ncandweni Christ Ambassadors wants a piece of Zahara.
I believe that the 100 000 copies that they claim to have sold are merely units that were ordered by music stores across the country and not necessarily copies that are in the hands of the consumer. This is brilliant in terms of marketing strategies but it is still unethical and misleading. Should this be the case, then consumer watch dogs should look in the direction of TS Records and do their job.
Also, should this be the case, Zahara is the one that is disadvantaged in the long as it has been proven time and time again that South Africans are quick to get over hyped up artists. It will be sad to witness this as Zahara is beautiful and talented vocalist and shouldn’t be used as a short term cash cow by means of aggressive marketing strategies. TS Records, may argue that they are justified in using data from pre-orders as they put those numbers in their books but we are both aware that this is cheating as those numbers change when unsold copies are returned and when that happens TS records will not come back to the public and announce that in fact their artist sold 40 000 copies, they will keep the unearned glory of producing a double platinum selling artist. Unethical.
If Zahara and TS Records have managed to sell 100 000 units in 19 days, then I applaud them but I really doubt it. I guess we will have to wait for RISA to confirm the numbers. Sadly, I will be labelled as a hater for not being gullible but it comes with the job. C’est la vie!
By Mablerh
Twitter: @Mablerh
Gonnonder on Wed, 21st Sep 2011 11:27 pm
lolest.Your opinion is your opinion my broer *with a Kaptonian Aksent*. I like it though,you open our eyes & ears.Not to take things at face value.As a Social Sciences promoter ;D ,I understand.*Incase you were wondering,I’m obsessed ngoZahara*.On the being a hater or not issue,uzazi wena ;D …
Phambili Zahara!
LustaGP on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 8:40 am
what job???blogging??? or airing your opinion?? i wonder?
sell1 on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 10:00 am
bloggin about your opnion on the matter duznt make you a hater in my eyes and whoeva sees it othawise ke bothata ba gaggwe and tanx for insight i didnt know gore these things wrk like this. iv heard only one song ya zahara i think lolilwe or sumthn must admit gal o nale talent but pity i dont reli undastnd what she is saying coz i dont know the lingo
anytime on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 10:06 am
I just cant get over that DESTINY song-it is so BAD!!!!!!
Ms Diva on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 10:50 am
so what if they doing that ,newspapers,clientelle life,outsurance do the worse to sell.its their strategy so what? we all entintled to our actions after what ppl say. its not like they forced people to buy the Music. and for the most of it TS records were not the 1s who created this Hype. i heard the Hype about Zahara from Fb ppl, my EL peeps , CT peeps and twitter and i baught it before the platinum story even came out.the platinum story is new mani the hype was already there hawu. kunini ndineCD kaZahara.
i mean i baught Beyonce ‘s CD because websites, bloggers,twitter, BBM peeps were going on about it and in this case TS record is not even the oustide promoters like the ones that prometed Beyonce who won’t give us a cent but bona atleast they will get something in return for it . Hayi i don’t see anything wrong or immoral or cheating here i wil do it nam for my sister if it means it will get people buying or voting, i mean it happens in polotics of this Cowntry all the times and we still go and vote by choice.
for the Record i baught 3 Copies at once oh i just had to have 1 for my grandma so that in future she will not longer sing with her drunk voice emcimbini the ” xa bendingena mama” song.
Kabza on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 11:56 am
Boss, you remind me of “The mad rapper”! Hatin on everyone that does it better than them. Clearly you could learn a thing or two from Sbu & CO.
Zahara is a real musician who’s music speaks for itself. No amount of marketing can get people to buy a crap product. It’s annoying that you have tried to reduce her buzz down to a marketing ploy.
coolcaz on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 3:01 pm
Get a life blessing mane.
Lustagp on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 3:05 pm
where are the other comments BS? still on the DHL truck?
chilled sweet lemonade on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 3:52 pm
….go on mablerh you do your thing…….
it just grinds my gut that everytime mablerh expresses an opinion he is shot down like he murdered someone…..what happened to freedom of expression guys….yes we will never see situations the same way but does it warrant all the hateful condesending (sp) remarks…..ache…..anyway, its good to be back on JC
mamamia on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 4:08 pm
Oops he did it again!
I can’t formulate an opinion on this piece. It feels a bit biased peppered with a bit of playa hatin – that much is obvious. Hidden agendas maybe @mablerh? I mean there’s no proof that TS is misleading the public ka di sale tsa di units.
On that note, Zahara is definitely talented shem. One issue i have, i heard her sing an english song….eish! definitely not her strongest point…yet. Okay okay i kinda winced at the way she pronounced the lyrics. Needs more polishing, i know english is not her mother tongue, but she does it soooo well in her mother tongue.
Despite that lil itsy bit i’m gon get her album regardless.
Twitter on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 4:13 pm
Yho @Lusta.u killed me with this one —–> “where are the other comments BS? still on the DHL truck?” Im just picturing a truck now full of comments..Yho I die shem…
Kadeeja B on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 5:33 pm
Mablerh I usually like wat u write but dey r tyms (like dis instance) where u lose ur focus. N for a smart guy like u I’m dissapointed in dis article. It seems u just have dis hatred for TS Records. Such a strong opinion of urs such be backed by facts n not wat ur brain is thinkin.
I think I would be glad if one day u realize u don’t know every thing n need not write abt every opinion dat cum to ur mind!!!
Its obvious Zahara aint ur cuppa tea n its ok but don’t shine on her shine!!! Sheks on da spotlight so let her be!!! *hums uLoliwe- uLoliwe wa e*
Smatsatsa sa Welkom on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 7:43 pm
Just like marmite, Zahara’s music is an acquired taste. Not my cuppa latte.
I wish her well in this dodgy industry.
softnfree on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 9:46 pm
LOL Lusta
oomuhle on Thu, 22nd Sep 2011 11:17 pm
The numbers speak for themselvs it looks like the writer has some
hiden agenda with TS records, yazi thina bantu bamnyama asifuni ukubona omnye umntu omnyama ephumelela, big corporates also practise this theory oyithetha apha and they cash in on their marketing strategy, so u Sbu why can’t he do the same if it works for ppl to buy the music why not and brings money, the men is a business man thinks like one and he has to make profits, at least yenze abantu bathenga I CD e shop hayi emgaqweni
coolcaz on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 5:24 am
The CDs were again on shelves last week and by sunday sold out now its another “waiting”. Pls explain
Cutie on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 8:53 am
Mina Mablerr I just have one question for you. Have you ever doubted sales figures by Jay-Z, Lil Wayne etc? They’ve been going double platinum for years and I never heard you complain/airing your doubts. Yet when an S.A artist does that you have doubts. Do you doubt her ability to have such high sales volume?
Let me tell you this, I have about 300 friends on FB. About 80% of them have bought the original copy of Zahara. That makes it 240 units. About 15% of them could not find copies in stores. That should tell you something bro. I’m only talking about my friends alone here.
I just wish we can all be happy when someone is succeeding in whatever they are doing.
Dj Y on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 1:30 pm
kwaaaa @yo mom….if my mom who refuses to listen to joyous celebration or ringo wants to listen or talks about Zahara i will know that all those with ears have heard.Kodwa it is too much sengicikekile already.
kananelo on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 2:39 pm
@Mablerh kwaal makes u nasty sies!!!…nxa waborah,this was the last time i read ur article nxa
MissAN on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 2:40 pm
halala!! Kunini ngihleli kuma sidelines ngeforce…I don’t even know why JC is back to normal all I have to say is anything built on another man’s pain will not last and lastly sometimes plain Ricoffy and buttered brown bread is so good than a fancy clubhouse sandwich with double expresso *side eyes BS and the WordPress team* This Dsquit(sp) change on JC really separated Silicone Valley material from the rif raf… I tried soooo many times to log on and lo and behold,I even had ask @Mysista to send my comment via her account cos I was just not cracking it! So please note,my comment never even made it to the DHL truck it sat idle in @Mysista’s email -inbox…So I will post it anyway and note I wrote it when JC was fancy sandwich and double expresso… *I am so happy*
Haai Mysista…kanti how does this new thing work,I just see a block and it has been saying ‘Just a moment’ kanti what up? Ok here is my comment,please unga edit please…Nayi icomment yami…
Woowi… Asking @Mysista to post the comment on my behalf makes me feel like Mkhize from Emzini wezinsizwa when he asked Mofokeng to read a letter from home and told Mofokeng to close his ears so he wont know what is written in
the letter..#JCchange showingmeflames
Anyways,I read the article izolo and my head just spun when I had to comment cos I was not even aware ukuthi there is a change coming *Leela James voice* la ekhaya,so I was forced into silentville..
@Softy what did I say about personal ‘branding’ on JC,you laughed at me…Look now we have bo @RoxenaABCD and a Palesa Ramonate et al in our midst and speaking of new usernames @Mysista Palesa Ramonate..emphasis on Monate *get her Tiger..gr gr gr*
@Lungstar I was craking myself izolo,wondering why you taking soooo long to respond to this article and I imagined that this new way of blogging is the reason *if that is the case* manje njonga mna,I have to ask someone to post my comment cos this thing has been showing a block saying ‘Just a moment’ when I try to comment..Mxm
Ok to get tho the issue… @Mablerh honestly what is it to you that TS is cooking up numbers or this double platinum story could be ingane ngwane or just a marketing gimmick? How does that change the price of bread? Isn’t the point of marketing (advertise) a product supposed to make the public
aware of the product something called AIDA and get the public to buy the product? If TS is using this platinum as a marketing gimmick don’t you think they have achieved their goal and have created a demand and hype for the Zahara cd in a market where people copy or download albums and never actually buy the original cd? There are many strategies used to market a product and if cooking up sales numbers *as you suspect* is their strategy why not? As a learned marketing student what you really should be arguing is the 4Ps of a product(or marketing,not sure) that TS could have paid attention to and TS using mobile downloads to milk the cow. You should be more concerned about why TS did not have proper mechanisms *politicians’ jargon* in place should the demand of Zahara’s cd exceed the supply and more importantly seeing you so passionate about THIS industry did TS give Zahara a good deal as record companies have a
tendency *polticians’ jargon* of ripping artists.
Sbu is an Engineering graduate and a born marketer,Mzekezeke was a huge success and Sbu was just an obscure Yfm Dj and the Rude Boys and Bad Boy T’s of this world were the IT guys,but look how the dice rolled…Sbu is a shrewd business man and I wont be surprised that @Mablerh is in on this Zahara deal…Why each time there is something regarding Zahara @Mablerh has to write an article and we told its his opinion?And we know that JC is a force to be reckoned with.Whats next,Zahara gets a weave and @Mablerh will have an article why weaves don’t define a person but for Zahara there might be issues,ngoba all his articles don’t target Zahara’s talent but there are BUTS,IFS,etc *I smell an Alex rat*
‘Look, I sat behind a desk and studied’ Economics *darkie tendencies of using qualifications as means to add weight to an argument* khiphani amaphepha nani,niyabona kukhishwa amaphepha. When demand of a product exceeds its supply,ceteris paribus,prices are expected(or should) to increase,so if bengiyi TS they should push the prices up seeing people want Zahara’s cd sooooo much and will be willing to even pay R30 extra.
I wish this girl nothing but the best.God had already decided it wil be for her and so it was. Not even #Haters can stop that. *I need to listen to the whole album in order to make objective comments and not just based on Loliwe*
I thank you.
Yimina
MissAN
Lustagp on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 3:16 pm
Miss AN,,,We replied but it looks liek the comments are still on the truck dear!
MissAN on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 3:20 pm
@Lungstar…Hawu @Mysister did not say that she posted my comment and the next I checked the were 0 comments on this article… These were tough days I tell you.
SilentBlogger on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 3:53 pm
First of all, i do not see what the correlation between marketing gimmicks and the talent that is Zahara add any substance to your questioning of Sales. I would like to believe JC is a media discourse that sets motion on social Agendas. I do believe that this article is malevolent because instead of propelling more sells, and fuelling momentum in the sensation that has instilled national pride in buying rather than copying CD, it is conveying a message of “cheated consumers” who have been misconstrued. Which is false because this CD is really good value for money. I would like to believe that most JC bloggers are educated individuals, how sad would it be if we all whipped out our educational status to validate our opinion, it would barely suffice as being a forum of mere regurgitation of theories you whipped out of your textbooks.
Zahara has been on most radio station promoting her CD, she appeals to a diverse age group, young and old, surely your marketing skills should have alarmed bell the fact that there is indeed a ripe demand for her ART within the market. i listened to Zahara sing on tbo touchs show, live, i was left with Goosebumps and she validated herself, and it’s not just a hype its talent. And no i do not believe she is a Simphiwe Dana, she is totally unique! I’m proud to say my flatmate and I both bought original copies, which we ordered and waited a week to collect!! So MaBlerh ur opinion can shut up n sit down… (That’s jus my opinion)
Lustagp on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 3:59 pm
Silent blogger…all this hogwash from Mablerh ne CD ye R90 only ….no maan this must be stopped.
MissAN..DHL truck dear!
Bee on Fri, 23rd Sep 2011 4:51 pm
If i didn’t know u better Mabler I’d say u’ve got a crush on Zahara. Oh maybe you have it on Sbu yazi. Mna everything you mentioned above I’d already knew about and it doesn’t bother me at all. Every artist is using exactly the same strategy.
Moving on..Zahara’s cd is already on the streets damn….eMzantsi kodwa. But mna I’ve got my 100 waiting, i just need a chance to go and get the album.
YolandaMeslane on Mon, 26th Sep 2011 12:35 am
Oh Crap!!!
In case anyone is wondering I’m no Zahara fan. I dont have the cd & this is mainly because I’m a Cape Town Khayelitsha breed. Should have heard my laughter after hearing all these statistics when I went to the train station there & heard that there is a seperate line where Zahara/Loliwe fans shouls stand to buy the cd. It was sad to say the least because the whole night after that Loliwe was all I heard. True with your opinion Mablerh! Too true…
Haters of truth will still judge you for this.
Lustagp on Mon, 26th Sep 2011 1:19 pm
haters of truth???????hehehe!!
Okay Mablerh bigs up to you cso i can see Shashwi read this article and she stole one or two lines..gud to see JC has tht much power!
MaliB on Mon, 26th Sep 2011 5:24 pm
Sooooo… How are the sales currently standing?
LeeM on Thu, 29th Sep 2011 4:02 pm
Zahara sold 200000 copies, confirmed by RISA…can we get a comment on that?
Gee-M on Thu, 29th Sep 2011 8:19 pm
I was watching Rolling with Zola on saturday. He said in the past platinum was equal to 100,000, these days it’s 50,000. Maybe Zahara is bringing back the trend of great sales, no more bootlegging.
khot on Fri, 7th Oct 2011 10:41 pm
Eat your fleepin ish and dish the rest to your crew who’s mandate is to demean other people. Zahara’s is no fluke and the sales have spoken and yes I bought the CD which is so so awesome. Uyanginyanyisa and to have even came across such an ill informed article makes my blood boil. ttsek and leave Zahara alone.