South African musician, Prince Kaybee, is constantly dropping knowledge about the music industry, and has used his wealth of knowledge to inform aspiring artists on what or what not to do in their careers. Just like many of his industry peers, Prince Kaybee suffered a massive income loss during 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and has shared the figure he has potentially lost during the challenging year.
In a series of tweets shared today, 3 November 2020, the Hosh creator asked that his fellow artists make concessions for 2021, as the second wave of COVID-19 could potentially leave us back in square one. He stated, “Dear DJ’s, next year might be a 2nd version of 2020, save that money you going to make in December, PLEASE.” With the holiday period fast approaching, he advised his counterparts to bank the income acquired during December, in case they are forced into another nationwide lockdown.
What took followers by surprise was his candidness when it came to how much money he could have made in a normal year. Averaging at 100 shows a year, Prince Kaybee implied that he was receiving a remuneration of R80 000 for each gig. What?! He stated, “Imagine at your peak you do 100 shows a year charging 80k per show. Yep you have lost 8 MILLION RAND this year. COVID has taken the Live Income from artists and it’s no Joke.”
Followers were shocked to learn about the potential earning power of DJs in South Africa, with some of them coming for Prince Kaybee due to the fact that he was complaining that he didn’t make R8 million this year. One follower replied with, “lol shem. Some of us couldn’t make average 4K a month to feed babies. Stfu.”
DJ Zinhle has been amongst the many musicians who have spoken out about their drastic loss of money. Back in July 2020, she spoke out about how organisers had been calling upon her to give free performers, not taking into consideration that she was amongst the many others who had not been receiving a salary since the beginning of lockdown.
She stated, “Am I the only artist who gets highly offended when a reputable company/organization asks for a free performance. Like, njani? How am I gonna risk my life going out to record a stream for free when I haven't had an income for 3 months.”
Dear Dj’s, next year might be a 2nd version of 2020, save that money you going to make in December, PLEASE🙏🏾
Imagine at your peak you do 100 shows a year charging 80k per show😭, yep you have lost 8 MILLION RAND this year💀. Covid has taken the Live Income from artists and its no Joke🥺
