“Worse than theft”

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Music piracy is worse than theft, says the deputy manager of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture in Vhembe, responsible for performing, visual arts and craft development, Mr Vincent Netshivhodza.

Netshivhodza says that his department iss very concerned about the alarming rate of music piracy, especially in Thohoyandou, Musina and Louis Trichardt. “The reason why our government launched an anti-piracy campaign was because they realised that our artists were being robbed of the opportunity to make a decent living from their God-given talent," he adds.

He emphasises that by "pirating" music, the culprits are killing the artists they think they support. Although the government has spent a lot of money on a campaign to fight music piracy, music pirates still freely sell fake CDs and DVDs on street corners of every major town.

Tshifhiwa Rabambuka of Tshifhiwa Rabambukwa and the Hot Boys says he is concerned that music pirates make a decent living “while we are starving.” He appeals to community members, especially those involved in art-related projects, to come and collect funding forms from the National Arts Council Foundation at their offices in Vhembe. Interested artists can visit Netshivhodza, Ratshisusu or Baloyi at the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture at the government buildings. They can also be phoned at 015 962 4624, during office hours.

By: Ndivhuwo Musetha