The Music Industry was once again shocked at the brutal attack on Lusanda Mcinga of the Lusanda Spiritual group, one of the biggest selling gospel artists in Southern Africa. 

 

She discovered her latest CD/DVD’S  selling for only R35 at a shop in the Willowvale Eastern Cape. When she confronted the shop owner she was physically attacked. The pirates admitted to ‘making the CD’s themselves.

 

The industry continues to fight piracy in all its forms from music to films, clothing to computer games and Government and Police will have to step-up its campaign against these criminals and impose much heavier sentences now before it’s a free-for-all before the World Cup.  It is not just in the big cities, it is now in the smaller towns and townships, and illegal duplication plants are cropping up everywhere.  This needs to be addressed urgently before all our industries take a huge knock and are forced out of business.

Lusanda’s CD’s and DVD’s were counterfeited a week after release and found at the Randfontein Taxi rank.  Our artists spend months planning and recording these albums for the public and we spend fortunes marketing these albums just for the pirates to take full advantage of our efforts.  Our artists, producers and composers receive not one cent from the pirates, plus no VAT and Taxes are paid.

I urge Government, The Department of Trade and Industry and the Police to strategize a policy on counterfeit and pirated product and enforce more stringent measures to solve or abate this huge problem.

Ivor J Haarburger 

Managing Director
GALLO MUSIC GROUP

011 340 9600