The music industry in 13 years since the advent of a new democratic government presents the same challenges as was 20 or 30 years ago. This is amid all efforts made both by progressive civil societies and government who are working tirelessly and selflessly towards a transformed industry.

Regardless of a variety of both socio-political and economic policies put in place, the industry has been able to maintain the Irish Coffee System that marginalises the majority that constitutes the labour force/practitioners against main stream economies of the music industry. In the past 13 years we have moved from “systemic exploitation” to “systemic exclusion” of the very majority that remains poor and disadvantaged.

As AIRCO Transformation Committee, we believe that the new epoch cannot be built on top of the old epoch thus a redress process is inevitable. We commit ourselves as AIRCO Transformation Committee to be the beacon of hope in bringing the much desired change that will complement The AIRCO’s broader vision of levelling the playing field both socially and economically for a broader participation of all South Africans as intended in the BBBEE charter.

2. THE AIRCO TRANSFORMATION COMMITTEE

AIRCO TRANSFORMATION COMMITTEE hereafter referred to as ATC is established in response to the apparent inequalities inherently presented by the country’s socio-political history. The committee shall consist of:
(a) The Chairman
(b) The Policy & Strategy Development sub-committee
(c) Programmes and Project Manager
(d) Secretariat

2.1. VISION

ATC’s vision is to champion the acceleration of socio-political changes and to ensure broader participation towards the growth of the music industry’s economy.

2.2 MISSION

ATC shall in all its endeavours be guided by political and economic factors but in a more progressive and inclusive approach. Our programmes of action shall be fair and transparent towards a better industry for all and the underlying value being equality as a critical “must achieve” component of all our aims and objectives

ATC’s guiding philosophy encompasses active socio-economic participation, promoting development through broad participation, private & public investment in programmes and projects; lower entry barriers to the music industry for the needy, unparalleled service and investment in job creation initiatives, skills transfers and development, internships, property development & ownership and entrepreneurship development.

3. PROPOSED CONCEPTS

ATC, as a committee intends to promote:

• Affirmative Action within its membership and associates through a credit point system with more point allocation towards African women placements to executive positions. We will put in place mechanisms to monitor Affirmative Action so that it remains unyielding to tokenism. We are sensitive towards affirmative action that promotes racial preference without a support system to enable development and growth in human resource skills and capacity. We believe that Affirmative Action is essential to promote both industrial reconciliation and human resource development. Our broader view of what Affirmative Action should translate to is, “positions in management, professional and technical areas particularly reflecting as much as possible the demographics of South Africa.”
• Black Economic Empowerment within its members in particular those categorized as first and second major record companies (credit score rating applicable). Our focus would be to encourage rapid development through partnership and ownership control. We will also put in place incentives towards genuine empowerments and expose those partnership or equity ownerships that pose as empowerments but in true sense are window dressings.
• We will introduce mechanisms to deal with inaccessibility starting from production to distribution. ATC hopes to facilitate the development of national studios as envisaged by The Department of Arts and Culture to deal with the issue of inaccessibility but at the same time develop the business component of such studios for self-sustainability independent of further government subsidies. We will develop a comprehensive business case as part of our developmental programme in redressing the consequences of the past. Arts and Cultural products are a result of our emotional expressions and therefore cannot be developed at a programmed time, thus immediate access is key to pure interpretation of such cultural emotional uniqueness and diversity.
• We will introduce a coupon based system in partnership with structures like Umsobomvu in terms of funds allocation towards the formalization of unregistered labels/companies so that they also adhere to all company laws of South Africa and in return comply with tax requirements. This programme is aimed at formalizing the industry in order to gear up the up and coming entrepreneurs for better corporate governance and access to finance for further business development. Many of our potential members are housed within major record companies thus their brands are overshadowed and swallowed by the big brands against their independent visibility. They are subject to minimal or limited growth and therefore in order to unleash their potential, we will look at developing a “Stand alone Label Housing” for more effective communication and development.
• Development of The Music Industry Charter in partnership with Creative Workers Union (CWUSA) in relation to ownership and redistribution of wealth. This process will take lead from other sectors like the mining sector that has been able to progressively develop and implement such a charter. We want to believe that such processes especially initiated under government policies are not sectorally based but can be implemented across all sectors of our economy.
• Decentralization of the music industry for easy access and low barrier to entry. The centralization of the industry carries the legacy of the former industrialization process that led to the migration of men from their homelands. It therefore falls within the political agenda of ATC to decentralize the industry in order to curb the displacement of those who leave their homelands in search of the Johannesburg based “American dream.” It is also in the quest of encouraging the preservation and development of authentic indigenous cultural products that find their expression from such pure cultural communities and environmental surroundings. We believe that in as much as we would want to encourage the development of cross-cultural products, we must equally so establish and encourage the development of authentic and indigenous cultural products. It is therefore the reason we encourage the decentralization of the industry in order to cater for such developments and provide equal opportunities for such underdeveloped cultures to access the markets and flourish through their economic spin-offs.
• As part of our role in the interactive engagement with government, we will pursue an extensive participation in government policy making processes and within the bargaining council in order to promote equally the needs of all South African cultural societies within the music fraternity.
• As part of the developmental process, we hope to establish a trust/investment wing for the implementation of all programmes and projects without any delay. This will include both public and private partnerships in specially designed programmes for specific purposes.
• As part of our long term goal, we hope to develop a skills development component in line with transformation programmes and in conjunction with AIRCO’ Skills Development Committee. The skills development component is envisaged to act as support system that will compliment and qualify the implementation of programmes like affirmative action, entrepreneurship drive, black economic empowerment and generally to service all our membership based businesses through staff training and placement.
• Part of the development process should also include co-opt schemes that will facilitate skills transfer and job creation for our members. This will also encourage equal share of opportunities to our own developmental service providers. A data base of such developmental service providers will be circulated through the website under ATC portfolio for easy access to such information and AIRCO’s recommendation based on pre-assessment process.

4. SERVICES

To provide added benefits to our members, ATC will help to ensure that all members adhere to the values embraced by AIRCO towards transformation. In addition, it will devise means to incentivise change within the music industry and make sure that all partnerships are healthy maintained for the fulfillment of all aims and objectives of ATC

5. COMPETITIVE COMPARISON

Benefits accrued from ATC’s involvement are that the members would now be able to access direct intervention that is designed specifically for their needs based on their relative challenges. Provincial AIRCO members will be able to drive their desired changes through specific programmes endorsed or run by ATC.

The mentorship program will be a critical competitive tool in that members will be assisted to make sure that they are able to stand on their own.

These are complex, yet crucial benefits that require clear understanding historical disadvantages and experience to provide efficiently solutions both morally and financially. Through our envisaged support systems, we hope to provide venture capital and private equity finance.

Furthermore, the fact that ATC is led by an individual with 23 years of experience in the music industry at artistic and business level, also coming from a previously disadvantaged community will mean that members are working with their kind.

6. COMPETETIVE EDGE

That in this country, particularly in the music industry there are no institutions that provide the same service is the advantage to ATC success;

Excellent service and reliable support differentiates ATC from the rest thus it as a trusted partner to its member base.

Our members will look at ATC as a companion in their affairs thus making working together easy.

7. VALUE PROPOSITION

ATC’s value proposition has to be different from other service providers. It will offer its target clients, who are seeking for assistance and not self reliant, a service provider who acts as a strategic partner, and will provide assistance in other avenues not just information.

8. MARKETING STRATEGY

A new brand will have to be sold, making the potential clients understand of what it is that we do and what differentiates us from the rest. Riding on free media and aggressive utilization of electronic media programmes and newspapers to the fullest potential will be the most cost effective and the fastest reaching means. By giving the product the exposure it deserves and making it a household name, the emphasis will change from being a product that is sold but one that is available to the needy on merits.

Personal contact with members and feedback can only add value to the committee and help it improve on the quality of service and its product line.

It will be obvious why people will prefer us to other existing organizations.

9. MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

Our management philosophy is based on responsibility and mutual respect. People who work with ATC want to work with the committee because it intends to cultivate an environment that encourages creativity and achievement by upgrading the phase of country’s transformation strategy. Our business requires a very high level of experience and expertise to grow empowerment initiatives from hypothetical ones to more equitable ones.

For ATC to succeed in its business, it needs a blend of skills:

• Project Management
• Business Re-engineering
• General Management
• Management Information Systems and Technology
• Finance
• Investments
• Legal