The internet surge has not just opened up brighter and swifter communication patterns for Malawian art, it has let some artists earn a bad name.
This is solely the real occurrence.
Talk of Facebook whose live video service refuses to stop being touted, WhatsApp, Twitter and what have you, artists are able to reach to a large audiences than before.
But for every development comes a few hitches. Common has it been to see artists crying out loud over ‘bad omen’ oriented rumours that spread over the social media.
Artists have also taken an opportunity to publicize their own projects courtesy of the social media.
It could be argued that the social media then appears as a necessary evil.
While others are busy upping their good image others are either cleaning theirs or making their name more popular.
There has lately been an upsurge of artists and public figures having Facebook pages that are becoming active day by day running out activities they are carrying.
One popular example is Fredokiss. He regularly updates his Facebook page keeping his fans updated.
In fact Fredokiss himself mobilised a massive crowd to his free shows held in Blantyre and Lilongwe in the recent past.
In the past few months, Lucius Banda used his Facebook account to dispute a rumour about Wendy Harawa’s reported battering for promiscuity. It can be argued that social media is very essential as far as artistic life is concerned.
However, some artists such as Kumbu have also experienced the bitter side of this new media. Measures have to be taken to secure an effective artist-fan relationship on social.
In an interview, Fredokiss told Malawi24 that the most common challenge artist’s face on social media is fake accounts made in their names.
He further said: “Social media is a tool that can make you or break you… there are fake Fredo accounts and I expose them,” he said.
He however said such things should not stop artists from using social media.
“The challenges will always be there and it’s beyond my control,” he said.
Therefore artists have to look at the brighter side of social media and build up their image while at the same time keeping an excellent observation to minimise the damages social media can cause them.
