No Chibuku Road to Fame this year
The Chibuku Road to Fame Music competition, which has added value to the music industry in the country, has announced that it is rebranding the competition.
The rebranding of the competition has led to Chibuku Products Limited, sponsors the competition, to make changes which have forced it not to hold the contest this year.
Since the competition started four years ago, Chibuku, in partnership with Musicians Union of Malawi (Mum), has been holding the event every year but following the rebranding the competition will be held every two years.
The company’s Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager Chimwemwe Chikwana, confirmed the development, saying the move will help make the competition bigger and better.
“As you may already be aware, the winners from last year’s competition, Andiamo Band from Balaka, travelled to Gaborone, Botswana in March this year where they attended the Botswana Chibuku Road to Fame finals. Their stay in Botswana gave them an opportunity to network with fellow musicians and provided them with a solid creative foundation for when they enter the studio and record their album,” said Chikwana.
He said Chibuku is committed to supporting the music industry through the Chibuku Road to Fame which has given many upcoming local bands the platform not only to showcase their skills but also to learn best practices from each other and improve the quality of their productions and performances.
“So in 2015 we feel that it is very important that we give local bands and musicians that wish to participate in Chibuku Road to Fame the necessary time to reflect and seek creative inspiration so that we enhance the overall experience for Malawians,” said Chikwana.
He said they would want competitors in the regions to work on their performances to give a real taste of the best music and that in order to achieve this, they have decided not to run Chibuku Road to Fame this year so that they may spend some time revamping the administration and mechanics of the property.
“We will also take this opportunity to rebrand Chibuku Road to Fame with the intention to find new ways of supporting upcoming musicians, the competition will return in 2016,” he said.
Chikwana said they were committed to continue sponsoring the competition, dispelling fears that the company was bowing out.
Mum Treasurer Young Chilaga said they were aware of the change stressing that they were told that the competition will now be held every two years.
“The other year will be for the musicians to perfect their acts but also a time for the winners to travel outside. For instance this year
Andiamo went to Botswana and so the competition will be held next year,” said Chilaga who hailed Chibuku for their support.
The competition in the first three years was dominated by bands from the Northern regions before Andiamo from the Southern region won it last year. The first winners were Kula Band from Mzuzu followed by
Lusubilo Band from Karonga and then Pamlonga from Mzuzu.
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