Mega Artists Magazine 1 | Page 11

MEGA ARTIST Issue no: 01 “Women in the music industry primarily serve a purpose and that purpose is often at the advantage of the male eye. Women are almost always sexualised in the media, more specifically the music industry.” MAM asked Ntsikwane to share with us her perspective on ‘Female representation in the music industry’. What is you take on female representation in the music industry? I think the female representation in the industry is balanced when it comes to ‘In front of camera’ work. But behind the scenes there is still a lot of work to be done. There are few women in production, management, directing, editing etc. These areas of the industry are still very much dominated by males. We really want to encourage women to study in these fields in order to increase the number of women working there. What is your take on female musician using sexuality and femenity as empowerment tool in their art? I feel that using sexuality takes away from the core of the art and reduces the artist to just a sex symbol instead of a talented artist. I believe in letting my music speak for itself no need to lace it with sexual innuendo Do you feel female musicians have a difficult time breaking through and getting the credit they deserve? I actually feel that female musicians do a lot better in the industry than males. If you listen to the music that’s getting a lot of airplay now, it’s actually women who dominate locally but internationally it’s a different story. There are few women musicians from Limpopo residing in Limpopo. What makes them leave the province? I think they leave because there isn’t really an arts industry here, so they are not able to sustain themselves in Limpopo. And this can be corrected if government, arts organisations and private sector work together to create a kind of arts precinct in Polokwane or in every big town in Limpopo, where artists can lease office space at a subsidised rate and be able to run art galleries, studios or theatres . Do you believe in the traditional role for men and women? No I don’t. And I’m not saying that women should now take on traditionally male roles or men should take over traditionally female roles, I think everyone should do what needs to be done without letting the perception of traditional roles get in the way. Your message to all the women in the art? Let your art speak for itself. Never compromise who you are or use your sexuality to get ahead in the industry. Do the work and the rewards will follow. What is your main focus right now? Right now my focus is on promoting my current album “The Soul Experiment”. If you are technologically savvy and like good music you can buy Ntsikwane'smusic online at iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. If you want a hard copy contact Ntswikwane at 082 393 5316 or email [email protected] is also on Twitter (@ntsikwane) and Facebook (Ntsikwane –Limpopo Song Bird). Listen to her music on https://www.soundcloud.com/ntsikwane Services Offered: Club Deejaying | Music Production RECORDS For more info contact: DJ Subzero @ 0828445884 email: [email protected] facebook: SubzeroSAAbi www.megaartists.co.za August 2014 Page 9