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City Press readers share their thoughts on SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s announcement that the SABC will from now on play 90% local music across its 18 radio stations
Tshepo
Free State
I do not think it is for the SABC to tell us what we must listen to. To force local music on us will not make us love it.
Mary
Gauteng
I was so angered by the decision to impose 90% local music content on SABC radio stations that I no longer listen to the public broadcaster’s stations and refuse to watch its TV channels. Why not 20% at most?
I was an avid listener of Thobela FM and Motsweding FM. I am no longer.
The ruling made me search for a new radio home. I discovered that there is much better information and entertainment on independent radio stations. I now am listening until 3am daily.
I will now budget for two or three international music CDs a month. Research based on what we, the listeners, want – not what the artists want – should have been conducted before this decision was made.
Mimi
Northern Cape
Our local artists are hypocrites. They expect us to embrace their music when they themselves only feel fulfilled when their music gets acknowledged abroad and they receive international recognition. Was there any research done as to who listens to these programmes?
For example, Metro FM’s 3pm Sunday slot, The Romantic Repertoire, attracts listeners in their mid-forties and caters for their needs. Should they suddenly change their acquired music tastes and embrace genres like R&B?
Palesa
Pretoria
The intention is good, but the quota is as ridiculous as Hlaudi Motsoeneng himself.
Ntimane
Mpumalanga
For me, it’s goodbye to SABC radio and hello to Kaya FM on DStv audio and CDs when I am driving. It disturbs me to listen to what is being played on Radio 2000 at present. SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng is clueless and stubborn.
M Sadan
Gauteng
I will no longer listen to Metro FM on a Sunday.
Mpumi
Gauteng
How about starting up a radio station for 100% South African music? This 90% is taking us back to apartheid. Did Motsoeneng include the listeners during what he calls “consultation”? I have listened to Metro FM since its inception, because of its R&B music content.
Most stations will lose listeners; I am one of them. You cannot choose for me what to listen to. Be open-minded and accept that each person is unique, with individual preferences. Do not expect me to conform to your tastes.
Jabu
Gauteng
The 90% ruling is going to backfire. There will be a drop in listenership, especially for Metro FM on Sundays. I do not think that Motsoeneng took the listeners’ views and feelings into consideration.
Mike
Mpumalanga
Motsoeneng is 120% correct. South Africans suffer from self-hatred, which leads to us ignoring home-grown talent. Next, the SABC boss must ban fake American expressions used by artists accepting their statuettes at the SA Music Awards. It is annoying when they do that. Let them be original and speak like South Africans, asseblief.
Francina
Gauteng
It is an excellent move. We must nurture our own talent and promote their music. Our children are copying overseas styles instead of learning or adopting our own. And bring fewer artists from abroad to Mzansi.
