The Mafia.

The Mafia
Published at Chowk.com
Link: http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00006143&channel=chaathouse
10th February, 2006.

To understand the word mafia in the context in which I am referring to it in this article, one must first specify its dictionary meaning, which is “a close-knit or influential group of people who work together and protect one another’s interests or the interests of a particular person.”

In almost very field of entertainment in Pakistan, sly workings of a tight knit group of people appear to be at work, who end up benefiting from a large chunk of the gains from that industry. This group is called a mafia and they do their best to make sure that no bustling new talent trying to break into the industry makes it very far without their help or without going through them first. In the same way the music industry has also been plagued by a similar mafia that includes a cluster of people ranging from directors, choreographers, heads of record labels, event managers to even VJs from various music channels. They form an understanding among themselves to exclusively support and work with each other in order to capture the entire market and safeguard each others interests. They end up monopolizing the industry and all work is conveniently supplied to them alone. There is also a great deal of pathetic exploitation taking place by various parties in the music industry of unsuspecting new artists coming onto the scene.

This ‘hardcore mafia’ hangs out at all important events and parties taking place in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. They usually comprise of a group of people already very well known and established in the music industry. Since Pakistan does not yet have suitable organizations to promote and market artists the way they do in the west, this ‘mafia’ takes over that crucial role in a negative and rather oppressive way. Record labels, for example, are scarce in Pakistan, but the ones that exist are very well established and have been running their manufacturing factories of CDs, tapes and DVDs since a very long time now. They are equipped with all the relevant contacts to back them and an abundance of finances which allows them to perpetually stay at the top of the game. They are not worried about competition because they know the competition would have a tough time against their esteemed success and power built out of sheer monopoly rather than through the dissemination of quality products.

Tragically record companies do not offer the artists whose albums they plan to release a whole lot to chew on in terms of incentives and support. Artists get no royalty on the sale of their CDs and cassettes and the record label offers the minimum amount of marketing for them and for the promotion or launch of their album. Coming out with a video to support the release of the album is also the artist’s own headache. The sad part is that the record label knows it can get away with this half hearted and almost unfair offer that it unjustly ‘grants’ the artists, because it realizes that it has no particular competition in the market. This lack of available competition in turn, ensures that the artists will turn to no one else for the release of their music.

An artist has to have and has to continue building a good rapport with the owners of the record labels who often have absolutely no idea about music. They only view the album as a product from which they want to gain maximum profit for themselves. They are least bothered about the quality of work or genre of music they promote. I think that if there was good and healthy competition for these already well established record companies that offered much better incentives and quality to artists, this mafia like condition would be done away with and our artists would feel more encouraged, optimistic, secure and motivated. Our music industry would flourish too!

Furthermore music directors often ask for ridiculously exorbitant sums from new artists to direct relatively easy videos, knowing that the musicians could not possibly afford that kind of a budget at an early stage in their career. As if that isn’t enough, they also insist that they will only work with particular choreographers, designers and make up artists who all come together as a package and thus form that dreaded mafia [once again]. Taking it one step further, when companies agree to sponsor a video for an upcoming musician, they too stress on the use of the same mafia of directors, make up artists, choreographers and so on. Every step becomes interlinked and dependant on the other and the music artist finds himself/herself confined and compelled to work with the same people that everyone else has worked with. It’s almost like eating the same dish of food every single day of your life, even if it starts rotting or becoming stale.

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS!
If you happen go to parties and ‘get-togethers’ anywhere in Pakistan, you will see the same faces over and over again almost like a serious case of ‘deja-vu’ happening right before your very eyes. You want to know why? Because if you want to be a success in any industry related to entertainment in Pakistan, you have to be seen at all these events and you must fit in and rub shoulders with important people. If you are a musician and the director of your next video invites you to a party, you have to go, or you take the risk of losing his interest in doing your work. If you’re an upcoming, budding music artist striving to be a huge success, more than making great music, you have to hang out with the ‘plastic mafia’ that helps shape and determine how painlessly or painfully you move forwards with your career as a musician, and with what speed. If you want your video aired relentlessly on the few music channels that there are in Pakistan, star one of the VJs in it and watch it magically enter into the charts and shoot to one of the top spots. You may even win an award for it! Better yet, just party with the VJs all night long and you’ll then be guaranteed an amazing airing on all shows on the channel that they work for. If you want your video or song to be nominated in the ‘prestigious’ Music Awards, make sure you get the ‘mafia’ behind you and don’t forget to thank them when you win and pit pat onto the stage to receive your award; and if you are a talented, new director trying to get a foothold in the music industry and create a name for yourself, you won’t be able to do it without the help, involvement or support of the ‘big fish’ already in control of the whole video making scene. It’s a jungle out there and every time I think of how our music industry has been overtaken by a few control freaks that can’t see anyone else succeed or rise to the top without their consent or direct involvement, I am reminded of the Italian mob (mafia)….and it scares me. I fear a bloodbath coming our way very soon.

By: Fariha Rashed
Chowk link: http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00006143&channel=chaathouse