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Goemarati learnings:
- there is a lack of platforms for young people to express themselves. That absence is dangerous
- Cape Town has a phenomenal level of musical and lyrical talent, and a lot of confidence
- there is less politics of language than anticipated.
- Goemarati is as much about the free mic session as it is about the featured artists
- an open source, non-exclusive event such as Goemarati is what is needed
- there are a lot of Cape Town music products out there,
especially at the bootleg level. People are doing things for themselves
in spite of the odds
- TV likes aspirational events, not inspirational events
- always pay as much as possible to get the best sound engineers
- always hire a stage manager and a runner, even for small events like these
Challenges
- Timelines. We were constantly on the back foot due to a late and
rushed start to the project. Confirmation of funding came late, and
subsequent release of funds too. This meant that artists could only be
confirmed on a month by month basis, and publicity materials could only
be finalised when contracts were signed. This meant late rollout of
publicity most months. Ideally, three months before the launch of the
series, all content should be confirmed.
- marketing budget. At R76 000, we had little scope to manouvre. As the
finale revealed, street level pole postering makes all the difference
in terms of presence and drawing crowds. We had to make do with zines
and posters in shops and shop windows, which didn't provide sufficient
coverage. This impacted on the foodmarket potential too. See Marketing.
- getting media buy-in
Successes
- we made it all work in the budget
- we got top emerging Cape Town acts
- the Zines
- when the foodcourt worked, it really was a winner
- we setup up the online shop and started working with the striking mobile vendor
- we created a loyal Goemarati following
- the documentation, in video image and audio, was excellent
- the free mic platform
- youtube video channel
Failures
- the foodcourt was inconsistent. We didn't secure the lease of Church Square
- we only got capacity audiences 3 out of 13 shows
- we didn't get sufficient media coverage
- Creative Cape Town branding
- myspace presence didn't work
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