Popular music in Kenya: A survey and evaluation of performing strategies among selected groups in Nairobi.

ABSTRACT

This study focused on Popular Music in Kenya. In their daily endeavors within the entertainment industry, Kenyan Popular musicians employ performance strategies meant to draw their audience closer and to maximize on their entertainment business opportunities. This study sort to evaluate some of the strategies adopted in order to assess their viability in the performance business. Artists in the 26 entertainment field inevitably interact with various players in the industry, hence the need to establish the influence of these players in the numerous decisions that the artists make on a daily basis for them to remain relevant in the industry and to survive. Specifically, the study sought to establish the influence of the society on the music that is produced by the musicians, identify some of the demands that the audiences put to the musicians, establish how popular musicians are adapting to the ever changing performance environment and determine more result oriented strategies that musicians should focus on. The study was conducted in Nairobi. This is because Nairobi is viewed to be a more cosmopolitan City with a conglomeration of artists from all walks of life and nearly all parts of the country and beyond, who are both at their initial stages and those who have been in performance practice for a longer period of time. The entertainment industry is also viewed to be thriving in Nairobi hence giving a replica representation of other urban cities in Kenya. The population sampled included Disk-jockeys (DJs) and Video-jockeys (VJs) from broadcasting stations and other entertainment establishments, event organizers and practicing popular artists. Purposive and random sampling techniques were used to arrive at the desired population. Qualitative data was analyzed descriptively, with emerging issues being discussed and related to the prevailing situations for better understanding. This study outlines the most current strategies as used in other parts of the world by popular artists and recommends the most adaptable ones to local musicians to better their business in the entertainment industry for growth of the industry and for progress in their preoccupation