Uganda’s Music Concerts – Promoters should care more about the fans

It is almost becoming a norm that every weekend i.e. Friday through to Sunday there is an artist local or international that is holding a big concert.

Ugandans being the party animals that they are, they religiously attend these concerts every other weekend. It is not so common these days that an artist will stage a concert and it flops.

With the help of the media (both traditional and social) artists of late announce the date onto which they will stage a concert, several months in advance. This gives their fans ample time to start saving money or to set aside money to attend the concert/show.  This also helps other artists with similar intentions not to double book the date (although this has not worked out well for we have seen big artists stage concerts on the same date for example Navio & Gravity)

From the day the artist announces the date on to which they will stage their concert, they do all it takes to prove to their fans that the concert will indeed happen and it will be big (MASSIVE). The artist or his or her handlers will post videos of them doing rehearsals, videos of which celebrity has checked on them during rehearsals, videos of who has booked a table, videos of a sponsor that has come on board, videos of which artist has agreed to perform with them,  among others. Some artist even stage stunts (where the artist is beaten up by others etc) with the sole purpose of creating talk about the artist and their concert but also to gain some sympathy – the story of Alien Skin’s first concert.

A few days to the concert date/day are characterized by press conferences, radio and television appearances, road shows in and around the city more so along the busiest streets, engagement with social media bloggers and influencers, participation in charity or any cause that will draw the attention of the people towards the artist, the artist is down to earth and so approachable, many of them even share their direct contacts despite them having managers. All these are aimed at ensuring that many fans and others attend the concert in big numbers.  For the bigger the audience during the concert, the more successful it is considered to have been. Everything within the means has to be done to ensure this big turn up at the concert.

While a lot is put in to prepare for the concert or show, there is a lot that still needs to done on the d- day  on by the organizers of these concerts in order to maintain the vibe that has been build up in the days earlier and to keep  the big crowds coming to the shows going forward. Below are my observations having attended a number of these concerts more so in Kampala.

Access to the Venue: Most organizers provide for very few access points to the venue yet they anticipate big crowds. You will find only one gate that is being used to enter into the concert grounds. This leads to creation of very long lines. One wonders whether these long lines are a public relations stunt to some kind of fear of missing out to the other revealers that are yet to reach venue (talk about FOMO). On the other hand could it that the security personnel deployed at the concert grounds are too few and therefore creating multiple entries will stretch them? Is it not more risky security wise having people spend over thirty minutes accessing the concert grounds?  Could it be that most venue do not provide for other access points/gates? – The easier it is for one to access the concert grounds the earlier they settle down and the more comfortable they become. Many revealers have lost their valuable properties in the process of accessing the concert venues. The same arguments apply when one is leaving the concert grounds after the show. It is even worse because at this point in time security is somehow relaxed so the goons take advantage and snatch whatever valuable they lay their hands on from the tired or excited revealers.

Access to the seating area: When revelers are inside the concert grounds, the other biggest challenge is accessing where one paid to sit during the concert. This mostly affects those that pay for VVIP and VIP areas. In the VVIP area is where revelers that paid for tables sit. The challenge here is one getting to a table that has been designated for them as most tables do not have names or numbers tagged to them. But even where they have name tags or numbers tagged, they are not arranged chronologically.

During Rema Namakula’s concert at the Sheraton Hotel Gardens, it took one over 20 minutes to locate a table where they were designated to sit. It is true that the VVIP section has ushers that go an extra mile in assisting revealers to locate their seats but where tables are not chronologically arranged, it becomes a huge challenge. During the “Tugende mu Kikadde” concert held at the Serena Hotel Conference Hall, the usher failed to locate the table that I was assigned to sit at. It later occurred to me that the revealers that came in earlier than I did removed the tag from the table (for reasons best known to them) and hence the usher could not trace it. The usher had to improvise for me another seat at another table. While I took up the new seat I was uncomfortable throughout the show thinking I will be bounced off the table when the rightful people designated to sit there arrive. Thank God this did not happen.

In the VIP section revelers are forced to pay between UGX 50,000 – 100,000/= for a chair. Please note that for one to access the VIP section they pay a slightly higher amount of money compared to the one paying to access the ordinary section. It is therefore a sign of disrespect for someone’s money to ask them to pay another fee to have a chair to sit on in the VIP section – this is thuggery to say the least. One wonders what the VIP ticket comes with if the basics like a chair aren’t part of it. A one Andrew Kyamagero a renowned media personality is on record for having boycotted Rema Namakula’s concert after paying UGX 150,000 to access the VIP section and was asked for another UGX 50,000 for the chair. The concert organizers could have made a kill but one wonders if the likes of Andrew will ever pay for any concert again.

Unnecessary movements from one section to another during the concert by the revealers. During the concert, there reaches a time when security is somehow relaxed and so revealers can access every section of the concert ground whether they paid for it or not. Mostly people move from the ordinary section of the concert venue/ground to the VVIP section. My thinking is that the security that is assigned to the different sections of the concert venue must stay in place until the end of the concert and more so until when the revelers have vacated the premises. Short of doing this, revelers will continue to be attached by goons and in the process lose their valuable item. Anything that threatens a revealers’ life or property deters them from returning to the next concert.

Parking:  This is an area most concert organizers to not take care of. Revelers have to find their way out in respect to parking their vehicles. Unfortunately some venues do not or have limited space for parking and the organizers have not done enough to find alternative parking spaces. As a result most revealers end up parking on the roadside and in places where parking is prohibited hence affecting the traffic flow and inconveniencing other road users. On a typical concert day, it takes a person up to forty five minutes to find an appropriate parking slot. As a result many show goers have fallen prey to crooks who charge them exorbitantly but also break into their vehicles and go away with their valued items.

In summary in order for the concert organizers to sustain the desired crowds that they need at their concerts, they need to prioritize the convenience of the reveler. Let them invest more in technology whereby once one buys a ticket to the show, it should come with a demarcated parking slot or sticker, indicate the gate number one should use to access the venue, the seat number and any other service that is deemed relevant to a reveler while at the concert. Yes such an arrangement might lead to an increase in a price of a ticket but as long as the reveler gets value for their money, they will be able to attend concerts frequently hence the organizers continue to make more money.

For God and my Country.