Ibhodlela hitmaker and award-winning maskandi artist Khuzani Ndlovu, known by his stage name Gatsheni, wants to live an exemplary life. He aims to stem the high prevalence of artists who, despite their fame, die poor.
“I told myself that whenever an opportunity presents itself, I will make sure that I do not waste money. By investing wisely in things that will give me more money,” Gatsheni recalled.
He explained that he decided to share the story because he wanted other artists to be inspired. For them to invest the proceeds of their fame wisely and create generational wealth.
Instant riches invested in livestock
The 34-year-old, who was born in uPhongolo, has been serenading audiences across the country with his hit ibhodlela, which brought him instant riches. But he says he has been investing his money in livestock.
“The music career has been good to me. I have been investing more money in buying livestock. Now I own more than 100 cows, 150 goats and egg-laying chickens,” he said.
“Singing is not a permanent job, we must think about the future,” he says.
Gatsheni also poured his heart out, saying his journey and breaking into the music scene was not easy.
Among the achievements and awards he bagged was winning the best newcomer at the Cultural and Creative Industry Awards. They were were held at the Sandton Convention Centre in March. In this category, he was nominated alongside Grammy Award winner Tayla.
Study found that artists do not have organised labour
He also won a Toyota Quantum in the first annual Mother of All Maskandi Festivals held at People’s Park in Durban.
A study was done by the University of Pretoria on the reasons why artists make money but die poor. It found that the cause was the nature of the sector, which had no permanent salary package. The findings suggested that a national insurance scheme might be one of the mechanism introduced to assist artists
“Musicians spend much less on retirement planning than other earners. And proportionately more on dependants, communication and insurance. And instrument insurance costs are high,” the study noted in part.
