CRITICISED for creating a bottleneck in the music industry by trying to distribute their own records, local producers have come out in defence of their actions.
Record shop owners have complained that, at times, they were unable to satisfy the public's demand for some records because they have difficulty finding where and by whom these records are being sold. Also, records are often not available (sold out) or are released too late.
In response to these complaints, the main record distributing companies such as Sonic Sounds, Tuff Gong, and Dynamic Sounds, lay the blame at the feet of the some producers who they say are trying their hands at distributing, rather than allowing them to do it.
The major distributors say these producers do not have the necessary means to distribute the records, so some might get to one place and not to another.
Producer Jack Scorpio proprietor of Black Scorpio Recording Studio, while acknowledging that some record shops, especially those out of town, have serious problems in getting records, concedes that some producers are to be blamed for trying to do their own distributions but they have no choice.
Explaining, he said when a producer gives his records to the major distributors, they have to wait three months before knowing how much of the records sell and how much money they will get. Sometimes, he said, they do not get their money until up to eight months later, and this causes a lot of stress on the producers.
"I don't say that it does not work out, but sometimes you don't know if your products are being sold or how much you'll be getting and it leaves a strain on producers," he said. "However, when they do it themselves they can balance themselves."
Scorpio, who began doing his own distribution in 1988, said this was the main reason he started doing it. "We have to sit down and work something out, though, because its hard for a man to come from the country to get records and don't know where to get it," he said.
Computer Paul of Boot Camp Recording Studios which has been around for the past two years, said that when producers allow the major distributors to distribute their records for themselves, they hardly make any money.
He added that the idea of doing one's own distribution came from the fact that producers felt that they had to have control over their products, something they cannot do if it is handed over to the major distributors.
"They (major distributors) just sell and you don't know the growth of your product," the producer said. "Doing it yourself, you have control. I know a lot of producers who do their own distribution and are successful."
He added that apart from getting control they can at least know what their bottom line is going to be like.
He defended the actions of some producers who sometimes give records to radio stations to play without releasing it to the public, saying that if the public does not hear the record first and are not aware of it, then they won't go out and buy it.
