Beyond 2020 partnerships are key to shaping the future of live entertainment

Nine months later, and the entertainment industry is far ahead of the curve, with livestreaming now the norm for many local artists and bands, and with the recent easing of the national lockdown restrictions, a hybrid of both livestreaming and limited attendance looks to be the way of the foreseeable future.

Still, entertainers can’t do this on their own. It is simply not sustainable to rely on ticket sales to earn a living – not with unemployment at an all-time high and people counting every cent. It just makes sense that businesses that orbit the entertainment industry should step up and create opportunities, but the reality is that many of these have taken a mortal hit too. Nightclubs and restaurants have closed down en masse and casinos are just starting to recover.

This is where big business has stepped in to create sponsored platforms that give entertainers a stage and generate some revenue. A step in the right direction but not nearly enough to sustain the industry. What is really needed are platforms that create consistent revenue-generating opportunities to assist our entertainers, producers and production crews – and these can only succeed with strong partnerships and teamwork as the foundation.

Distell – South Africa’s leading producer and marketer of spirits, fine wines, ciders and ready-to-drinks (RTDs) – successfully created a free-to-air E-Stream initiative that has accomplished just that. The platform was created in April – just a month into the lockdown – to bring high-quality free entertainment to people to enjoy at home, and to provide a revenue generating platform for entertainers and others in the industry. Nine months down the line, this initiative employs 50 people in the industry through its monthly show series – and is the only consistent free-to-air streaming initiative in South Africa of this kind and of this magnitude.

Phila Mabuza

Distell regional trade marketing manager Phila Mabuza explains: “With the Distell E-Stream initiative, we have demonstrated over a few short months that a sponsored free-to-air platform can create a consistent revenue-generating stream. We simply cannot support everybody though and we need more businesses to conceptualize and establish similar entities.’’

As the driving force behind this initiative, we spoke to him about the intention behind the initiative, what it takes to keep it going and why partnerships are at the heart of the success they have achieved.

Why is this initiative important to Distell and what is the intention behind it?

From the very start, our intention has been to bring high-quality free entertainment to people to enjoy at home over a time when they were feeling the economic impact of the pandemic-driven lockdown. At the same time, we wanted to provide a stage and also create an income for some performers, production teams and other industry role players to help them keep on going. The intent is to provide this support for as long as we can, to ensure that we make a real positive impact on the industry and to ensure that we continue to create a platform for as many people in the industry as we can through our show series. We activated early during the Covid-19 lockdown when it was imperative that people stay home and stay safe. We knew our shows would be an important incentive to people to party safely at home. The Covid-19 safety protocol has been encouraged by our on air visuals and MCs during all our shows over the past six months. As a company, this is one of our top priorities.

What does it take to keep the E-Stream initiative going?

Producing a high-quality show series of this magnitude takes quite some doing, and it’s a phenomenal team effort. We learned and evolved with every event and we take these learnings forward to the next stream so that we can implement them to constantly improve our offering. Much of the success of this initiative over the past few months resulted from our strategic radio partnerships with Cape Town-based radio stations Good Hope FM and Heart FM as well as all of the artists who have supported the platform through their own social media platforms. These have all been instrumental in getting the word out and keeping the vibe going. Partnerships with more industry role players are key to shaping it and taking it into the future – and we recently partnered with two of the Cape Winelands’s premium destinations – the House of JC Le Roux and the Durbanville Hills Wine Estate – for our November show series. These shows were a resounding success, with both venues filled to capacity and the E-Stream reaching over 200,000 people. I believe that this is the way of the future for the live entertainment industry.

How and why would you encourage other businesses to invest in an initiative of this kind?

Firstly, it just makes sense that the business would be one that orbits the entertainment industry. Secondly, it makes good business sense. We reach over 200,000 people per month through the E-Stream platform on Facebook, and the other livestream platforms we utilise – like Youtube, MixCloud and the SA Music Library App. In addition, this campaign reaches between 400,000 and 450,000 people per month through the social media and digital platforms of the participating artists. I’d really like to see more companies investing in the industry in this way, and we are happy to share our blueprint with them to drive this forward. It’s also simply the right thing to do.

Distell’s monthly free-to-air E-Stream shows can be viewed online at: www.facebook.com/estreamcpt/

Alternatively, download the SA Music Library app from the Play Store or App store. Look out for the YouTube and Mix Cloud links on the E-Stream CPT Facebook page at estreamcpt. These are activated an hour prior to each show. To be part of the conversation during the shows follow E-Stream CPT on Instagram at @estreamcpt or on Facebook @estreamcpt.

For further information about upcoming livestream shows visit: https://www.facebook.com/estreamcpt/ or https://www.distell.co.za/newsroom

The Distell team supports responsible drinking and encourages all South Africans to go slow, stay safe and consume alcohol responsibly, wherever they may be. Alcohol not for sale to persons under the age of 18 years.

Phila Mabuza, regional trade marketing manager, Distell