The government is establishing a Sh25 million studio in Gatanga constituency to help upcoming musicians and actors.
The studio will identify talent and help produce music, both audio and visuals, for free. Actors will not be left out.
MP Joseph Nduati has said the studio has just undergone the procurement process and its construction is expected to start in January.
Nduati said construction work will take at least six months, and it is expected to become fully operational by August next year.
The MP said the President pledged to support the studio with Sh10 million during the burial ceremony of benga artiste John De Mathew in August this year.
De Mathew was one of the numerous artistes from the constituency.
Nduati said though his constituency is endowed with talent, there has been a gap between the existing musicians and upcoming ones.
This, he said, is mostly because upcoming artistes are unable to raise the high costs of producing their music and their talent ends up going to waste.
It will be a state-of-the-art studio that will have a manager and will help youths to get the best production services locally. “The biggest challenge for singers is production costs and that is why we want to bridge that gap and help the local youth to move forward and exploit their talent,” the legislator said.
Nduati said actors will also not be left out and will get assistance to hone their talent and be exposed to various available platforms that will help them earn from it.
“The President has asked me to keep him updated on the construction and everything is on course,” Nduati said.
Nduati said former MP Peter Kenneth in partnership with the organisers of Gatanga Night event had used over Sh3 million to establish a fully equipped talent centre at Kirwara market. The studio was to help artistes record their music.
The studio was, however, underutilised and eventually vandalised when the former MP left the seat.
Nduati was speaking at Gatanga Primary School during the finals of Talanta Mashinani, a programme started by the MP to search for talent in the constituency.
The programme is aimed at exposing local talent and starts at the ward level where the three best finalists compete at the constituency level.
The three best contestants get a chance to perform during the famous Gatanga Night alongside renowned artistes as a way of launching their careers.
They also receive assistance in production of their work and networking with older artistes.
The programme that started last year encourages competition in dancing, singing, skits and poetry categories.
“This programme is in line with the government’s agenda to grow talents and empower youths. Not all youths can prosper academically. It aims at bringing those with talents together to empower them,” Nduati said.
Nduati urged youths to take their talent seriously, saying musicians and footballers are among the highest-paid people globally.
“The late John De Mathew was receiving more than Sh400,000 per month from Skiza tunes. This shows that singing can make a lot of money and give one a comfortable life,” he added.
