Naira Ali, once a consistent figure in the Ugandan music industry, has been noticeably absent from the scene since her bold move to the USA five years ago. In a video interview, Naira opened up about the hustle she goes through in trying to promote her music in Uganda while still abroad.
Naira Ali tags the scarcity of her music on the local market to issues that have to do with promoters and media personalities back home. She explained that as an artist who is not in the country, she needs people on the ground to help push her music in her absence.
This, however, has made her prey to unreliable promoters who have continued to take payment and unfortunately failed to deliver the services paid for.
When you release a song and you are not on ground, you need more manpower and a lot of money to see that people in Uganda get your music. They use our money to sort their personal problems and end up not doing what they are supposed to do for you on time or even do it in the way they are supposed to. They are not trustworthy, she noted.
Naira Ali also discovered that these agents exaggerate their pay and despite her paying the hefty sum, they still fail to fulfill their obligations because they often use the money for their personal gain instead of promoting the music.
And another thing, they love taking huge cuts. When most people get to know that you are abroad, every person in the media that you wish to promote your song would want you to pay them double the money that they would have collected from a person in the country. And when you do not give it to them, they start labelling you a stingy person, Naira Ali lamented.
After constantly getting frustrated with the current system, Naira Ali has decided to put her music promotion in Uganda on hold as she seeks other strategies to move her art.
That is why you do not see my music playing in Uganda is because I got problems with the people I was working with back home. They stopped fulfilling their end of the bargain despite me paying money. This caused a lot of friction and disagreements with different people yet I’m a peaceful person. So, I would rather look for another strategy on how to move and promote my music in Uganda before I proceed, she noted.
