Covid-19 quarantine: The winners and losers in entertainment

Covid-19 was an unexpected and unforeseeable disease that swept across the globe so swiftly that most nations were hard hit before they could first understand it let alone put in place control measures.

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The disease reportedly started in Wuhan, China before it spread across the globe to Italy and other nations. As a result of how swiftly it was spreading and killing the afflicted, fear grew around it.

As humanity began to understand Covid-19, we determined to put in place quarantine measures and while a few countries opted not to go into lockdown measures to arrest the spread of the respiratory disease, an overwhelming majority did, including Kenya.

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In Kenya, our economy was already in the doldrums and the Covid-19 lockdown sent it into a spiral. As a result, alot of companies announced redundancies, businesses went under and even schools fell under the pressure of the economic realities.

Kenya’s entertainment scene was also savagely rocked as the Covid-19 lockdown measures meant alot of bars, nightclubs, restaurants and other entertainment spots went under and their staff were furloughed. This in turn meant DJs, musicians and thespians were left high and dry. But to say a lot of people didn’t adapt is to tell a lie.

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Some individuals within the entertainment industry realized they had to adapt. At first, this meant putting on performances on their social media accounts and having digital hangouts but I failed to see the financial viability of this unless corporate sponsors came onboard. And unfortunately, not a lot of entertainers and DJs have formed those networks.

At this point, Kenyans began to evolve. We began to find a way to survive and adapt. As a result, there were some winners who have emerged even as others fell. Let us take a look at some of the people who won the race to adapt:

Event organisers

Brunch event organizers:
Some event organizers adapted to holding brunch events. This meant starting the party at midday and hosting the crowd till around 8PM. As a result, we have seen clubs such as Moran Lounge, Vineyard, Winning Post na kadhalika perform strongly during the entire period. Why? Kenyans are tired of being couped up in their homes.

Garden party organizers:
It was interesting to see people like DJ Pierra Makena find loopholes in the ban on nightclubs and bars at the height of Covid-19 and host events at gardens and parks. As a result we have seen events such as Park& Chill became an entire thing.

Gilbeys Gin

Ayo, what were people drinking throughout the quarantine period? It was literally like everyone was at the EABL AGM and decided this was the drink for the youth during this period. This drink-fuelled all the house parties that were held. Which reminds me:

House parties

For a long time this was the only entertainment outlet that was available to a vast majority of Kenyans and Kenyans really partied. There was nothing else to do and alot of us were stressed. We had to spend time at home either all alone or with our family who are actually strangers to us. As a result, most houses would simply host parties.

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Amapiano

Gengeton music has slowed down so this Kwaito subgenre has taken over our music scene. And to be honest, I am not its biggest fan. Atleast Naijapop has personality. It also bothers me that this genre of music is a reminder that Gengeton has slowed down completely.

Internet service providers

I mean, we had to work from home so we needed internet connections. Whether WiFi or just bundles, ISPs made a killing.

And as for the losers:

Kenyan artists/ Gengeton

Kenyan artists were unable to perform and earn an income. Let’s be honest, we do not have a culture of buying albums. We have only really started embracing pay-per-play streaming apps. That left performances as the largest source of income for most artists. And for people like Gengeton artists who have been shunned by corporates, this has been a brutal period.

Concert planners

Remember when Bridget Achieng tried hosting a concert? Yup, Covid-19 has not been kind to this form of entertainment. Artists who have been brought into the country found out the hard way that they had a limited window for their performance then they had to deal with the police officers enforcing the lockdown.

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Clubs

This is a cash-heavy business. So for many clubs, when the cashflow slowed down, operations were hard hit and alot of them went under. That means waiters, bartenders and bouncers took an almost fatal financial hit.

Clandes and chipos

Alot of people took a hit to their earnings and as a result, belts had to be tightened. That meant that chipos and clandes were done away with. As a result, alot of bedsitters in Roysambu are either empty or the tenants are under landlord enforced rent distressed measures.

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Can you think of any other winners and losers from the Covid-19 lockdown period? Let us know in the comment section.

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