Ok, so here’s the deal. Die Antwoord rocked Coachella. The reviews so far have been good. And just by looking at that vid, it seems pretty awesome. The Internet made these guys. Die Antwoord is a rare example, not only for the international scene, but also the local scene.

They came out of nowhere, they became famous due to their “hype” not the normal route of bands getting fans via live gigs and slow generation of word of mouth. Die Antwoord skipped the queue, but to the international stage. The anticipation for live acts will definitely maintain them for a while, but will they keep their “weird zef freshness”?

Now zoom into the local scene. They are playing in Stellenbosch (my town) on 30 April. I didn’t catch them live before they blew up, however, I’m dying to see them live, trying to understand this “internet” band. Now, zoom in more, students. The gig will cost R75. That’s a lot on a student budget. Gigs in student towns seldomly go over the R50 buck mark.

This is probably an interesting instance, because now that Die Antwoord is “famous” they’re allowed to charge more right? But this hasn’t happened to SA before in the sense that a local “alternative” act has gained a generous amount of fame outside of South Africa. If this becomes a new trend, will South African students pay more for “alternative” acts, because they’re famous. South Africa is unique in that the caliber of live alternative music is on par if sometimes surpassing international acts (Isochronous, Lark etc), yet we still pay R50 bucks to stand within touching distance of the band. I, personally, can’t wait to pay more for local alternative acts.

What do you think? Do alternative acts deserve more? Will it break the market? Will you still go to gigs if bands started charging more?

Related posts:

1. Die Antwoord Gig
2. 6 Obscure Music Genres You’ll Either Love or Hate
3. Am I famous now?

Tags: 2010, coachella, die antwoord, local music, South Africa, zef
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