Diamond Studios, Nyakudya part ways

Kudzai Nyakudya

IT never rains but pours for gospel musician Kudzaishe Nyakudya, whose contract with his recording company Diamond Studios, was terminated on January 27, a fortnight after he was arrested for pirating his own music. Diamond made the decision to terminate the contract following his arrest. They described Kudzi's actions as a "breach of terms and conditions of the contract", which they had both signed.

"Diamond Studios has issued Kudzi with a letter advising him of the termination of his contract with the company. It is very unfortunate that we had to take this decision but we had no option," John Muroyi, the marketing manager of the firm, said. He added: "We spent a lot of money promoting the artiste and producing his music only for him to pirate and sell the music illegally. There is nowhere in the contract where it is stated that an artiste should distribute music on our behalf. 

"We will not tolerate situations like that where artistes go behind our backs and pirate their music, while we are promoting them." Kudzi signed a contract with Diamond Studios in 2008 leading to the release of his first album under the stable, "Ndinovimba", a year later. Another one, "Vhangeri", followed in 2010 before he released yet another scorcher "Ini Naye" in 2011. The company also released a promotional video for the song "Mutoro Wangu" off the album "Ndinovimba" that was beamed on ZTV.

"We also bought him a Toyota Corolla in 2010 which means he still owes the company some money. We shall continue selling his music to recover the money for the car we bought him," Muroyi said. Kudzi, on the other hand, said Diamond Studios' decision to terminate his contract was of no consequence. "I won't lose sleep over that. I think it is better to do things on my own than be bogged down with a company that doesn't have my welfare at heart. "About the car, I have since sold it because I spend most of my time in South Africa so there was no need for me to keep it," he said. Nyakudya rose to fame with hits like "Taurai Neni", putting him on the map among the country's talented young gospel musicians. He has worked with some South African gospel musicians that include Phaphani. (Herald)