THE music industry has come a long way in the country and at the forefront of protecting local artistes’ welfare and interest is Procera Music company.
Established in 1972 by Ashok Narsey, today it is owned and run by Mohammed Akif, who now carries the weight of promoting the talents of local artistes.
Originally from Meigunyah in Nadi, Akif has made a lot of inroads in the local music industry and is proud of what he has achieved until now with a lot of dedication and hard work.
Akif said his journey began when he first came to Suva to work for Procera in 1983.
“I started as an employee that time. I worked in the production room for nearly three years as a sales and production employee,” he said.
“Then I was transferred to be the branch manager of the then Harifam Centre shop at Renwick Rd. I worked from 1986 to 1989 there.”
According to Akif, he then started work as a disc jockey (DJ) in the late 1990s at various nightclubs which were the Flamingo, Chequers Nightclun and Lucky Eddies.
“After this I opened my own company called “Lucky Rick Dees” music shop. From 1989 to 1993, I was still running the company. I was still in touch with Procera that time because I bought cassettes from them and sold it in my company,” he said.
At the end of 1993, the owner of Procera Music then, Ashok Narsey, approached Akif to buy the company from him because he was venturing into other businesses.
“He approached me to buy the company from him as he knew I had worked with the company and had ample knowledge in the music industry. So I bought Procera Music then,” Akif said.
Akif said when he bought the company, there were only four shops and one recording studio in the country.
Now under Akif’s leadership and guidance, the company boasts eight shops around the country with one large recording studio based in Suva.
“We have outlets now in Ba, Harifam Centre in Suva, Labasa, Lautoka, Nadi, Nausori and one near Suva market,” he said.
Akif said when he bought the company, the cassette business was very viable and good in the country.
“I remember very well that we released an album by Georgina Ledua that time. She was a big hit and the album was called Veiyabaki,” he said.
“Then we had other notable artistes join us like Laisa Vulakoro, Seru Serevi, Sekope Raikoro, which really boosted Procera’s reputation.
“We also had musicians like the late Tui Ravai, late Waisea Vatuwaqa who were with us to carry and lift the company standard.”
Akif said in the 1990s, people could not pirate or dub cassettes, which were a huge advantage for the industry.
“But now because of technology, people can pirate compact discs (CDs) easily, download over the internet and Bluetooth songs and music over their phones,” he said.
“The music industry now has really gone down because of technology and we are also not protected like before. We struggle for the artistes. The law is there, but cases of piracy take months or years to process and come to a verdict.”
He claimed that the main reason the music industry was suffering in the country was because the authorities, who were in charge of dealing with piracy, were not doing their job.
Akif said one of the reasons he took over the operations of Procera Music was to promote upcoming talents in the country.
He said so far, the company had more than 500 artistes involved with it with more than 4000 catalogues or albums of artistes.
“We are always on the lookout for potential artistes. Every month our artistes perform overseas. A lot of local artistes have toured with me to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati before when the music industry was good,” he said.
Also, to promote the talents and welfare of local artistes in the country, the company has been organising the Procera Music Carnival for the past 10 years.
“Since we got a lot of talent with us in the country, we thought to showcase them altogether like a musical festival,” said Akif.
“That’s when we launched the carnival in 2008, which started at the Valelevu grounds in Nasinu. We have got so many positive responses from that time that we organise it annually now. We also organise our annual Procera Music Award Night which is being held since 2010.”
Akif said the company gave top artistes the opportunity to market themselves at the annual music festival.
“We also give most of our top artistes a stall free of charge at the carnival, where they can generate an income for themselves. We pay most of our artistes who perform on stage at the week-long festival,” he said.
“This year, we are going to have artistes like Kerry Damudamu, Savu Ni Delai Lomai, Jale Mareau, Laisa Vulakoro, Sekove Raikoro, Ronald Jai, Eddie Wilson and upcoming artistes like Keleti Buadromo, Kavita and Vono Tabuakula, who will perform on stage.”
Akif said music was the food of love and everyone listened to music every day.
“We want the music industry to be protected nicely in the country by the relevant authorities,” he said.
He said he was keen to expand his business in a sense that he wanted the new generation of artistes to come forward and record with them to further showcase their talents to the public.
“We are a major stakeholder in the music industry. Most of our music played by the artistes are listened in the tourism industry nowadays. Music is played and artistes also perform in small hotels and resorts in the country.”
Supported by his wife, Zeenat, and four children, Akif has achieved so much in the music industry over the years and he says his ingredient to success lies in his relationship with the local artistes.
Akif said the company shared a special bond and relationship with all of its employees and artistes, which was one of the reasons for the company’s success in the country.
People wanting to compose or record an album with the company can contact them on phone: 3303365/8347674 or email them on: proceramusic05@gmail.com.
The annual week-long Procera Music Carnival will kick off at the Valelevu grounds in Nasinu this Saturday.
This newspaper is the print media partner for the music carnival.
