Cape town music scene vs Joburg music scene

Freddy-Bl00D

So where is the music best? Where is the most opportunitys for a musician or band to make a life out of music and why?

I expect many mixed opinions specially when it comes to different genres of music. Im possibly moving to cape town in january and im quite intrested in the opinions of the forum members on which music scene is best.

(old forum) Poll Results: Cape town music scene vs Joburg music scene

Cape Town: 2
Joburg: 1

Averatu

Neither. Both have their pros and cons. It seems there is a more creative vibe in CT, but a lot of CT bands move to JHB where there are generally more paying gigs, as do a lot of bands from elsewhere, like Chromium who moved up from PE.

singemonkey

I'm interested in the question but I can't comment. I think the only gig I've been to in Jo'burg so far was the Stones in '95. Be interested to know from people who know both.

FruitarGeek

I'd say Cape Town is where the fresh/hipsterism is at. We have got a bucket-loud of top clubs, and in the summer, this place is cranking the tunes.

JHB, sadly, I can't say too much for. CPT may have more fresh/new bands, but I'd say JHB has the bigger ones. It wouldn't surprise me if their is more money in the JHB circuit.

In terms of festivals, we got 3 main ones! so that's a pro?!

Keira-WitherKay

It all depends on what genre of music you playing , yes i agree ct is very creative but every ct pro muso i know says the ct scene is very much a "clique' where if you one of the chosen few you can make a good living ...... However that could just be sour grapes ?

jhb is much bigger and hence more people and hence more gigs , and yes jhb has more of a biz culture so as a pro in jhb i get paid and never expected to do gigs for " exposure"

however what i like about jhb music scene and i say it often is how diverse the cultural base is , meaning i can earn a living playing guitar jazz , or like i was when i was on my purely acoustic world music kick , or if i shift into bluegrass or bulgerian folk music or hip hop or kwaito there seems to be a scene , some more underground than others but a very diverse scene is up in jhb ,

but frankly it has only a little to do with the city ..... The rest depends on your talent as a musician , if you offer a proffessional package as an artist and most importantly can stand out from the masses you can work in any city in the world

i seen too many musos bitch about not getting work only to see them play and see they well below par as the level of musical skill i see in my circles has improved radically in last 10 yrs so no more room for medeocre cover bands , as it was back in the past , and thats a good thing and why you see most of new generation pro musos have degrees in music or performance arts ,

so yes the city plays a small role but you as a muso if you have the skills and can be reliable can work anywhere in the world,