TAKEAWAYS

• Diamond Oscar says money has become more influential than talent in Uganda’s music industry.
• He claims managers can invest heavily in new artists and pay media houses to repeatedly play their music.
• He sarcastically compared a battle between old and new-generation artists to NUP vs NRM in Ugandan politics.

Veteran Ugandan musician Diamond Oscar has criticized what he describes as the growing influence of money in the country’s music industry, arguing that artists with financial backing now have an advantage over those who rely purely on talent.

According to Diamond Oscar, the industry was different during his generation, when artists had to depend largely on their talent, creativity and ability to connect with audiences through their music.

He noted that today, a manager with enough money can sign a relatively unknown artist, invest in their music production and even pay leading media houses to give the artist’s songs significant airplay.

“This wasn’t the case in our times. We used to create music straight from our souls and on our own,” he said.

Diamond Oscar suggested that while talent remains important, financial investment can now significantly influence how quickly an artist gains visibility and builds a following.

He went on to jokingly suggest that if a concert pitting Uganda’s old-generation musicians against the new generation were organized, the younger musicians would struggle.

Drawing from Ugandan politics, he sarcastically likened the hypothetical musical showdown to a NUP versus NRM contest, implying that the older generation would have the upper hand.