MBABANE- Creative Consultant Judah Phumelele Silitshena has set his sights beyond Eswatini’s borders following a strategic radio tour in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province.
Silitshena revealed that the tour was inspired by his new partnership with a South Africa-based management company, which is now overseeing his brand direction and rollout strategy.
“What inspired me to embark on a radio tour in Mpumalanga is the fact that I’m now under new management, which is a South African-based management company. They are basically the ones curating the strategies in terms of how I roll out,” he said.
He explained that the main objective of the tour was to position him not only as a Swazi artist, but as an international act ready to compete in larger markets.
During the tour, Silitshena visited four prominent stations: Emalahleni FM, Ligwalagwala FM, Lokuhle FM and Rise FM.
He described Mpumalanga as an appealing and strategic starting point, noting the linguistic and cultural similarities between the province and Eswatini.
“Mpumalanga is quite an interesting market because they relate to our language. They speak Siswati as well. Starting off my radio tour there was quite interesting because they relate to the music and it’s quite a larger market,” he explained.
Silitshena highlighted that tapping into the Mpumalanga audience opens doors to a broader South African market, given the province’s sizeable population and its proximity to KwaZulu-Natal.
While he noted that there were many similarities between audiences in Eswatini and Mpumalanga, he acknowledged that the scale of the market and exposure to a new listenership made a significant difference.
“It’s a bigger market and it’s a new audience. The professionalism that I saw there was absolutely amazing. The feedback we got was just amazing, there’s excitement and anticipation for new works. That shows me and my team are on the right path,” he said.
Silitshena also emphasised the critical role radio continues to play in the music industry, particularly regarding royalties. He commended the Eswatini Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Society for its efforts to ensure artists are compensated for their intellectual property.
“Radio plays a very critical part. In South Africa, for many years, royalties have been paid out consistently when music is played on radio. Once your music plays on radio, you’re definitely going to get paid for your intellectual property. The payout is different from digital platforms, so it’s very important for us as musicians,” he said.
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