Dr Kgasago robed in his PhD graduation regalia. Photo cred (Mokles Photography)
Popular music producer and DJ, known as Stylish DJ, real name Tshepo Kgasago, was among the graduates who acquired their hard-earned doctorates at the University of Limpopo spring graduations on Friday.
He is no longer a normal music producer and DJ, but a Doctor of Philosophy in communication sciences with his doctoral thesis focusing on the “Download Culture and the dilemma of Postmodern Technologies illegal Digital Music Sharing and its effects on South African artists.”
Doctor of Philosophy in communication sciences : Doctoral thesis on the “Download Culture and the dilemma of Postmodern Technologies illegal Digital Music Sharing and its effects on South African artists.
Dr Kgasago was born and raised in Ga-Mathabatha in Limpopo. He attended Dikgeu Primary School and Boredi English Medium Primary School and graduated matric from Mashianyane High School in 2009.
He is the first doctoral graduate of Communication Studies to have successfully achieved all his qualifications in Communication Studies from the University of Limpopo.
“In 2010 I enrolled for my first degree, Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. In 2013 I enrollment for Bachelor of Arts Honours in Communication Studies specialising in Digital Communication and Advertising Management and in 2015 I registered for a Masters in Communication Studies and in 2018 I registered for PhD.”
Kgasago says his passion for music influenced him to be more of an African popular culture and music scholar. His research is concerned with the social and cultural implications of technology and the social analysis of technology and how it reconstructs culture.
“As a result of innovations brought by postmodern technologies, music can now be easily shared, offering artists a seemingly global recognition beyond their immediate geographical market. Musicians will sometimes distribute their music for free to reach out to potential customers. However, this normalises the culture of sharing music for free and which can also affect the potential revenue from music business.”
“The purpose of my research was to examine how technological developments have affected the music industry in South Africa and how illegal and legal music downloads favor or disadvantage local artists. The research looked specifically at the impact of music access and consumption by youth and older adults and the implications for South African artists.”
As a music producer Dr Kgasago says he observed how different artists share their music for free for marketing purposes. He also observed artists who complain about illegal music-sharing on different social media platforms.
“I’ve seen people flock to illegal sites to download music. I have observed people around me using these platforms with no regrets. Illegal music sharing is becoming a norm in South Africa, but local artists are also contributing by distributing their music for free and this renders the monetary value of music content worthless.”
“The permeation of Internet technology is not only changing the music business, but also the way music is consumed. Alongside these developments, there are challenges in accessing the internet in South Africa as older adults are more disadvantaged and young people are concerned about the cost of internet data packages.”
He says all of these considerations motivate critical questions, such as how older adults listen to music. Where and how do they access music and how is the new digitised music affect their music consumption.
“We need to address the impact of social capital and social lifestyles on older South African adults. There is an almost non-existent study of music consumption patterns among older adults in semi-urban areas in South Africa.”
Kgasago says his study also showed that young people believe that buying mobile data is a way of supporting artists.
“I think different stakeholders in the music industry should come together to create awareness on how best to support artists. Lack of knowledge among music consumers contributes to the problem of illegal music downloading and sharing.”
“Considering that South Africa faces socio-economic challenges such as poverty and digital inequality; governments, network service providers and music industry representatives should strive to find a way to make internet data more affordable so that older adults and youth can access resources, including cultural products such as music online, especially in rural areas.”
He believes that education is important to influence decision-making in the creative fraternity.
“We’ve seen artists sign contracts without a clear understanding. When artists are unsure of what is the best thing to do in their music career, their business is affected. It is important to ensure that more workshops and training are conducted to help artists better understand the creative industries.”
Kgasago is currently promoting his new album titled “United We Stand” together with his longterm partner K’zela. The album connects afro-house and electronic dance house. You can purchase and stream the album on all music streaming platforms.