Mugabo links Uganda, Rwanda Music

Drona Entertainment is a brain-child of George Senabulya Mugabo, a company that has succeeded in promoting several musicians and has partnered with other companies to bring other musicians. The Sunday Times’ Dean Karemera caught up with him and below are excerpts. Briefly, tell us about yourself I am George Senabulya Mugabo. I a Rwandan based in Uganda. I am involved in music promotion, events management, events consultancy and car dealership. I started this business in 2007 and so far things have been good. I had my education in Uganda and Rwanda. I hold a diploma in Business marketing from Makerere Business school. Tell us about what inspired you to start Drona Entertainment I have always loved music and I liked artists a lot. At the time, there was a big gap in promoting Rwandan artists in Uganda and vice versa. So, I started Drona Entertainment, it initially started as a music promotions company but has now expanded to include events management, car dealership and a part-time modeling department that we are looking to expand. Drona entertainment is a fully registered company in Kampala and Kigali although the head-office is located on Kampala Road. So far, how many artists have you promoted under your companyI have promoted and organized shows for Kidumu from Burundi, then Intore Masamba, Alpha Rwirangira, Kitoko, Tom Close and Miss Chanel, all from Rwanda. In Uganda, I’ve managed to promote Rabba Daba, Pretty Glo – A Rwandan musician based in Uganda. I have also promoted two prominent comedians in Uganda, Afande Kele Kele and Dolibondo signed under Mic-Check. What is your view on the music partnership as far as Uganda and Rwanda are concernedI look at it in a wider context. I am looking at creating an environment of music collaborations between Ugandan and Rwandan artists. So far, I’ve managed to link Rabba daba with Urban Boyz for the “Intego” collabo and am currently facilitating a new collabo between Dr. Jose Chameleon from Uganda and Kidumu from Burundi. What are some of the challenges that you face in the industryThe challenges are not really many but the few are worse. It’s a risky venture where financial returns are not guaranteed. Once you invest in a show, then you have to make sure everything goes well otherwise you might end up with huge losses. Another thing, a person must plan very well in advance for natural occurrences like heavy rains which can disrupt the show. Lastly, we used to have artists who would disappoint music promoters at the last minute. For this, we have resorted to legal contracts where court action is used once the musician backs-out abruptly. This has helped ensure legitimacy and commitment on both sides of the party. What is Drona Entertainment involved in at the moment I still organize Rwanda nite. Currently it will be taking place twice a month at Guvnor. We expect to bring more Rwandan artists. I am planning a comedy night to be held in Kigali dubbed “nite of a thousand laughs”. It’s a big comedy show that has taken place in Nairobi and Kampala, Nigeria and South Africa. This is the equivalent of Nigeria’s Africa Kings of comedy hosted by Basket Mouth. Preparations are still under way and we are yet to confirm the date. Finally, together with Next entertainment, we are preparing “Cyesha Valu Valu” concert in Kigali at Stade Amahoro on 21st, July and at Serena Hotel on 22nd, July 2012. We have local artists like Kitoko, Knowless, Dream Boyz, Urban Boyz, Dj’s Karim and Bisoso who will spice up the event. Where should we expect Drona Entertainment in the next five yearsDrona Entertainment is a growing company. We want to develop all the six departments to be fully independent. We want to grow our part-time modeling department to full-time. The car dealership venture is picking up slowly; we so far have clients in Rwanda who buy cars from us. We are also looking at buying our own instruments to cut down on renting costs. Drona Entertainment will be a big company in five years to come.