The Roundtable is a monthly video podcast created by Sista, supported by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS), with technical support provided by Wan Nambanga.
Each episode is hosted by Yasmine Covo, bringing onboard a guest to the table to share their perspective on the biggest issues and ideas shaping conversations in Vanuatu today—whether political, economic, or social.
To ensure the dialogue reflects the community, every episode is paired with street interviews that capture the voices of everyday Ni-Vanuatu with the mission of encouraging more people to engage with national issues and to make space for voices that matter.
Over 8 months, The Roundtable will deliver 8 full-length video podcasts, alongside short clips, articles, and social media content.
In this first episode of the Roundtable, Yasmine Covo sits down with Markson Taiki, business owner of Matakambu, a media production company, and well known creative in the media industry.
Their conversation explores two main topics: The music industry in Vanuatu and the realities that musicians face, and whether Ni-Vanuatu society can foster healthy criticism and debate online.
This episode dives deep into the impact of engaging overseas musicians and artists on the local music industry, what it means to include a charitable element in events, and the ongoing challenges faced by Vanuatu’s musicians — as well as how they have- and can- overcome them.
The discussion then turns to the importance of constructive online conversations and the responsibilities and reality of being a social media influencer.
Episode Highlights
In October, we had well-known musicians from Solomon Islands; Onetox, Bibao, and K-sie, perform at Vanuatu’s first ever fruit festival. We also had Seanrii headlining the My Cash Tuff Tumas concert to fundraise for Malapoa College to rebuild after the earthquake. Then we had Sharzy perform in Sola Vanuulava to raise funds for Torba Provincial Government’s Streetlight Initiative.
Although it is wonderful that we have these musicians come to help fundraise and draw attention to these causes, it makes one wonder how that sets the tone for the music industry, and how does this impact the Vanuatu music industry in the long run? The guest was asked what he thinks about this, given his vast experience.
“To set up an event requires heavy investment. Investment in stages, investment in lights, investment in sound. And a lot of independent contractors, in order for them to justify them spending money on this equipment, you need to have events. And in the local scene, we have a certain standard when we put out events. And every time when you have an international artist come in, it helps to raise the standard. So it raises the standard in the quality of the sound. It raises the standard because they have that expectation. You know, they’re international artists. When they come over to Vanuatu, they expect them [ the standard] to be in a certain level.
“And also, skill sharing- because when musicians come over, they just don’t come over by themselves, they come over with the sound engineers, they come over with their managers…but we don’t see that, we see the show but we don’t see what happens behind the scenes,” he added.
He also emphasized that having a charitable aspect to an event helps with ticket sales, and the goodwill of the public. It makes the event more approachable to certain people who may not necessarily attend the event.
“[It] gives that perspective that, okay, this is an event for everyone. It’s not just for this particular section of the society or this section of listeners,” he said.
When asked what he thinks about online trolls in Vanuatu who make personal attacks whenever an issue is trending, instead of engaging in healthy debate, he responded by saying that, “here in the real world, like interacting in person, if I say something offensive or if someone said something offensive, they’ll get punched in the mouth or something will happen. There’s immediate consequences to that. Regarding internet trolls and all of that, people need to understand that the internet is the wild, wild west. It’s unregulated. There are no consequences if people give out comments under fake names.
“If you want to be an influencer, if you want to be a public figure, it comes with all of that.
“People will say anything and will say everything. It’s only up to you as a creator to help develop a good culture with your followers. If you build a good culture with your followers where they respect you and they respect your opinions, then…they’ll approach you and talk to you in a certain way.”
Why You Should Listen to this podcast
Whether you are heavily involved in the music scene in Vanuatu, or have been subjected to online trolling or bullying, or just simply curios and wants to listen to informal and chatty discussion between two people who are passionate about these topics, this episode offers insightful thought-provoking conversation that you wouldn’t want to miss out on.
About the Guest
Markson Taiki is from Ambae island, raised in Vanuatu, Samoa and New Zealand.
He is a freelance videographer, starting his own media production company called MATAKAMBU. His academic background is Political Science and Economics, Bachelor of Arts from the University of Canterbury. He has worked over 15years in media in Vanuatu both in private and public sector, where he worked under many talented managers, media personalities, journalist, broadcast technicians and producers in Vanuatu and the pacific.
A few years ago, he started MATAKAMBU with the vision to produce feature films. In the meantime, Markson and his team are doing documentaries, short films, and music videos – focusing on production and post-production work. Amplifying pacific voices and producing content that bridges culture, community, and modern media.
Listen Now
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Join the Conversation
Head over to our YouTube channel or the Vanuatu Daily Post website, and share your thoughts in the comments! We’d also love to hear what topics you’d like us to explore in future episodes of the Roundtable Podcast.
