Local soca artist Tanzania Sebastian-Hector, known professionally as Tizzy, is raising the alarm over the escalating cost of producing quality music, warning that financial barriers are effectively shutting out young and upcoming artists who lack the backing to compete.

According to Antigua Observer, Sebastian-Hector, speaking in a wide-ranging interview, said that producing a single song can cost thousands of US dollars — and that figure does not yet account for videos, graphics, and promotional materials required to support each release.

"A good song can cost anywhere between 800 to 1,500 to 4,000 US, and that's just the lyrics," she said. "Now, somebody will tell you, okay, I will give you a $500 song. May not be as good as the $1,500 song. So, where are you getting the money as a young and upcoming artiste to be able to afford the quality of the song or the production that you deserve?"

The demands do not end in the studio, Sebastian-Hector stressed. She noted that today's music industry requires visual content to accompany every release. "It's no longer that you release a song and that's the end of that. You must release a song with graphics. You must release a song with video," she said. Her second EP alone featured nine songs, each requiring its own promotional support.

Travel costs compound the financial pressure, particularly for artists without management or tour support to cover transportation and accommodation when performing abroad. "If you leave now, you have to find somebody to pay to drive you, somebody to pay for where you're staying," she said. "All those costs are additional costs that you would not necessarily undertake if you're in your own country."

Sebastian-Hector credited a number of sponsors for helping to offset those expenses, including during international engagements.

She also spoke to the physical demands placed on frontline performers, noting that artists are increasingly expected to carry full sets alone. "Now you're the only frontline singer in a band and you're performing for anywhere between 20 minutes, half an hour, hour, 45 minutes," she said. "So you have to be physically fit and ready."

On the broader question of the genre's health, Sebastian-Hector pushed back firmly against the notion that quality soca music is disappearing. The problem, she argued, is one of airplay rather than a shortage of talent or material. "It's out there, it just needs to be played," she said. "If you don't play it, the people don't know it… If you don't feed them the music, then they have nothing to come and enjoy themselves with."

Sebastian-Hector also highlighted her longstanding efforts to introduce schoolchildren to soca and carnival culture, work she said dates back to around 2007 and has included past performances at local schools with a full live band.