Grace Ashiru
The African music industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. This is because of collaborations between local and international artists, streaming music, and social media.
But only a small number of artists are getting this kind of success, and many talented people are still trying to get their work noticed.
Because of this, Spotify has started a video series called Spotify Talks Africa. This series brings together people working in the African continent’s music industry to talk.
Spotify Talks Africa is where panellists talk about problems in the African music industry and how to solve them so that creatives can succeed.
How music streaming services like Spotify can help this growth is a crucial part of the discussion .Artists, producers, artist managers, and members of the Spotify Sub-Saharan Africa team are among the panellists. They will talk about the role of streaming in the music industry.
Each video episode, set to come out every three months, will be about a different issue in the music industry, such as how music streaming keeps legacy acts alive or how women in music live their lives.
In the first episode, Kenyan media personality Mariam Bishar talks with John Katana Harrison, the leader of the legendary band Them Mushrooms, Wangechi, a Kenyan rapper who just came back from a three-year break, and Monica Kemoli-Savanne, Spotify’s Artist & Label Partnerships Manager for East Africa.
The topics of their lively conversation include bringing music to new audiences, music royalties, the tools an artist needs to grow, and technology’s role in all of this.
John Katana Harrison says streaming has changed the music business: “I think it’s a great thing. We’re surprised by where people are listening to our music now.”
It opened up a new way for music to be spread all over the country and the world.
I tell artists to use Spotify for Artists to connect to their back end and use that data to build their strategies. You can see the age, gender, and location of the people who listen to your music,” says Monica.
The industry is set to grow even more, and if Them Mushrooms is any indication, staying current and being successful can go hand in hand. Them Mushrooms’ appearance on Spotify Talks is one of several things that Spotify is doing to mark the 50th anniversary of the band.
To listen to the entire conversation, visit spotifytalksafrica.byspotify.com.
