By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian and African music ecosystem will continue to receive the massive support of Spotify, Ms Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, the Sub-Saharan African Managing Director of the audio streaming platform, which has recorded about 15 billion streams, has assured.
Ms Muhutu-Remy gave this assurance at the event organised by the company last Thursday and Friday in Lagos to celebrate Afrobeats, a genre of music from Africa currently gaining global attention.
Spotify held #SpotifyPodcastsLagos on Thursday and #SpotifyAfrobeats on Friday at La Madison Place in Lekki, Lagos, to showcase and celebrate the rich culture of Afrobeats and the remarkable achievements of the genre through the years.
The programmes brought together celebrities, podcasters, influencers, music executives, media personalities and music fans.
“Spotify’s commitment to connecting people with the music they love is at the heart of everything we do.
“We’re thrilled to continue celebrating Afrobeats’ milestones and reinforce our commitment to the growth of the music ecosystem in Nigeria and across Africa,” Ms Muhutu-Remy said at the event.
On the first day, a masterclass session was held and it featured Ncebakazi Manzi, the Podcast Manager for Spotify in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This was followed by a fireside chat facilitated by Gwenevier Ehimen Lem from the Association of African Podcasters and Voiceover Artists (APVA).
It featured a panel of industry experts, including Tony Doe from Into The Podverse and Tony Doe Media, Ayomide Tayo from Loose Talk, Dami Aros from So Nigerian, and Fay Fay, the founder of Naija Podhub.
Attendees were then later treated to captivating and thought-provoking live podcast recordings, featuring highly acclaimed Nigerian content creators Jola Ayeye and Feyikem Abudu from I Said What I Said, and Joey Akan from Afrobeats Intelligence.
In a conversation with Victor Okpala, Spotify’s Artist and Label Partnerships Manager for West Africa, Joey Akan delved into a range of topics, spanning from the success of Afrobeats and playlisting strategies to Spotify’s contributions to the music ecosystem.
The next day saw performances from some of the most talented emerging and established artists from Nigeria, including Shallipopi, who set the stage on fire, delivering crowd-pleasing hits, including Sharpiru, Ex-Convict and Elon Musk.
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