Virtual future of music in Africa and the diaspora of RESET: the post-COVID-19 era
RESET’s most recent segment featured some of the biggest shots in the music industry from across the continent and the globe, who were discussing the Music Industry Business in Africa and the Diaspora, during and Post Covid-19.
It was truly an inspirational afternoon of discussions as the panel intelligently and enthusiastically discussed the plight of the music industry, from a business perspective, with a focus on the after-effects of Covid-19 on the industry on the continent and the diaspora.
The show that was aired on Afrique Today, the # 1 Digital TV Station based in the Washington DC area and live-streamed on 7 online platforms including Facebook, Youtube, and Roku TV on August 24, 2020, was hosted by Busie Matsiko-Andan and viewed by over 10,000+ tastemakers and press members virtually in one day.
Sponsored by PontGlobal, a boutique management consulting and recruiting firm based in New York, the show featured entertainment industry luminary, Ava Lizzette Hall, a legend in the music industry who through her extraordinary leadership helped launch BET Africa and was instrumental in African Music such as Afrobeat going mainstream. During the show, Hall expressed her pride and joy at the tremendous strides the music industry has made, both in Africa and the Diaspora, highlighting that there was room for even greater things to come.
“It’s a beautiful thing to see African artists and those in the US, doing beautiful music and projects together. I do hope we can see more music collaborations between US artistes and those in Africa,” she explained.
Other panellists included Nigerian Afrobeat artist, Akeju who owns Aflik TV, the largest distributor and producer of Nollywood entertainment globally and is a big proponent of Artistes live streaming especially in this hyper-vigilant times when artists have lost a significant source of their livelihood.
Uganda’s Eddy Kenzo, who was also a guest on the show, expressed his gratitude towards Ava Lizzette Hall, and the entire BET platform, who he credits for propelling him onto the international stage. Kenzo shot to fame after his breakout single, “sitya loss”, gained him tremendous international recognition, even catching the attention of top music executives, including P-Diddy. The song’s video amassed over 24 million views on Youtube.
Also inclusive on the panel was the two times Emmy Nominee, Founder and CEO of Amp Global Derrick Ashong who is a musician and technologist who has built a company that allows content creators to own their narrative and build direct connections with fans all over the world and more recently a platform called Take Back the Mic (TBTM). He wowed the crowd with his enthusiasm and passion by rallying the crowd to support artistes in every way possible.
Kim Sebuliba, who hails from Uganda and is the only female live events producer in East Africa echoed out the need for strong collaborations and synergies in the music industry to overcome the challenges caused by Covid19 in the music community.
The prestigious panel was hosted by New York-based Pont Global Founder and Global Strategy Consultant a leader in the advancement of Africa and the diaspora, Busie Matsiko-Andan.
A key highlight of the event was the panellists acknowledging both the negative and positive impact of Covid19 on the Music Industry. As Mrs Matsiko-Andan unveiled the purpose of this music panel, she shared with the audience her vision to make the RESET show a global platform that thought leader can leverage to inspire, support and propel each other to succeed.
“Thought leaders would therefore discuss the reflective pivot of their business as the world navigates the hyper-vigilance of COViD-19 together. It is also important for us to leverage our networks and navigate synergies to move past these times. I would also like to encourage our audiences to incorporate #RESET into their daily lives on social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook and twitter, to illustrate how they are making changes in the world,” she explained.
The show’s host also echoed the need for legislation in Africa and the diaspora to help the entertainment industry and agreed with the panellists such as Akeju to push for streaming of artiste music.
Akeju hinted his business had largely grown during this time since streaming is a large part of his business. As a businessman, he advised that musicians should diversify their portfolio to avoid calamities in times of uncertainty in the world.
“I am excited that the discussion on the Music Industry Business in Africa and the Diaspora, during and Post Covid-19 was met with enthusiasm to such a diverse group of tastemakers and a global community, highlighting the challenges as well as the opportunities for the music industry. It’s not all negative. Technology has brought the world together. That’s how we have a panellist dialling in from Mauritius, two from Kampala, Uganda, one from Los Angeles and two in New York. Now the next steps should be leveraging these opportunities and monetizing. Our pane shed light on our efforts to educate and empower the global community by illustrating the need to be part of a mobilized populace of change agents and not to be individualistic like the African proverb demonstrates “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” said RESET creator and Host, Busie Matsiko-Andan concluded.
Source: F2FA
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