Madam Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Sub-Saharan Africa Head of Music, says they are committed to giving Ghanaian artistes the needed worldwide exposure, and also aid them to connect more with the new audiences around the world.
According to Madam Okumu, programmes like RADAR and EQUAL were targeted at giving Ghanaian artistes and musicians from other African countries the exposure to sell their culture.
Recently, rising Ghanaian music sensation Black Sherif was among six African megastars who joined Spotify’s RADAR programme, while Gyakie and Amaarae have also been named in Spotify’s EQUAL campaign.
Speaking in an interview with GNA Entertainment, Madam Okumu said her outfit was poised to introduce more programmes like EQUAL to make sure that there was more gender balance in the Ghanaian music industry.
”Our commitment to advancing the culture of music in Ghana can be seen in the various projects, we have undertaken with various Ghanaian artistes, including Black Sherif, Gyakie, Amaarae, among others.
“If you look at the charts, you would find out that there is not a lot of representation of female artistes, so this is what we are looking to change with EQUAL and so far we have done one with Gyakie and Amaarae,” she said.
She said there were more plans to get more new Ghanaian artists on their RADAR platform, which seeks to give artistes more highlights and visibility.
Speaking on whether Spotify had plans for some big acts in Ghana, Madam Okumu said their relationship with Stonebwoy, Sarkodie, among others, had been great so far, having worked on lots of their projects.
“We have plans for all the artistes who want to work with us and where it makes sense to do specific collaborations, by all means that would happen.
“The commitment of Spotify to African music is very obvious. The fact that we are able to support someone like Black Sheriff, having him on billboards in Nigeria and in South Africa,” Madam Okumu said.
She added that Spotify has a lot to contribute to Ghanaian music in the coming years which would help sell Ghanaian artists all over the world.
Source: Ghana News Agency
