Malawi: Sonyezo song tops online sales

‘Lokolo’ takes over Tay Grin’s ‘Tola’ featuring Vanessa Mdee, which Sonyezo also produced and appeared on. ‘Tola’ was the bestselling song in Malawi since 1 April 2017. Both artists are selling their music via local payment methods such as Mpamba, Airtel Money, National Bank of Malawi, PayPal and PayGo.

Also available on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon, ‘Lokolo’ hit the Malawi Music Store on 4 June. “New Music in the store. ‘Lokolo’ is available to all registered customers for as low as MK100/US$1. To buy it, click here,” a Malawi Music Store Facebook post reads.

Sonyezo says ‘Lokolo’ is his first song to be sold online. “I’ve always put out singles for free and this time it was risky because I’ve never sold a single,” he said. “It’s awesome to see the support and appreciation of my music that my fans and family are showing me. This is a motivation to put out more quality music that can sell worldwide.”

The news comes amid uncertainty in the country about whether musicians should make their music available online. Malawi is among the countries hit hard by piracy, mainly through the use of social networking and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and free download music sites.