Spotify to invest in Ghana’s creator community

Surf Ghana uses extreme sports like skateboarding and surfing as a driver for youth development. The organisation also creates a platform for local artists to promote positive values like tolerance, respect, peace and the celebration of African creativity.

The initiative involves a community recording facility called Vibrate Studio, and value-added services including mentorship, music production, development, and business education programmes geared towards creators. The partnership will also support a broader set of creative sectors, including musical artists and producers.

“Rather than traditional learning, Vibrate Studio seeks to empower creatives through community building and mentorship,” Surf Ghana founder Sandy Alibo said.

“With the facility located at the Freedom Skatepark, the Surf Ghana collective seeks to launch a workstation for young creatives in the heart of the city of Accra. What Spotify is doing in partnering with us will go a long way towards helping us fulfil our vision of being an impactful centre for upskilling and mentoring Ghanaian youth while driving their social inclusion, education and empowerment.”

Since Spotify officially arrived in Ghana, it has featured a string of emerging artists including Moliy, Kofee Bean, Amaarae, Gyakie and Black Sherif via on-platform playlisting and exposure to markets outside the country. With more than seven million combined monthly listeners on the DSP, the acts have successfully harnessed Spotify to build fanbases all over the world.

“Spotify is committed to developing Ghana’s creator economy and this move presents a wonderful off-platform opportunity for us to be innovative in the way we show up for creators and their fans,” Spotify’s head of music for sub-Saharan Africa, Phiona Okumu.

“Ghana is a cultural landmark that remains crucial to the story of modern-day African music and creativity,”

Vibrate studio will be officially opened on 14 October.