Music players talk marketing at Nairobi event

This came up during an discussion titled Marketing Music in Today’s Industry at Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, on 19 April.

Kenyan rapper Wangechi moderated the discussion, which was attended by local musicians and featured Roc Nation's southeast promotions director, Joy Young, as guest speaker.

Kenyan artists were encouraged to build a strong rapport with the rest of the world instead of waiting to be playlisted by local radio stations. It emerged that as much as radio play could expose an artist to a broad local audience, the Internet and various streaming platforms were capable to get a similar response, including global status.

Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Mdundo, Skiza, Shazam, CD Baby, SoundCloud, Deezer and YouTube were mentioned as some of the platforms that can help DIY and indie musicians gain insight into current and potential listeners.

“What is most important is to know your audience and have knowledge about music distribution, which you can learn online,” Young said. “As an indie artist, you can release your music yourself and receive payments in royalties at the end of the year.”

Royalty earnings have been a problematic space for Kenyan musicians for some time. This has been laid at the feet of collective management organisations and lack of transparency. But Young said that with modern online platforms, like Shazam, artists could access backend information, such as in-depth analytics, about their music.

“We are past the time when everything had to be professional,” she said. "YouTube should be your friend. All social media platforms – Twitter, Facebook – should be your friend. You can then record videos for yourself singing and upload them, because you don’t need such a huge budget.”

However, local artists were implored to continue considering radio as a primary medium to appeal to mainstream audiences at home, because the majority of Kenyans, much like other Africans, were still listening to the airwaves. This was somewhat different to the US market, where online led musicians' promotional efforts.

A 2018 poll by US company Morning Consult says that streaming services such as YouTube were being mainly used by the 18-to-34-year-old demographic. The poll also makes an exciting discovery where more than half of adults aged between 45 and 64 years use streaming services like Pandora, Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music.

While Young detested the playlisting system employed by radio stations, she did laud the importance of networking and industry relationships as a currency for success.

“There is so much politics involved in getting music on the radio and pushing it on the charts,” she said. “Relationships in the media industry are everything because you can make something happen based on relationships. If you can create relationships with the media, promoters, booking agents or anybody else who can help you get your career going, then that can help you in the long run versus money.”

The local media was also challenged to play a scout's role to unearth new talent, and learn from foreign media about how to maintain a unique position with advertisers, audiences and various other stakeholders.

The Marketing Music in Today’s Industry discussion was part of the Passport Experience International Festival (PXP Fest). The event, which was organised by Kenyan DJ Fully Focus, also featured talks on tech, TV and film, with all topics centred around entrepreneurship and innovation.