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By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has tasked content creators in the country to take advantage of the many advancements in the nation’s growing telecommunications industry, saying much can be achieved through music artists, who are hotcakes globally.
The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, Mr Umar Danbatta, stated this in Lagos over the weekend while speaking at the 10th Annual Brands and Marketing Conference of the Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN) where the NCC was conferred with the Regulator of the Decade award.
Represented by the Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Mr Adeleke Adewolu, the EVC noted that the ongoing process, for which arrangements are in top gear, followed the successful auctioning of two bands of the 3.5GHz spectrum in December of 2021.
Mr Danbatta informed the participants at the conference that content creation and consumption had grown around the telecommunications infrastructure provided by technology, which Nigerian entertainers had leveraged to become global brands.
He said, “Due to heavy leverage on digital platforms, the Nigerian entertainment industry has gone global. Nollywood is one of the biggest movie industries in the world. In fact, more movies are produced by Nollywood yearly in comparison to Hollywood.
“Nigerian music stars are in hot demand worldwide because of their popularity and brand recognition on social media. We should add that many of these global superstars emerging from Nigeria launched into stardom by leveraging caller tunes and other mobile content platforms to grow their brands and huge followers online.”
Mr Danbatta declared that, “Digital platforms are fostering different types of systemic change, creating new brands, eroding the value of some brands, whilst at the same time increasing the value of other brands. The innovation-transformation-disruption cycle has come to stay and will be exacerbated as technology continues to evolve.”
The EVC assured that the NCC would continue to aggressively drive the rollout and seamless operation of infrastructure to drive new digital technologies to benefit all sectors of our economy.
“It is our hope that Nigerian brands will continue to leverage robust infrastructure to grow their value and ensure that our country derives maximum benefit from unfolding digital transformation efforts,” he said.
Gospel Singer Sammie Okposo Slumps, Dies
Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.
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By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Reports just filtering in indicate that a popular gospel artist in Nigeria, Sammie Okposo, has passed on.
Details of this unfortunate incident are still sketchy, but it was gathered that he passed away on Friday at the age of 51 after he slumped.
Recall that some months ago, Sammie Okposo was in the news over issues concerning his marriage.
The Wellu Wellu crooner later apologised to his fans and others for betraying their trust, promising to be a better person.
Three years ago, the Delta State-born music star had a close encounter with death after the propeller shaft of his car pulled off while on motion.
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By Carla Harrison
If I were to pick up your phone right now, there’s a very good chance that I’d find Spotify among your apps. It is, after all, the world’s most popular music streaming service, with 433 million users (188 million of whom are paid subscribers) in 183 countries. Since its launch in 2008, it’s transformed the way the world listens to music and helps launch the careers of artists around the world.
And if you use Spotify, you’re probably also aware that it’s expanded from just music streaming into podcasting, with some 4 million podcast titles joining its library of 82 million songs. But did you know that it’s also a powerful advertising platform with a growing focus on the African continent?
Any brand that’s serious about expansion, particularly in high-growth markets such as Nigeria, simply cannot afford to ignore it.
The pros of radio, plus more
In order to understand what makes Spotify such an appealing platform for advertisers, it’s worth first reminding ourselves of the strengths offered by traditional radio. In general, for example, radio ads are more cost-effective than other forms. You can also get away with increased frequency, meaning that your message is more likely to stick.
Spotify offers all the benefits of radio advertising plus more. With growing numbers of people listening to digital audio streaming every day, you’re guaranteed an active and engaged audience. At the same time, you’re also reaching them while they listen to what they love. And because Spotify’s targeting options are so advanced, your brand can reach specific people based on age, gender, music genre, and playlist. Unlike radio, Spotify guarantees 100% completed listens in its reporting. It can also provide metrics around which type of audience engaged with your ad and a companion banner which allows users to click through to a webpage.
The streaming service is an innovator in the advertising space too. Its 3D audio feature, for instance, allows brands to provide premium quality advertising through an immersive, dynamic, and sensory audio experience. As a result, listeners don’t just hear an ad; they feel it.
But Spotify offers more than just audio ads. It also allows brands to reinforce their messages with high-impact display and video ad formats. Spotify video ads are actually the best performing in the industry, as they had to be built for viewability. The ads are 100% viewable and 100% audible, and Spotify only charges for 100% completion.
Making an impact in Africa
It’s also worth pointing out that Spotify is seeing significant levels of growth across Africa. While the streaming service has been available in South Africa since 2018, its real expansion into Africa only came in early 2021, when it launched in an additional 40 countries.
But just a year after launching in Nigeria, the number of artists streamed per user had grown by 60%, and Nigerian music fans had created 1.3 million user-generated playlists. Additionally, nearly 21 000 songs had been added to the platform, placing Nigeria as the country with the second most streams after Pakistan in the new markets, with Kenya third in the ranking.
That growth isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon, either. According to Statista, music streaming revenues in Nigeria are expected to show an annual growth rate of 12.61% between 2022 and 2027. It’s also worth noting that penetration in the overall streaming market currently sits at just 4.1%. With an additional 35 million Nigerians set to come online by 2026 (all of whom will be hungry for the consumer experiences that come with affordable and ubiquitous access), Spotify looks primed for significant growth.
That comes with obvious growth benefits for advertisers, especially when you factor in that 39.6% of music streaming users are in the medium-income group. As Nigeria’s economy continues to grow, that income group will become larger and more valuable.
Partnering with the experts
Brands looking to utilise Spotify as a marketing platform don’t have to go in blind, either. By working with experts that have specialist teams, they can get the most out of their campaigns. The right partners will also offer advertisers price transparency, ensuring that they get advertising on the platform at the most affordable rates.
In doing so, they can ensure that they always reach the right audiences at the right time with the right message. Moreover, with Spotify, they’re reaching people during the moments they love. And that’s always incredibly valuable for any marketer. Small wonder then, that Spotify is seen as the most trusted ad platform among consumers. Factor in the brand safety it offers, and you have a winning combination.
A culmination of factors
Ultimately then, Spotify represents the culmination of a number of factors that should be of interest to anyone with a media budget that needs to be spent. And as Africa, and Nigeria in particular, that combination of engaged, active audiences, the ability to target specific audiences, and innovative advertising products will only become more important.
Carla Harrison is the East African Sales Manager at Ad Dynamo by Aleph
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By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Seed funding between $20,000 and $50,000 would be given to 15 Nigerian YouTubers and others from Africa to support their acts.
Apart from this, they will also receive dedicated partner support for six months and have the opportunity to participate in programmes, including bespoke training, workshops and networking programmes spread out across the year.
The funding package is from YouTube for the 2023 #YouTubeBlack Voices creators and artist cohorts, which comprises African fast-rising musical artists, Gyakie from Ghana, Kamo Mphela from South Africa, Asake from Nigeria, and BNXN from Nigeria.
The cohort will also include Hip Hop producer MashBeatz from South Africa and Nairobi-based producer Ukweli, who will be joining 17 #YouTubeBlack Voices Songwriters and Producers globally.
Now in its third year, the initiative from YouTube is a follow-up to a global, multi-year commitment made in 2020 to uplift and grow Black creators, artists, songwriters, and producers on the platform.
The artists, songwriters, and producers joining the #YouTubeBlack Voices Music Class of 2023 will be required to set goals, develop a content strategy, and engage with their fans on YouTube, with the assistance of a YouTube partner manager.
There will be networking opportunities with other artists, songwriters, and producers included in the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund and a chance to maximise the impact of their channels as they provide catalogue-development opportunities.
“We are excited about the creators, musical artists and producers from Africa joining others from across the world in the 2023 #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.
“The initiative is dedicated to equipping up-and-coming Black creators and artists with the resources to succeed on our platform,” the Managing Director for Emerging Markets at YouTube EMEA, Mr Alex Okosi, stated.
“We are seriously interested in the growth of the creative community in Africa. For the creators, artists, songwriters and producers that will be joining this third cohort, we will go beyond the initial training to measure our success with them over a long-term period, thereby ensuring that they achieve sustained success,” he added.
Over the next few years, YouTube will be directly investing in more than 500 creators, and artists from across the world to support, grow, and fund their channels and content development through the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.
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Nigerian Music Stars in Hot Demand Worldwide—NCC – Business Post Nigeria
