OVER THE LAST DECADE, African music talents have put the spotlight on the continent’s entertainment industry. This is not only attributed to its growing young population, internet penetration, and technological advancements but also the proliferation of streaming platforms. Besides wider exposure, streaming is a major source of revenue in the music industry. It made up 62.3% of the $21.5 billion revenue gained by the global music industry in 2020, according to Techpoint Africa. The recently released song ‘Why’ by The Ben ft. Diamond Platnumz, is clear proof of how artistes should use their platforms to uplift others. The song hit 1,000,000 views within less than a day on Diamond’s YouTube channel. This was the same way Tems of Nigeria rose to stardom after appearing on Wizkid’s Made in Lagos album with a track that became the first African song to make it to top 10 Billboard Hot 100 chart. The culture of teamwork in Rwandan artistes has just started merging, something that could raise Rwanda’s music industry to higher heights on the continent like how Afrobeats, a popular West African genre, is perpetuated across foreign markets. For Marina, a top female artiste in Rwanda, one’s streaming platform can increase another artiste’s audience especially when they are from a different country. This, she said, happened to her when she collaborated with Harmonize, former Wasafi member, targeting fans from Tanzania, something she believes that became a success and made her a household name in the region. The song, ‘Love You’, was streamed by more than 2,000,000 people on YouTube and was Marina’s most streamed track, something that shows how collaborating with big artistes can generate more fans than any other method. “If Rwandan artistes help the young generation get collabos, or go for bigger artistes in Africa, our music will get a wider audience and it will boost more than ever,” Marina said, explaining how using platforms to uplift other musicians could boost Rwanda’s music. Eloi El, Rwandan EDM singer and producer, also rose to fame after working with some top DJs in Europe such as Lucas Estrada of Sweden, Pull n Way based in Switzerland, Piece Wise from Netherlands to mention a few. Talking to The New Times, Eloi El revealed that working with some top EDM makers gave him a platform that made him one of the most streamed Rwandan musicians on Spotify in 2020. “Selling your own music without someone to plug you is possible but it’s easier when a top or renowned musician introduces you to the streets. That’s how one starts getting gigs and streams that pays,” he said. Kevo, a 16-year old Rwandan rapper based in the UK linked a freestyle dubbed Billy X pain on Mixtape Madness, a British urban music outlet and an entertainment and distribution platform based in London, and since then, the kid got to high heights and became a star in the UK. Talking with local media in the UK, Kevo noted that apart from his creativity and bars, the Mixtape Madness platform is the main thing that brought his name up to the streets and made him a household name in Europe. For Alex Muyoboke, a music expert and managing director of Ishusho Studio, a big artiste posting a song where he features isn’t a problem as many questioned it after Diamond Platnmuz posted The Ben’s song on his YouTube channel. In fact, Muyoboke added that this action of artistes using their platforms to raise others should be done more often by Rwandan artistes noting that it can also introduce Rwandan music to the world. “In Nigeria, almost all upcoming artistes were discovered from other platforms, which is the same reason why The Ben is trending all over Africa. Appearing on Diamond’s YouTube channel did not only give him views, but also introduced him to some places that he doesn’t even know,”Muyoboke added. Muyoboke further gave examples of local artistes who rose to stardom through collaborating with others such as Kenny Sol who became a household name in Rwanda after appearing on Bruce Melodie’s hit song ‘Ikinyafu.’
