A team of seven young developers has built a first-of-its-kind platform which will help artists and public figures monetise their fan base. The platform, Vuga.live, is a web-based app which allows celebrities and their fans to hold one-to-one video chat, after an interested user books and pays for an appointment. Using Zoom integration, the artist can also host as many guests as Zoom premium can allow. Speaking to The New Times, Richard Muragijimana, founder and CEO of Yegobox, the startup behind VugaLive, said its purpose is to bring income to African artists. “VugaLive is on a path to connect all African artists with over 1.3 billion people on the continent and diaspora. This app is the first of its kind in Africa. This service will impact a lot of African artists and their families,” he said. For the past five years, Yegobox, a local technology startup, has built a repertoire of impactful projects including a translator app for sign language, a point of sale system and a file storage app. How VugaLive works When an artist signs up to the platform, a Yegobox team carries out background checks to establish whether the applicant is authentic. Then a contract is signed and the artist is featured on the platform. On the artist page is their chat schedule and price for booking 15, 30, or 45 minutes. The artist can update their page anytime. VugaLive is now launching with three artists: the award-winning Jay Polly, the hardcore rapper P-Fla and the slangy brag star known as Rocky. The app works with a world-class third party to handle the payment system which supports mobile money, Visa card and MasterCard. “I have been friends with many artists for a long time and I even tried to be a musician at one time. I’m excited to partner with my friend artists. I strongly believe this is the right time to make money while enjoying the craft,” said the CEO. He added: “The local show business industry is expanding at a significant pace. Beyond musicians, we have seen disk jockeys, media personalities, comedians, sport stars and film interpreters attract masses of followers on their socials.” With VugaLive, the team hopes to accelerate its mission to connect the African continent through art and entertainment. The new platform will help to monetize African entertainment by connecting African artists with their fans. Getaway for musicians As a result of Covid-19, concerts and music events crumbled a little before finding a refuge on YouTube. However, it was difficult to monetize these online concerts. It means the abrupt shift left musicians no room to sell tickets or be invited to perform in events. The young social entrepreneur believes the platform will re-engage fans and the artists while regaining them a stable income by monetize the time they spend together. Also, Vuga Marketplace, a feature that allows artists to host a community chat, is a potential alternative for paid virtual concerts. An artist sets the chat price of their own. For label artists, the app charges 30 percent of the price while individual ones pay 34 percent. The company also takes charge of all promotional activities. To be able to use the app, both the host and the guest must have a Zoom app installed on their devices. In other words, VugaLive is a ‘mediator’ tool that allows one to earn money from a Zoom call. Yegobox said more video conferencing apps such as Cisco and Messenger will be integrated in product scaling and expansion.
