By Iminza Keboge
Published May 26, 2016
A music streaming platform introduced in Tanzania by a telecommunications operator known as Tigo in January 2015 is already bearing fruit for local musicians.
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“Music streaming is growing rapidly globally and it’s the second most popular mobile phone feature in sub-Saharan Africa,” says Tigo Tanzania that sells itself off as a a ‘digital lifestyle brand’.
The telecom , that says it introduced its Tigo Music Platform to market the work of Tanzanian musicians locally and abroad, says is committed to supporting local music talent; that it has over the past year supported more than 20 artists.
Tigo has partnered with Deezer, a France-based international music streamer to provide Tanzanians with the service it calls “unlimited music experience that offers access to about 36 million music tracks worldwide.”
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Some of the beneficiaries of Tigo Music Platform say it is marketing their work far and wide and that their music is not only getting known but that the online streaming of their music makes it possible for fans all over the world to access their work.
“Through exposure to international audience, I am now able to promote my music and earn extra money from my songs,” says Christian Bella, a Congolese Bongo Flava musician in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.
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“Tigo Music Platform has helped me to be known at locally and internationally,” says Tanzanian David Genz alias Yangdee. “The platform is redemption to young musicians in the country as it has bought us from ‘underground’ to international level.”
Christian Bella is in fulsome praise of the platform, saying that Tigo has ‘shown a keen interest in genuinely supporting Tanzanian artists’.
Tigo Tanzania says it introduced the service with the aim of “supporting the music industry of Tanzania by helping local artists to earn more money from Music sales and exposure into the international markets’ through Tigo branded Digital platforms.”
Saying artists are free to sign directly with it or via its registered third party partners, Tigo says its support for Tanzanian musicians is “through the launch of Tigo Music Platform, payments to artists for their sales, sponsorship to their various music releases, and participation in Tigo-related activities.â€
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“We will continue to invest in supporting the local music industry by ensuring local artists are exposed to the international markets through our available digital platforms,” Tigo says.
