Musicians urged to embrace streaming services for faster discovery

Geoffrey Jeff Ekongot, a consultant in the music industry, who was speaking during an artiste mixer organised by Mdundo, said that "streaming platforms are like the biggest opportunity that has happened to the music industry."

Looking back on how the industry has evolved, Ekongot, who is also the chief executive officer of the Uganda Musicians Association, said: "For a long time, artistes depended on a narrow scope of opportunities to have their music discovered and then to monetise their careers. For example, they relied heavily on radio to get people to discover them and then decided whether to be able to work with them or to buy the music."

He continued: "But with music streaming platforms and digital platforms, their music can be discovered. They can also make money right there on the same platforms and they can tap into the entire ecosystem of the music industry."

Said Jeff Ekongot: "Because in a traditional way, we have over 300 radios in Uganda, over 70 television stations. Imagine as a solo ariste, you have to go to all these places. But with digital you can be in your bedroom at home and you can push your music out. Platforms like Mdundo, they are local platforms. They are focusing on African music. You have an opportunity of a huge audience of Africans who are online."

During the event, Serah Adong, a licensing manager at Mdundo, a pan-African music streaming platform, led the discussion, with participation from Ivan Kifumba, who heads distribution, music publishing & licensing at Swangz Avenue; Dennis Watante, founder of Omziki Distribution; and Ekongot himself.