Spotify beckons local artists

Artists have been challenged to take advantage of the opening up of Spotify, a global digital music streaming company, to Malawi among countries it will provide its services.

So far, Spotify is available in South Africa and North African States. This giant leap into Africa will also see the company introducing new features and upgrade its podcast catalogue to fit into the new markets.

Spotify chief premium business officer Alex Norstrom confirmed the decision in an interview with Tech Central.

The news has excited local artists who want the music industry to make the most of the latest development.

“I think this will give more exposure to Malawian music as it will become easier for artists to put their songs on the platform and that is a great way of exposing the music internationally,” said musician Lawi in an interview.

However, for optimal benefits, he asked government to step in on the long-standing issue of high Internet costs.

“Malawian artists need to take a leading role in driving the conversation with government and some stakeholders on high Internet tariffs. The tariffs need to be adjusted to where an average Malawian can afford data to access streaming platforms like Spotify,” he said.

The platform, among others, benefits musicians to get more information about how their music is fairing, according to artist Dali Mizaya.

“Spotify is by far the only digital streaming platform that has a specific tool that allows artists to see all their data. Through the Spotify tool for artists, one sees how his/her music is doing, how many people are listening, in what demography and get a monthly update for that,” he said.

Mizaya believes the launch of Spotify in Malawi will also see Malawians cultivating the music streaming culture.

“It is there but only for a few people who understand what streaming is all about. However, as an artist, you don’t get much from streaming unless the song is play-listed by the platform. This is what Malawian artists need to know and do to make something out of the platform,” he said.

Besides Malawi, new countries that will see the presence of Spotify are Botswana, Lesotho, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.