Kizz Daniel, Reekado Banks, Simi and Teni have been selected by YouTube to receive career support at a recent event tagged “A celebration of Afrobeats” held in Lagos.
The streaming service will provide the artists with tools to take their music to the next level, increase their presence on YouTube and boost their global audience.
This announcement comes after YouTube’s commitment to Nigerian Afrobeats talent that was made at the Google for Nigeria event back in July. At this event, YouTube disclosed that it will provide support to 10 emerging Nigerian artists through Mr Eazi’s emPawa program.
These four selected artists will be engaged in a series of workshops and content creation sessions, experimenting with content formats on YouTube. They will develop their music and visual content, becoming experts at building deep connections with their fans.
In addition, they will receive marketing promotion and education on best practices for growing and engaging their audience on an international scale.
The artists will also serve as models for other African artists on utilising the global power of the YouTube platform to expand and build a global audience. Leanings from their experience will be gathered as feedback to be shared with the entire artist community.
Speaking at the event, Addy Awofisayo, YouTube Content Partnership Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “We are very excited to partner with these amazing artists to support their journey as their music travels across borders and they expand their audience globally.”
“YouTube has been a mainline for African artists to connect all over the world, from Yemi Alade’s “Johnny” hitting over 100 million views on YouTube or Davido’s “Fall” at over 150 million views, there is no doubt that global audiences are dancing to an African beat,” Awofisayo adds.
