International Companies Are Taking Note of Africa's Music, Artists
2022-07-26
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1International media and music companies want to sell products from Africa's music market.
2African music is increasingly popular on the internet and on smartphones in places far outside of Africa.
3Companies are noticing a worldwide interest in African music.
4The company Universal Music Group launched Virgin Music Africa Label & Artist Services in June.
5It aims to support independent African music recording companies, often called labels, and artists.
6The service will digitize music catalogues, or collections of songs coming from the same owner, that are no longer available to buyers.
7The company aims to expand into the growing market for African sounds.
8The interest from international companies is growing as African artists become the main performers at international music events like festivals and concerts.
9Festivals include Afro Nation in Portugal and Africolor in France.
10African musical forms such as Afrobeat, Rhumba, and Amapiano are topping popular music lists, known as charts.
11Franck-Alcide Kacou is managing director of Universal Music Africa and the new Virgin Music Africa Label.
12He said it has over 15,000 music titles - or songs.
13Kacou added that it has 50 partner labels and around 100 artists from 25 countries.
14The artists include Senegal's M'balax maestro Youssou Ndour, Congo's Lokua Kanza, Magic System from Ivory Coast and Cabo Snoop from Angola.
15Kacou said that the service will digitize and make available African music currently in music media like vinyl, cassette, or CD.
16The aim is to reach younger listeners.
17Kacou told Reuters that "It's a real opportunity for countries that are also experiencing this digital transformation."
18He said the service will support independent labels who are looking for a wider network.
19Kacou said finding a producer in Africa and making cultural works available is a "real challenge" for many artists.
20He added that most artists do not receive a fair amount of money for their musical works.
21I'm Anna Mateo.
1International media and music companies want to sell products from Africa's music market. 2African music is increasingly popular on the internet and on smartphones in places far outside of Africa. 3Companies are noticing a worldwide interest in African music. The company Universal Music Group launched Virgin Music Africa Label & Artist Services in June. It aims to support independent African music recording companies, often called labels, and artists. 4The service will digitize music catalogues, or collections of songs coming from the same owner, that are no longer available to buyers. The company aims to expand into the growing market for African sounds. 5The interest from international companies is growing as African artists become the main performers at international music events like festivals and concerts. Festivals include Afro Nation in Portugal and Africolor in France. African musical forms such as Afrobeat, Rhumba, and Amapiano are topping popular music lists, known as charts. 6Franck-Alcide Kacou is managing director of Universal Music Africa and the new Virgin Music Africa Label. He said it has over 15,000 music titles - or songs. Kacou added that it has 50 partner labels and around 100 artists from 25 countries. 7The artists include Senegal's M'balax maestro Youssou Ndour, Congo's Lokua Kanza, Magic System from Ivory Coast and Cabo Snoop from Angola. 8Kacou said that the service will digitize and make available African music currently in music media like vinyl, cassette, or CD. The aim is to reach younger listeners. 9Kacou told Reuters that "It's a real opportunity for countries that are also experiencing this digital transformation." 10He said the service will support independent labels who are looking for a wider network. 11Kacou said finding a producer in Africa and making cultural works available is a "real challenge" for many artists. He added that most artists do not receive a fair amount of money for their musical works. 12I'm Anna Mateo. 13Loucoumane Coulibaly reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 14_________________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16digital - adj. using or characterized by computer technology 17opportunity - n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done 18transformation - n. a complete or major change in someone's or something's appearance or form 19challenge - n. a difficult task or problem: something that is hard to do 20_____________________________________________________________ 21What do you think of African music? 22We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 23Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.