Veteran Singer Mike Okri signs distribution deal with Tune Afrique
A music streaming and distribution company, Tune Afrique, has entered into partnership with veteran singer, Mike Okri.
Tune Afrique, which prides itself as the distribution platform of choice for artistes and labels within and outside Nigeria, flagged off its support partnership programme with Okri, whose new project, ‘Lend a Hand’ would be exclusively delivered to digital platforms by the company.
Speaking at a press briefing during the week, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dr Olakunle Oladehin, described the partnership as a strategic move that would provide necessary advanced funding to help artistes in their promotions, and also ease off the worry associated with a lack of financial support, especially for independent artistes.
He noted that Okri had a track record of delivering quality music, that the decision to bank on Okri came from the review of his existing catalogue, and the projection of his current body of work, including upcoming collaborations with young singers such as Omawumi, Yemi Alade and Seyi Shay.
Oladehin stated that as part of the company’s growth strategy, it had appointed Hembadoon Peter Thomas and Folami Ayedun as members of the team, to serve in the capacity of Artiste and Label Services Directors.
Meanwhile, Peter-Thomas noted that the organisation had a lot of activities in focus for artiste development.
He said, “We offer stand-out services. The goal is to bridge the gap and allow artistes from every generation and every genre benefit from their craft, as long as the content is viable. We are also expanding the reach to inner cities, recently having visited underground artistes in Jos and Makurdi. We are teaching people how to monetise their music and also providing the options that would enable them to actually do so.”
Expressing optimism about the partnership, Okri stated that it was a union of ‘two forces’.
He said, “When one has an idea, one of the key elements of bringing it to the forefront is how does one move from one point to the other and make the right impact. Tune Afrique has proven that they know the terrain, especially when it comes to streaming African music. So, it is a union of two forces. I am partnering with them because I know they are capable. In my yearly visits to Nigeria, I have been studying how the music industry has evolved so far, and what I need to do to add my quota. Everyone wants to make money but this goes just beyond money for us. We want to make sure that whatever we do is of good quality.”
The singer, who once cried out about the damage being done to the music industry by pirates also noted that the situation had improved.
He added, “Things have changed for the better. It’s not like pirates would not still infringe on copyrights but it is easier to detect now and stop it. That’s unlike in our days when one person could just take a compact disc and duplicate thousands of it. Meanwhile, the company marketing the authentic cds would not be making money.”
Sharing his thoughts on the type of music being churned out by young artistes, Okri said, “We need to understand that there would always be club and dance music. But even then, poetry should be put into consideration.
“People are not stupid. If they dance to a particular song without content because of the beat (melody), after some time, they would get tired of it and need a change. We are in the position of changing that. We don’t want to be radical but systematic about it. All artistes should be able to play at least one instrument or the other.”
NP/Confidence Okwuchi
