Broadcasting
Gen Zs shaping musical preferences and growing artists’ fandom across Sub Saharan Africa
This past year has seen many artists drop countless brilliant songs which have been streamed numerous times on Spotify, particularly by Gen Zs, who are the most tech savvy generation currently alive. While a lot can be said about this generation, aged between 11 and 26 years, what we can all agree on is their influence on popular culture, music being no exception.
And while listening behaviours differ from one person to another, an exercise in which artists and tracks unite Gen Z across Sub Saharan Africa is perhaps one step closer to understanding what makes the Africasn Gen Zs move and groove, as seen in this year’s Spotify Wrapped.
Which artists came out on top?
Canadian rapper Drake takes up the number one spot in 2023, in part thanks to his collaborative album with 21 Savage on Her Loss which dropped late 2022, as well as the release of his highly anticipated album For All the Dogs in October.
Afrobeats continues to be a very popular genre amongst Gen Z’s as Nigerian Afrobeats artists such as Burna Boy, Asake, Davido, Rema and Omah Lay find themselves on the top ten list thanks to their consistent contributions throughout the year. Burna Boy, Asake and Davido all dropped new albums this year while Rema and Omah Lay released deluxe versions of their previous albums.
However, it was not only Afrobeats musicians who Gen Z gravitated towards this year, Drake’s Canadian counterpart The Weeknd was also streamed numerous times by Gen Z’s this past year which can be credited to the release of the deluxe version of his 2016 album Starboy. American Hip hop artist Travis Scott dropped his highly anticipated album Utopia which fans had been anticipating for 5 years, so naturally he too is in the top ten most streamed artists by Gen Zs in SSA.
Despite not releasing solo projects throughout the year, 21 Savage and Future are also on the list of most streamed artists by Gen Z’s across Sub-Saharan Africa, showing the generation’s affinity for international rap music.
Which were the grooviest songs of the year?
If the top songs streamed by Gen Z tell us anything, it is that they were in the mood to dance the whole year. Nine out of the top 10 songs are African and are either rooted in Afrobeats or Amapiano, with a couple of songs fusing both genres.
Despite being the only Hip hop song in the top 10, Sprinter by British artists Dave and Central Cee is in second place in a dance-genre-dominated list, which is no surprise as the song received global love from Gen Z, who enjoyed the banger made by two of England’s most popular stars.
Nigeria dominates this list too, with Ruger’s Asiwaju coming at the top, and also making an appearance is Asake’s Lonely At The Top, the artist’s testimonial on the life of fame. Off his highly anticipated album Timeless, Davido has two songs that the Gen Z’s cannot get enough of, FEEL and UNAVAILABLE featuring Musa Keys, both in the top ten.
Mnike, the Amapiano song that took social media by storm is the only South African song in the top ten, showing that there is something to be said on the power of virality. Meanwhile, Ayra Starr’s Rush is the only track by a female artist that’s in the top ten.
What does this tell us about Gen Z’s?
Gen Z’s are known for being hip and full of “vibes”, so it is no surprise that most of the artists and songs that they are streaming are mostly rooted in dance genres such as Afrobeats and Amapiano. Mnike, one of the biggest Amapiano songs to come out of South Africa this year, birthed several dance challenges on social media which had a huge role to play in the success of the song.
What makes these songs unite Gen Z’s is their ability to not only bring out the urge to dance, but also their spiritual and love undertones. Songs like Asiwaju and Sprinter are two completely different songs, but their subtle and less subtle braggadocious nature help represent a whole generation which has often been thought of as being too expressive, while Rush by Ayra Starr taps into Gen Z’s desire to grind and pursue success without the negative energy.
Gen Z’s value authenticity and self-expression, and all these ten songs capture these values either through the use of African music to tell authentic stories of love, success, and pain, or through Sprinter’s employment of UK rap which Gen Z’s have grown to love and appreciate over the past few years.
Spotify 2023 Wrapped data show that Afrobeats is not only the biggest genre across Sub-Saharan Africa, it also unites different generations in a region that thrives off authentic, self-expression music that captures their love for dance and a sense of freedom.
Broadcasting
Echefu Launches LUFT TV, another Pay TV after Failed TSTV Project
Bright Echefu, founder of Telecom Satellites Limited (TSTV), has announced the launch of LUFT TV, a new pay TV service, years after his initial venture, TSTV, left many subscribers in limbo.
Echefu stated during the unveiling in Abuja that the new pay TV will accommodate customers’ needs and guarantee to offer the best entertainment in Nigeria and throughout Africa.
He said its satellites are already present throughout West Africa, suggesting that LUTF TV is accessible to West Africans.
Echefu, on the other hand, spoke about TSTV, which has been off the radar since 2020, and said it is not dead.
He alluded to the impending onboarding of TSTV customers to LUFT TV.
“Some time ago, we had TSTV. TSTV will be returning. It’s not dead, no. I just want to announce that TSTV is not dead. And, very soon, TSTV subscribers will be able to access LUTF TV. So we haven’t lost anything,” he explained.
He promised that the new Pay TV is dedicated to promoting local values and content while telling Nigeria’s tales, from gripping dramas and memorable music to exhilarating sporting events, among other things.
He claims that LUTF Pay TV is a movement that aims to unite people, inspire them, amuse them, and provide TV that speaks to their individuality rather than just a service.
Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule, governor of Nasarawa State, praised Echefu as “a focused individual with a great mind” during his remarks at the event.
He said his knowledge of Pay TV was comparable to that of Globacom and MTN in Nigeria.
Many Nigerians were encouraged by TSTV’s alluring offers when it joined the market on October 1, 2017, according to thenews-chronicle.com.
It was hailed as the nation’s first and only entirely Indigenous pay-TV provider. It was claimed that its choice to debut on the nation’s Independence Day was a proclamation of “freedom” in the pay-TV sector. However, following the launch, the company vanished.
On October 1, 2020, it returned to provide Nigerians with the greatest Pay-TV experience. Nevertheless, users who purchased the company’s decoders constantly complained about its sporadic service.
With no explanation to customers other than sporadic apologies for “technical glitches” during its active days, TSTV fully vanished from the public eye again in March last year and has stayed silent ever since.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a fraud complaint against TSTV, which is presently worth N380 million.
The EFCC is pursuing a civil loan case against Mr. Tanimu, MD of Kalsiyam Global and a former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, according to Echefu, who refutes the accusation.
Broadcasting
Why your business needs unified data analytics for growth and success
By Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria
Most business leaders will agree that data analytics is a strategic necessity today. Without access to comprehensive data and effective ways to interpret it, organisational decision-makers may find themselves relying solely on intuition while navigating unfamiliar roads in the dark. Gut-based decisions can occasionally lead to success, however, those wins are often more coincidental than a reflection of true strategic insight.
More than 90% of the businesses derive benefits from data analytics strategies
A robust data analytics solution enables businesses to transform raw data into organised, actionable insights across numerous functions. They can span CX—helping personalise interactions based on an analysis of individual preferences and behaviours, growth strategies—allowing teams to identify distinct customer segments basis emerging deal patterns, post-sales support—enabling quick response times by analysing ticket allocation systems and discerning gaps, and so on. It’s no surprise, then, that nearly 92% of organisations reported measurable value from their data and analytics investments in 2023.
Unfortunately, many organisations fail to derive full value from their data analytics strategies. One of the reasons for that is analytics systems not having a full view of what’s happening across the company owing to data silos.
Information silos can affect the quality of data insights
There are numerous reasons why an organisation can end up with fragmented or siloed data, but a key factor is the existence of different tech platforms across various departments. Use of disparate tools for different functions can lead to decentralised management of data. For instance, while the sales team might know how many units of a product a customer has purchased, they may have no visibility into how quickly the customer pays their invoices or how many interactions they’ve had with marketing and communication collateral before making a purchase.
There are other data issues that businesses face too. Among them is poor data quality. This can be caused by manual data collection practices that often yield inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and redundancies. Poor data quality forces businesses to spend a lot of time and resources on cleaning up, which further prolongs the analysis process. The best approach to solve these issues is to digitalise and unify data sources with the right tech platform that interconnects all departments.
The right software matters
Fortunately, with the right software, achieving a unified view of data becomes much simpler. Effective data analytics software will bring disparate data points together and make analysis easier. To do this effectively, the software should provide native integrations with a diverse array of data sources, including local files, feeds, databases, and business applications.
Beyond that kind of integration and unified view, what should organisations look for in business analytics software?
First, it should be accessible to all users—whether they are business users, data analysts, data engineers, or BI specialists—ensuring ease of use and value for everyone. The software should also offer pipeline builders, be compatible with other forms of software, support streaming analytics, deliver real-time insights, and provide unified metrics.
In addition,the software must evolve with a business’ changing data analytics needs. This means supporting features like generative AI analytics, predictive AI, and machine learning capabilities. The ability to trigger actions based on alerts and pipelines, connect to niche business apps, and integrate multiple BI and data analytics tools will further enhance its benefits.
Ultimately, the software should demonstrate clear value by reducing manual effort and streamlining processes, handling large datasets efficiently, and delivering cost and time savings.
The data’s there; now bring it together
Given the clear benefits that good data analytics software offers businesses, embracing it should be a no-brainer. Most organisations already sit on a treasure trove of data; it’s simply not being put to effective use. A unified data analytics software can change that by bringing together disparate data points and providing a consolidated view with actionable insights. Implemented correctly, those insights can supercharge a business’s growth trajectory.
Broadcasting
King Shipping Felicitates with Aluo, NNL Chairman as He Bags Sports Administrator of the Year Award
A leading shipping company in the country, King Shipping Trading Maritime Services Limited has congratulated the Mr. George Aluo, chairman of Nigerian National League ( NNL), on his nomination for the Sports Administrator of the Year Award by the Imo State Chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ( SWAN).
In a congratulatory message he personally signed, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the company, Bob Chukwuma Hyacinth, the company described Aluo as a Sports administrator per excellence whose nomination for the award did not come as a surprise to anyone. ”
The award to Mr. George Aluo, is well deserved and did not come to us as a surprise considering the various transformation he has brought to the country’s second tier League within a short period of time of being n charge of the league. ”
As he receives this award, we urge him not to relent in his efforts at making the NNL a household league in the country but to see it as a call to more meritorious service to the country”, concludes the statement by the company whose operations covers Ship Chandelling, Ship handling and repairs, supply of Diesel, commodities , beverages , shipping logistics, clearing and forwarding. Meanwhile, the company has also congratulated the wife of the Managing Director Mrs.Loretta Bob-Chukwuma on her birthday.
In a congratulatory message, the CEO described her as his pillar of success and prayed that God Almighty will continue to clothe her with garment of blessing, and good health ” I also want to use this occasion to congratulate my wife who is a year older today.
She has been the pillar of my success and I pray that the Almighty God will continue to bless her, clothe her with garment of blessings and good health as well as give her long life and prosperity to celebrate many more years in good health.”
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