Mpasho’s Dennis Milimo recently caught up with Spotify’s Head of Music- Sub Saharan Africa, u at their Wrapped Party at Baobox where she prefaced by expressing her excitement in being back in Kenya.
Phiona mentioned that her favourite thing in Nairobi is the people who she described as being open, generous, giving, inviting and also pointed out the dynamic nature of the city’s culture.
She also spoke of the excitement surrounding the new possibilities around the Kenyan music scene.
On being asked how this season spoke to her on a personal basis, she stated that it had mostly to do with the amazing growth of Kenyan artists.
“For me it has just been an amazing time to witness the growth of Kenyan artists, especially artists who are, and I’ll be a little bit biased here, but like in the RnB music scene. For Kenya, I’m excited to see what that is mushrooming to become…”
Kenyan artists that made it to her top 5 this year include notable names like Xeniah Manasseh , Karun, Nikita Kering, Bien and Joshua Baraka(Uganda).
“I think that one of the key things that we at Spotify do is that we are very passionate about emerging talent, emerging scenes, emerging artists. We are very excited to see what we can do with the Gengetone scene, the Arbantone scene and with specific artists. We have different programs that support these things such as Fresh Finds and Radar…” she said concerning the plans the music streaming platform had for artists in the year 2025.
She also stressed on the importance of keeping close with the communities and perfecting the existing partnerships, be it with the artists or different brands such as Blankets & Wine, who they have worked with in the past, to develop the music industry.
She also urged fans and consumers of Spotify to remember the role the streaming giant has played in the journey of their favourite artists through supporting them from the very beginning to them becoming global stars.
She finished by giving an example of the amazing projects they have managed to accomplish like ‘Colors’ which serves to spotlight emerging acts.
Phiona acknowledged that the industry was on an upward growth trajectory and urged fans to support their artists and to stream them as much as they could as that it is how music grows.
“Choose us!” she enthusiastically told fans.
by Fiona Njeri