While Nigeria and Africa’s contemporary music industry and music is gaining momentum and recognition the world over, there is no denying the adoption of highly sexualized and mysoginistic music style commonly found in the West.
Spinlet, a music streaming company established in Finland in 2006, with offices in San Francisco, California, Lagos, Nigeria and Capetown, South Africa, takes on the aforementioned issue with the launch of a user-defined dedicated family friendly music platform to complement its existing service.
According to Spinlet, the service called Spinlet Inspire will focus on more uplifting music, including inspirational songs, songs with non-explicit lyrics and gospel tracks.
“When you think about the music industry today – in Africa and around the world – it has become highly sexualized and many parents are increasingly concerned about the programming being consumed by young, impressionable children,” said Nkiru Balonwu, CEO of Spinlet.“Of course there is a place for provocative lyrics within the art form. But we recognise that there is a substantial audience out there who do not wish to engage with adult content, be they gospel music fans, children, parents, or even those who are simply searching for more uplifting tracks. They are after a certain type of music and Spinlet Inspire will provide them the desired filter.”
Balonwu further explains, “it is our first expansion into a user-defined platform. This is very exciting because it shows the possibilities of positioning Spinlet as a different service for different audiences. Other recent improvements, such as the launch of our original web series, I Go Blow, are enabling us to develop the Spinlet brand into much more than a traditional track-by-track streaming and download platform. This type of expansion is hugely important for monetizing content in an increasingly digital world.”
Spinlet is ahead of the game as its counterparts such as iTunes and Spotify do not offer such filtering options. The company is also collaborating with leading artists in Africa to produce a music album featuring gospel and inspirational music, billed for release soon.
What are your thoughts? Will Spinlet Inspire will be a hit in Africa?
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
