MUSICIANS EMBRACE RAYO BEATS’ INITIATIVE

Winnie Nkonde

TWO music producers, Michael Mupotaringa and Raymond Sibanda, better known as Rayo Beats, are creative geniuses of repute.

The pair recently launched a streaming platform called Audiocus, and are testing subscription plans for the site so that artists are paid for their work.

The streaming site, which was launched in October 2022, already has 13 800 artists. It allows artists to sign up, stream and upload their music on their own just like on other streaming platforms.

Mupotaringa confirmed that the platform seeks to give independent artists from Zimbabwe a chance to be prioritised and ranked on the front page unlike other major streaming platforms which prioritise US-based artists.

“We always wanted to have a platform where independent artists from Zimbabwe can be prioritised and ranked on the front page.

“If you go to Spotify or iTunes, for the first time, you will likely see that they prioritise of US artists like Beyoncé, Rihanna and Jay Z on the home page.

“Discovery of Zimbabwean artists will require you to use the search bar,” said Mupotaringa.

The introduction of subscription plans, on the Audiocus site, will see many artists being paid for their work.

This will come as a relief to most artists, as most radio and television stations in Zimbabwe are failing to pay musicians royalties, leaving many to depend on live shows for income or in just quitting.

Since the launch of the platform, it has received positive reception from many people in the music industry as shown by the social media buzz with many rising stars like Dialektric Blue, Jungle loco, Scrip Mula and Lincoln Ngorima joining the streaming site.

“The reception has largely been positive for new artists.

“However, among veteran artists, the reception is mixed. There are some who still need convincing to get on board and there are some among the veterans who contacted us to exclusively drop their albums,” added Mupotaringa.

The subscription plan will involve music lovers signing up to listen to artists without any interruptions, among other perks.

Artists will get paid from the revenue generated by subscriptions and placement plans by corporations using a pro-rata system.

“We are blocking the entire first quarter to work on the codes that will enable subscriptions to work fairly.

“We will announce soon when our beta testing is done. Hopefully it will be ready within the first three months of 2023,” said Mupotaringa.

Award-winning Masvingo – red rapper, Jungle Loco’s album Gwala mnandi has more than 7 000 streams on the Audiocus platform.

“That really sparks a great feeling knowing that at least we have our own streaming platform. It is now easier for Zimbabwean artists.

“I am very happy for the Audiocus team and I also pray some big artists in Zimbabwe will join,” said Jungle Loco.