Broadcasting
Stakeholders call for Digitisation of African Music @ AFRIMA
Discussants at the All Africa Music Award (AFRIMA) 2017, yesterday unanimously called for digitisation of music produced in the African continent, to ensure global competitiveness.
The discussants, who made the call at the Music Business Roundtable of the 2017 AFRIMA in Lagos, said that Africa should not be tardy with digitisation of its music brands.
The event had as its theme: “Digital Takeover: Shaping the Future of African Music, Money, and Media.
AFRIMA is a world-class event that holds annually with live performances by celebrity artistes and televised broadcast to 84 countries around the world.
Some of the panelists include General Manager , Sony Music (West Africa), Michael Ugwu; the Chief Executive Officer, (CEO), Lead Consultant, Kelvin Orifa and Rikki Stein, CEO, Kalakuta Sunrise Ltd.
Others include, Sam Onyemelukwe, Managing Director, Trace T.V, and Angela Martins, Head of Culture Division, Department of Social Affairs, African Union.
Ugwu said that embracing digitisation would not only boost the revenue from the entertainment industry, but also put it on the global map.
“We need to get it right that digitisation will help a lot in our projection to the global market; the more we participate the more our music travels.
“It has a lot of impact aside of the monetary values. Many of the artistes are terrified of live streaming of their music asking what they would gain from it since it’s been streamed live.
“There are lots of gains in it; there are lots of negotiations going on about the benefits of live streaming though i also have a bad experience with one of my clients.
“Sometimes live streaming allows for the global views of music because it travels faster than putting on a site for people to download, which may consume more data,’’ he said.
Speaking in the same vein, Kelvin Orifa, Chief Executive Officer, (CEO), Lead Consultant, said that there were lots of opportunity in the marketing of music.
According to him, the only thing left for the artistes is to provide the right content.
“I had to resign my job at one of the leading communication companies to pursue a career in marketing of music which i found rewarding.
“I think with the right content, music from Africa is on the right path, we now have more demands for African music and more collaboration with African Musicians.
“We still need more content to be out there and compete well in the global circuit. My companies now have been able to gather experience in interacting with other segment in the market.
“We should take knowledge of the market seriously and add it to capacity building of our musicians,’’ he said.
Orifa said that marketing music need a lot of projection as to when to expect yields from the music and also the benefits the content providers would derive from their intellectual property.
“Music marketers must take a short term and long term view of their production. It is by finding the environment where the music will sell and be appreciated.
“A lot of music companies have been in existence for many years but not persistent, here we are today; about 15 years ago the world bloggers didn’t exist.
“The industry like other industry are brands and products, they existed years ago but now going into extinction. We need to have projection because of the dynamics of digitisation.
“A very strong brand will have a history, a story line of where it’s coming from. So, projection is the key to the digitisation,’’ he said.
Also, Onyemelukwe of Trace Music, said that artistes need to be patient with their music before thinking they are on the world map..
“Digitisation is a boom; we need to do more of live streaming for the world to see. Many people around the world now want to listen to African tunes online.
“Although the bandwidth in Africa as regards to live streaming is still low, we need something above the present 4G network that we are using, we need 5G.
“Digitisation of our music makes it travel faster and make it known to the world. We may say that it is not very profitable, but it takes artists to places where they can never imagine,’’ he said.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have jointly sued the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over what they described as an “arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful” threat to sanction broadcast stations and presenters.
The development was disclosed in a Sunday statement signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director, and Onuoha Ukeh, general secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
According to the statement, SERAP and NGE challenged a recent directive by NBC, warning presenters and journalists against “expressing personal opinions as facts,” “bullying or intimidating guests,” and failing to maintain neutrality.
The statement reads, “SERAP and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have filed a lawsuit against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful ‘Formal Notice’, which threatens to sanction broadcast stations and presenters for allegedly ‘expressing personal opinions as facts, bullying or intimidating guests, or failing to maintain neutrality.’
“The NBC had recently threatened to sanction broadcast stations and presenters who ‘express personal opinions as facts’ or ‘bully and intimidate guests,’ claiming it had ‘identified a sustained increase in breaches of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code across news, current affairs, and political programmes.’”
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/854/2026 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos State, SERAP and NGE asked the court to determine whether the various provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code relied upon by the NBC in the directive are inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international human rights obligations.
According to the statement, the groups disclosed that Femi Falana (SAN), human rights lawyer, would lead a team of senior lawyers to represent SERAP and NGE in the lawsuit.
SERAP and NGE asked the court to declare that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and constitute a fundamental breach of press freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.
The statement added, “SERAP and NGE are asking the court for a declaration that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and overly broad and constitute a fundamental breach of freedom of expression and media freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.”
The groups also sought an interim injunction to restrain the NBC, its agents and other authorities from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on what they described as “unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code”, pending the hearing and determination of the motion.
“SERAP and NGE are also seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the NBC, its agents or privies, whether jointly or severally or any other authority, from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on the patently unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed simultaneously in this suit,” the statement concluded.
Globacom continues to celebrate African creativity as its sponsored programme African Voices on CNN International features London based photographer and multidisciplinary artist Ejatu Shaw this week. The episode highlights her journey, her art, and the stories behind her work.
Ejatu Shaw’s journey into photography began in 2013 during a family trip to Sierra Leone, a moment that sparked a passion which has since shaped her creative path. Born in 1996, the British Sierra Leonean artist later went on to earn a master’s degree in photography arts from the University of Westminster in 2020.
Her work explores identity in a personal and expressive way, drawing from her Islamic faith and African heritage. She is inspired by classic African studio photographers such as Malick Sidibé, Sory Sanlé, and Omar Yahia Barram. Through self-portraits and visual storytelling, she brings her memories and experiences to life.
Shaw’s talent continues to gain global recognition. In 2025, the British Fashion Council named her a New Wave Creative.
She has also photographed top names including Angela Bassett, Cynthia Erivo, and Usain Bolt, and worked on projects for major platforms like EBONY, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, and Vogue. She also designed the album cover for Craig David.
The programme will air on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. On Sunday, it will show at 3:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., with repeats on Monday at 3:00 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.
QEDNG Creative Powerhouse Summit will hold its second edition on August 11 in Lagos, bringing together leaders across the creative, business and policy spaces.
Convened by Mighty Media Plus, publishers of online newspaper QEDNG, the summit brings together conversations at the intersection of creativity, enterprise and influence, with a focus on strengthening Nigeria’s creative economy.
Reflecting on the inaugural edition, Iyanda said the summit drew participation from respected figures across sectors, including group managing director of SO&U Udeme Ufot as chairman and founder of The Africa Soft Power Group Dr Nkiru Balonwu as keynote speaker, alongside panellists such as filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) founder Mike Dada and executive director of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) Dr Shaibu Husseini who contributed to discussions on the direction of the creative economy.
“The first edition showed that there is a strong interest in serious engagement around the creative economy. We had contributions from experienced voices who helped set the tone for the kind of platform we are building,” Iyanda said.
Building on the success of its inaugural edition, the summit continues to expand its scope, attracting a diverse mix of industry leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers and emerging talents.
“This summit is designed as a meeting point for ideas, influence and execution. It is not just about conversations, but about outcomes that strengthen the creative economy,” Iyanda added.
He noted that the timing of the summit is significant as the country’s creative sector continues to evolve.
“Nigeria’s creative sector has grown in visibility, but the structures that support it are still evolving. The QEDNG Creative Powerhouse Summit is part of the effort to bring clarity, direction and serious engagement to that growth,” he said.
The 2026 edition will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions and curated sessions addressing themes around innovation, growth, funding and the global positioning of Nigerian creative talent.
According to Iyanda, the long-term goal is to build a platform that remains relevant across generations.
“Our goal is to build a platform that remains useful over time, one that documents progress, connects stakeholders and contributes meaningfully to policy and practice,” he said.
Further details on speakers, partners and the full programme will be announced in the coming weeks.
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