Broadcasting
COLORSxSTUDIOS Partners with Spotify to Bring Ayra Starr’s Electrifying Performance to the Masses
COLORSxSTUDIOS and Spotify have announced an exciting new partnership that will showcase selected African artists. The artists will also be featured on the COLORSxSTUDIOS website for fans to learn about their stories and the inspiration that guides their music.
Known for its videos of rising stars performing their breakout tracks against a striking, monochromatic backdrop, COLORSxSTUDIOS is teaming up with Spotify to amplify selected up-and-coming Nigerian artists from their RADAR Africa playlist.
Spotify’s RADAR Africa programme aims to support emerging artists and put them on the map by presenting them to new audiences. A product of the programme, the RADAR Africa playlist is the number one spot for Spotify listeners to discover their new favourite tracks from the continent.
Recently, Nigeria’s musical talent has been receiving worldwide recognition and the first performer featured for the Spotify COLORS collaboration, Ayra Starr, is no exception. The Lagosian artist has quickly become one of the most exciting voices to come out of Africa’s most populous city. After sharing her eponymous debut EP in 2021 featuring standout singles such as ‘Away’ and ‘Sare’, she went on to cement her promising status by releasing her debut full-length album ‘19 & Dangerous’ later that year. Over the course of the eleven-track project, which includes contributions from the likes of Foushée and CKay, Ayra Starr showcases her musical prowess with punchy, vivid tracks like ‘Fashion Killer’ and ‘Bloody Samaritan’.
“It’s such an honor to be heard on COLORS and to be a Spotify RADAR artist all at once. I have watched so many COLORS videos over the years and always imagined what mine would look like, and I can certainly say I am proud of it!” says Ayra Starr.
“The song ‘Ase’ is very dear to my heart and I am so excited to share it with the world. I hope it empowers people the way it empowers me,” she adds.
With more than 1.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Ayra Starr is a force to be reckoned with. For her COLORS debut, she sets the stage alight with her brand new single ‘ASE’. Serving as another slice of the artist’s signature Afrosoul sound, the track showcases her infectious vocals and confident, empowering lyrics against a bouncy soundscape.
“The marriage between COLORS and Spotify is the perfect way to showcase the talent of artists featured on RADAR Africa,” says Lead Music Strategy and Operations for Spotify Africa, Melanie Triegaardt.
“This partnership represents our commitment to driving artist discoverability on the Spotify platform and helping them reach audiences beyond their home markets,” she adds, highlighting the importance of the collaboration for encouraging the growth of African artists.
“We are excited to get behind Ayra Starr as one of Africa’s fastest rising exports and we can’t wait to see what more this partnership will bring.”
Through collaborations with key music platforms like COLORS, that are dedicated to providing stages for non-ordinary expression, and through proprietary platforming efforts like RADAR Africa, Spotify remains committed to deepening the connection between fans and artists while providing support to African musicians destined for worldwide fame.
Fans should be sure to watch this space, as the collaboration still has much more to come. To check out Ayra Starr’s COLORS performance and discover more, music lovers can visit https://colors.lnk.to/ayracxs.
Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) has established six committees to help strengthen and modernize the country’s broadcasting industry.
The committees will focus on content creation, skills development, digital transformation, sustainability, policy and commercial opportunities
The initiative aims to support industry growth and improve collaboration between broadcasters, regulators and media experts
The official launch recently, was led by Tony Akiotu, president, BON and attended by media professionals, program directors, former journalists and heads of specialized media organizations.
The event brought together several prominent figures in Nigeria’s media industry, including veteran broadcaster and trainer Bimbo Oloyede, Tony Uyah of M4S TV, Kingsley Uranta of Channels Television, Ismael Sani of Platinum TV and Ibrahim Shehu of Trust TV.
Together, they are expected to help drive innovation and support the growth of Nigeria’s broadcasting sector.
According to Akiotu, the committees are intended both to help shape industry policy and to provide a forum for dialogue between BON and broadcasting experts.
Akiotu said the ad hoc committees were intended to strengthen BON’s work and ensure that the umbrella body for Nigeria’s broadcasters played a more direct and meaningful role in developing the country’s broadcasting sector.
The six committees reflect the sector’s main priorities. The first focuses on collaboration and innovation to promote content creation.
The second is dedicated to training and talent development, while the third focuses on industry sustainability by improving the sector’s long-term financial viability.
A fourth committee will focus on digital transformation and work with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on regulatory issues.
The remaining two committees will oversee public policy advocacy and the development of sports and commercial rights to help broadcasters increase revenue and attract more investment. Together, the committees are expected to guide BON’s efforts to modernize and strengthen Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.
The committees, chaired by members of BON’s General Assembly and supported by the organization’s Secretariat, have an initial 12-month mandate that may be renewed if necessary.
They are required to submit a progress report within three months and implement approved recommendations within the following six months.
The arrangement is intended to ensure close oversight and the timely implementation of their work.
Akiotu also reminded committee members that Nigeria pioneered television broadcasting in Africa and urged them to carry out their work with greater effectiveness and efficiency.
Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it is investigating about 34 tertiary institutions over allegations that they failed to refund students whose tuition fees were paid twice under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this during an interview on Arise Television.
Sawyerr said the agency had deployed a five-member investigative team, including operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and internal auditors, to examine the allegations.
According to him, the investigation was prompted by numerous complaints received from affected students.
“As of right now, there are 34 institutions that we are looking at closely with respect to this issue,” he said.
Sawyerr explained that the double payment issue arose because President Bola Tinubu directed that the student loan scheme commence in the middle of an academic session instead of at the beginning.
He said the decision compelled many students to pay their tuition fees to meet registration deadlines while awaiting approval of their loan applications.
“What happened is that a lot of schools got double payment; some from the students and some from us,” he said.
“The refund process is entirely out of our hands. It is the recipient of the double payments that is obliged to make refunds to the students.”
The NELFUND boss noted that many students had borrowed money from family members, friends and other sources to pay their tuition with the expectation of receiving refunds once the loans were disbursed.
He said while some institutions had promptly refunded affected students, others had failed to do so.
“Some have been very good at this. Others haven’t been so good at it,” Sawyerr said.
“I reserve judgement on the intentionality around it because, for some of them, they just didn’t have the process to make refunds.”
Sawyerr disclosed that NELFUND was exploring a tokenised payment system that would enable students to authorise tuition payments directly to their institutions, thereby reducing the likelihood of duplicate payments.
He said the agency deliberately chose not to disburse tuition loans directly to students to minimise the risk of fund diversion.
“Paying the funds to the students could really lead to the temptation for them to divert and do other things,” he said.
The managing director, however, acknowledged that NELFUND lacked the statutory powers to compel institutions to refund students or prosecute officials found culpable.
He added that many frustrated students had submitted complaints not only to NELFUND but also to anti-corruption agencies, including the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Sawyerr also expressed concern over increases in tuition fees by some institutions following the introduction of the student loan scheme.
He said NELFUND had declined to pay institutions that increased their tuition fees beyond acceptable levels.
“Some schools, because they get paid easily, started to put up their fees. We refused, point blank, to pay institutions who had hiked their fees beyond a certain level,” he said.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to investigating every reported irregularity and strengthening the implementation of the student loan programme through continuous monitoring and internal reviews.
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