YouTube Reaffirms Commitment To African Creators, Music Industry

In honour of Africa Month, streaming giant YouTube renewed its commitment to African producers and the music industry on Monday with a series of events that will run throughout May.

Managing Director, Emerging Markets for YouTube in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Alex Okosi said in a statement in Lagos that the events were intended to reaffirm YouTube’s commitment to growing Africa’s creator ecosystem.

Okosi said that it was also to spotlight and celebrate the artists and creators driving the growth of Afrobeats and Africa’s music industry.

He said that Content creators in Africa would receive support from YouTube through virtual and in-person training and workshops to help them grow their channels and improve their skills.

According to him, these include a Creator 360 virtual workshop, which will allow African content creators to collaborate and share skills, and in-person Creator Day workshops.

‘’It will be led by industry experts and help aspiring creators learn the skills they need to continue thriving on YouTube.

‘’YouTube will also offer workshops under its Future Insiders Programme to empower budding producers and songwriters with hands-on training taught by seasoned producers such as Sarz and Musa Keys.

‘’We are incredibly proud at YouTube to provide a platform that shares Africa’s creativity with the rest of the world from music, fashion, and beauty to the latest trending movements.

‘’YouTube plays an important role in the emergence and expression of Africa’s unique cultural stories to local and global audiences.

”By commemorating Africa Month through these impactful initiatives, we continue to spotlight, and elevate the work of creators and artists who are at the forefront of the continent’s creative explosion”, Okosi said.

According to him, the YouTube Africa Day Concert, in partnership with Idris Elba, will return for the third year in a row as part of the Africa Month line-up.

Okosi said that the concert would include an in-person event in Nigeria that would be live-streamed on YouTube, featuring some of the continent’s hottest artists.

The concert will once again commemorate Africa Day by using music as a platform to showcase African culture.

He said that YouTube’s longstanding commitment to the creator industry in Africa was evident in initiatives such as the #YouTubeBlackVoices Funds and the YouTube Shorts Fund, a $100 million fund designed to reward creators who make creative and unique Shorts for their contributions.

Okosi said that earlier in the year, 26 creators from Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa were among 135 creators from around the world who participated in the 2022 edition of the #YouTubeBlack voices creator class.

The managing director said that creators received seed funding alongside dedicated support to help them develop their channels and thrived on the YouTube platform.

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According to him, recently, the YouTube NextUp programme, which focuses on providing access to learning through one-on-one coaching, workshops, and resources was launched to amplify the growth of many successful creators across the region.

He said that YouTube continued to provide a platform for African creators who were dedicated to building audiences across the globe, while also building a business and generating revenue.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that YouTube launched in May 2005, is the world’s most popular online video community allowing billions of people to discover, watch and share videos.