Musicians from the Matabeleland region have welcomed an initiative by NdebelesConnect, to curate music from the region on popular music streaming platform, Spotify.
Spotify is a digital music streaming service that gives you access to millions of songs, podcasts and videos from artists all over the world, like Apple Music.
The streaming service is now available in Zimbabwe and music lovers can stream and listen to their favourite musicians.
The founder of the initiative, Evans Khumalo said musicians from Matabeleland have been working hard over the years and this platform will enable them to showcase their talent.
“Matabeleland artists have been working incredibly hard for years and most not getting credit or respect they deserve. NdebelesConnect is a platform where artists can showcase their talent and having a playlist will make it easier for the listeners to find good music coming from Matabeleland,” Khumalo said.
“The artists were very supportive of the idea as it unites everyone to pull towards the same direction. This initiative can grow the artist’s fan base not only locally but internationally. Matabeleland has one of the best talents in the country and it’s just a matter of time until the world tunes in as long as we keep coming with different ideas to market their music and work together.”
Some of the artists whose songs have been uploaded include Jeys Marabini, Msheznana, Berita, the late Cal_Vin, Fish Ndaramu, Msiz’kay, Sikhosana among others.
In an interview with CITE, Msiz’kay said the initiative was a step in the right direction in terms of creating a larger platform for marketing their content.
“This is such an amazing development. You may find that there are more people out there who are fans of our music but do not know how to access it. At least through such platforms they can be able to do a follow up on the artists individual accounts and get more music,” Msiz’kay said.
Madlela Skhobokhobo said he was not aware of the initiative but however described it as a positive development.
“I don’t know much about these online initiatives but anything that wants to uplift Matabeleland Music is always welcome. With this initiative, we can only hope that music from this region will have a bigger audience. As artists we really have to accept initiatives that will push our work forward,” he said.
