Celebrated South African singer, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, says the cost of internet data is a major challenge to digital streaming in Africa.
According to the ‘Princess of Africa’, data is expensive in this part of the world.
“Everything is going streaming but we need to have data. Data becomes very expensive. People do have phones but some people don’t have smartphones.”
The ‘Burning Up’ hitmaker noted that strides by musicians to maximize opportunities available on digital streaming platforms have been hindered by high internet data charges.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka indicated that the progress of the African music industry has been slow because compact disc (CDs) are no longer selling coupled with huge expenses for music streaming.
“CDs are not selling, tapes are no longer there. Everything has gone digital…so we need to allow the transition to come. Record companies are not transitioning as quickly as possible,” she said.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka made these comments on the sidelines of the AFRIMA Music Business Summit in Accra held last week.
The Business Summit forms part of activities for this year’s All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) which was hosted by Ghana.
Other guests who graced the summit include Kenny Ogungbe of Kennis Music, Rab Bakari, an international artiste agent, MUSIGA President Obour, and a host of academics in the business arena.
2018 AFRIMA was climaxed with an awards show on Saturday, November 24, at the Accra International Conference Center.
