How Benny Afroe & Singah use playlists to reach fans across continents
Two Afropop artists use cross-continent marketing to expand their audience reach and streams. It’s a smart strategy that more artists need to explore.
by Horus Music
Rising African artists ‘Rockstar’ and ‘Moon Boy’ AKA Benny Afroe and Singah collaborated on recent track ‘You Know’, released at the beginning of July 2022. Seeking out marketing support from Horus Music Nigeria, the Afropop love song secured playlist placement on several editorial playlists across major platforms including Apple Music, Spotify and Boomplay.
South African born musician and fashion icon Benny Afroe signed to Custom Music Tools Nigeria in February 2022, already a frequent collaborator within the industry with artists such as Pabi Cooper, King Monada and Ami Faku. Nigerian native Singah burst onto the scene in 2018 with debut single ‘Teyamo’, securing over 150 million streams across digital platforms. Signing to Custom Music Tools Nigeria in October 2021, Singah received a cash advance from Horus Music propelling his career forward and enabling him to further increase the reach of his music across the globe.
Encouraged and guided by our Horus Music Nigeria team, Benny Afroe and Singah were introduced via our AFTS (Affordable For The Sector) service provided exclusively to African clients. The collaboration enabled the artists to cross market their music brand across Nigeria and South Africa, whilst broadening their reach through each other’s own fan base.
A clever blend of Afrobpop and Afrobeats, ‘You Know’ is a love song lyrically focussed on themes of reassurance within a relationship; “It’s about reassuring your loved one, that you still love and care for them. Trying to make them feel as secure as they did in the beginning” Benny Afroe adds. Appealing to audiences outside of Africa through relatable thematic discussion and catchy vocal motifs, ‘You Know’ infuses traditional Sepedi Music and Afro Beat timbres, interweaved with a modern production to create a fresh take on the highly praised melodies.
Noting the global appeal of the track, Horus Music teams within Nigeria, UK, Brazil and India utilised their contacts to pitch to editorial curators across major DSP’s, landing editorial placement on release day over a host of major playlists on Spotify, Apple Music and Boomplay; including entering the Boomplay charts on ‘Hot Picks of the week By Stake’ and ‘Top Afropop & Afropop Songs’.
Spotify:
- New Music Friday Naija
- New Music Friday South Africa
- New Music Friday Ghana
- Bubblin’
- Traffic Jams Naija
Apple Music:
- Africa Rising
- New in R&B
- Territories: Africa, Middle East, and India
- New Music Daily
- Territories:
- Africa, Middle East, and India
- Latin America and The Caribbean
- Asia Pacific
- Territories:
Boomplay Music:
- Territory – Ghana:
- Territory – Kenya:
- Territory: Nigeria
After only one week of the track being live across stores, the active approach to cross continent marketing saw the track gain over 6,000 streams on Spotify with top listeners in European locations Netherlands, France and Germany. Apple Music saw 2,440 streams appealing to audiences in Africa, the Middle East and India whilst Boomplay came out as a top performer with 12,7000 streams across home turf Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania.
Through the power of collaboration, a longer lead time and an active approach to marketing on a global scale, Singah and Benny Afroe saw major success for ‘You Know’ in several territories that before, may have seemed off-limits to the rising African stars.
Horus Music take an active approach in pushing our artists careers forward, breaking down barriers from independent artists across all territories and actively seeing opportunities for the artists we work with. To see how we can help you, why not get in touch with our team to discuss marketing opportunities for your next release today!Prev
