A group of music enthusiasts and software developers trading under the name Ghetto Tunes have established a website whose aim is to create a platform for local artists to showcase their music.
In an interview on Wednesday, one of the officials of Ghetto Tunes Joseph Lupiya said the idea to develop the website came after noticing that local up-and-coming artists face many challenges in promoting their music and make it accessible to their fans.
He said: “When a new artist wants to do music, they have to pay for everything from studio fees to other expenses including promotion. We thought the website, which is free of charge, would help the artists especially those who want exposure at no fees at all.”
Lupiya said apart from getting exposure, the artists get some revenue depending on how their platform is visited and how many downloads they get.
In a separate interview, one of the soft wafe developers of Ghetto Tunes website, Jones Sochera said the platform is basically a music distribution space which helps music lovers to discover hidden talent in Malawi.
“Each artist has a station where all their songs are available. The platform is user-friendly and music lovers can access songs by their favourite artist at the same time with no problems,” he said.
Sochera said people can also access old songs at the website.
“It is not just about the new songs by up-and-coming artists, but also for established artists,” he said, adding that artists such as Piksy and Sir Patricks also have stations on the platform.
Sochera disclosed that plans are underway to establish a system that will see music lovers pay a subscription fee to access the music on the platform.
“Part of that subscription fee will go towards the artists who will benefit much more from their talent and hard work,” he said.
Currently, over 1 000 local artists have stations on the platform with a few South African and Nigerian artists joining the community.
The website is ghettotunes.com.
