The news
Youtube Music – a music streaming service developed by YouTube yesterday unveiled 30 artists for its Foundry Class of 2022.
The Foundry Class
The Foundry Class which is a global artist program was first launched in 2015 as a workshop and in 2017, as an incubator program to support independent artists with the objective to help musicians build long-term careers as the next generation of global music stars with support from platforms like YouTube.
Since its launch in 2015 and incubation period of 2017, the program has provided assistance for over 250 emerging artists from more than 15 countries, including Africa.
According to Naomi Zeichner, YouTube artist partnerships lead, “It’s no small task to be an artist in 2022, working to find stability, fulfillment, and fans who get it. Foundry celebrates the courage of independent artists and the communities that surround them. Our global team is lucky to be their champion and reduce barriers on their journey, every step of the way.”
Artists who are selected for the program are provided with assistance from a YouTube partner manager, an undisclosed seed fund, marketing and promotion and access to new product features. The provisions of the aforementioned would help artists launch their music careers with greater impact, suitable for a global reach and market.
African Artists in The Class
The African continent became a part of the foundry class alumni following the introduction of Marvins signed artists Rema, Tems and Bella Shmurda.
“We believe that lowering the barrier to entry that unlocks opportunities for music artists to create and connect with a global audience is crucial. But beyond that, Foundry will assist the music artists participants in navigating a new increasingly digital industry as they connect with fans and generate revenue,” Addy Awofisayo, Head of Music Subsaharan Africa YouTube music.
The foundry class of 2022 houses artists of diverse genres and stages representing 15 countries from 30 countries including African acts, Black Sherif from Ghana and Joeboy from Nigeria.
According to Joeboy, being an independent artist simply requires him to be at the center of all of his dealings as a creative person. Aside from creating the music, he has to carry out due diligence to make sure he is making the right decisions now and then.
Black Sherif said, “Success as an independent artist is connecting with one more person on any level through my music. Once that is constantly achieved, in my opinion, everything else will follow. Being a Foundry artist for me means a strong global platform with support to visually take my expression to the next level and reach more people in the process.”
The entrance into the class would provide both artists opportunities to a strong global platform which currently has its weight behind music streaming which in the last decade has been multiplied 28 times over.
