Rwandan music creators and other stakeholders involved in the music industry have welcomed Recording Academy’s expansion plan to Africa and Middle East, saying that ‘it is a win’ for Rwanda’s music industry. This comes after the Recording Academy on Monday, June 10, announced plan to expand operations to different African nations and in the Middle East, as part of the Academy’s plan to support music creators globally. The initiative, according to the statement, aims to provide educational resources, advocate for intellectual property rights, and celebrate the musical heritage of these regions. Rwanda is one of the African countries where the company will expand operations after discussing areas of partnerships from which local creators said might, among many other things, gain more skills on strong Intellectual Property (IP) legislation and protections for musicians through the Academy’s cross-cultural learnings. ALSO READ: Grammy’s Recording Academy to expand operations in Rwanda Through the partnership, Rwandan producer Kozze said that Recording Academy’s partnership with Rwanda will notably have a huge impact on Rwanda’s music industry, especially in the quality of music produced locally. For Kozze, the Recording Academy coming to Rwanda means that local musicians will be empowered with all necessary training package on the art of music creation, something that he believes will play a pivotal role in transforming the industry and attract more players. “This is what we need in our industry; I mean collaboration with such big companies that can take us to another level. RDB also did a great job considering the music industry. This is big!” the producer signed under Country Records noted. ALSO READ: Trace Awards and Festival is an economic boost for Rwanda - RDB Kozze shares the same views with DJ Sonia, one of the leading female DJs in Kigali, who also describes the partnership as a milestone for not only Rwanda’s music industry but the country as a brand and tourism destination. The partnership, she said, will push Rwandan musicians into the international arena, a move that would also market Rwanda and put it on the global music map just like Nigeria or South Africa. “For so long, our music industry has been down but partnerships like this that indicate how far we have come from. Recording Academy coming to Rwanda means there is some potential it sees in Rwanda’s music industry and more private investors should follow. It is really safe to invest in our creative industry, they should know,” Sonia told Weekender. According to BerTreezy, a Rwandan artist and lyricist, it is a privilege to have the Recording Academy in partnership with Rwanda through RDB, as it will help the Rwandan music industry to tackle the biggest challenge in music: language barrier. “Also, this will help Rwandan artists to generate bigger revenues due to a higher recognition of a large audience. Personally, I think this is a great opportunity for us Rwandan artists to upgrade our game to the global music standards,” the artist noted. Through the partnerships, the Recording Academy will focus on several key initiatives including providing creators with a platform and advocacy, offering training like its online learning platform GRAMMY GO, and producing original content. The partnerships might also act as a wakeup call to creators in Africa and the Middle East to take advantage of cross-cultural learnings from the Recording Academy and benefit from its advocacy for strong intellectual property (IP) legislation and protections.
