Donlu Africa, Namibia’s premier music streaming service, continues to extend a helping hand to local musicians and producers in innovative ways.
This time around, Donlu will be hosting a virtual beat auction, thereby bringing together local artists and producers with like-minded others on the continent through the Donlu website.
“Often producers feel neglected in the music industry. So, we are creating another platform where we cater specifically to them by giving them an opportunity to auction off their beats to not only Namibian musicians, but to all in Africa,” explained Donlu founder Llewelyn Adams.
The exact date of the auction in July will be communicated at a later stage, but the plan is to have 10 beats from five producers on auction each week, running from Friday at 08h00 till Thursday 20h00 the following week.
Producers who wish to be part of the auction can do so by sending an email to beatauction@donlu.africa.
Adams noted that they might consider doing it weekly or bi-weekly, depending on the support and demand.
“NandoHomie said it so perfectly the other day, and I quote: ‘Getting into the music industry is the easiest thing try getting into the music business. Now that’s something.’ Since there has been such a big shift in the music business, our artists need to work more closely with the producers and other relevant stakeholders to become multi-faceted artists which will be a better tool to help them succeed,” he noted.
With these expansion plans, Adams wants Donlu to be multi-faceted, become a powerhouse within Africa, and compete directly with the international players.
The streaming platform has enjoyed major successes over the years since being launched in 2015.
“Donlu has been doing exceptionally well. We have surpassed the 18 million streams mark and although we do not have the mobile applications yet, the website on its own has been doing really well.
The plan is to get the mobile applications developed within the next few months, should finance for it become available.”
Apart from his eight to five job and making sure the streaming platform is running smoothly, Adams recently launched ‘Bearded By Lu Cosmetics’ – his own line of beard care products.
“The male grooming range is doing really well, much more than initially anticipated. The demand is there right now, so we’re leveraging on that and expanding the range as much as we possibly can.
The market for male grooming goods on the continent is expanding, as is the number of men seeking treatments in beauty salons around the world. This is due in part to celebrities and social media influencers emphasising the importance of males taking care of their beauty and wellbeing,” he added.
– slunyangwe@nepc.com.na