Local online music store and marketing agency, Viralcom has joined many international music digital stores in certifying sales of singles sold on their platform recently.
Viralcom offers an opportunity for artists to sell their music by submitting it for a minimal fee. The platform then sells the music to fans for N$3 per SMS to receive a link to gain access to the song.
The more SMS downloads a song gets determines its spot on the weekly #ViralcomTop20 which is announced every Friday.
Songs certification criteria are adjusted according to market conditions and are indicative of music industry trends.
Explaining in details, the founder of Viralcom and music promoter, Abraham Amushila, commonly known as Ab Pro says the levels introduced are such as Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.
“One download is equivalent to one unit sold; therefore when 2 000 units are sold, the artist qualify for a gold certification, 8 000 units sold is platinum, and 15 000 units sold is Diamond,” he elaborated, before adding that these certifications have been drafted according to international standards, taking into consideration that the Namibian market does differ.
Ab pro who has many years of music experience said artists are required to have their Gold and Platinum plaques made at their own cost.
“Artists should purchase the official Viralcom certificate that has the stamp on it. These certificates will be individually numbered and will be maintained in a strict file,” he assured.
The sale of music on compact discs and cassettes has immensely declined in the country, leaving artists and music promoters with no option but to shift to digital music stores.
Based on the #ViralcomTop20 charts, multi-award-winning artist, King Tee Dee is on top of the chart for selling 401 units of his song ‘Oho penge’ in two weeks, followed by Kwaito artist, Kaboy Kamakili who sold 279 units of the song ‘Otalenti’ in two weeks.
Viralcom certification is meant to capture real marketplace interest in a musical work and it’s high time the Namibian music industry gets the international recognition it deserves.
-ashikololo@nepc.com.na