Moves Recordings announce Afro Nation agreement 22 Oct 2019
Exclusive Collaboration Introduces Innovative New Afrobeats Music Series
Groundbreaking Initiative Sees New Releases A&R’d via WhatsApp
Marathon Music Group has announced that in-house imprint MOVES Recordings has entered into a wide-ranging agreement with Afro Nation, the world's first mainstream festival that has Afrobeats at its core.
Launched as a festival in Portugal August 2019 Afro Nation has now become a global phenomenon, and this exclusive collaboration will see MOVES Recordings & Afro Nation curate a series of new music, packaged in forward looking formats - from dedicated playlists to themed EPs, reflecting the full range of the contemporary Afrobeats movement.
Afro Nation Vol #1 will be the first in this ongoing series, reflecting the breadth, innovation and energy of the genre. Each volume will be released between festivals and will feature both artists who have performed at Afro Nation, and acts that are scheduled to appear in the future.
Tracks included on forthcoming volumes will be a collaboration between the biggest artists
and producers in Africa and their counterparts from the global African diaspora, enabling previously unheard all-star line ups.
In a groundbreaking move the majority of the new Afro Nation music series has been A&R'd using WhatsApp, with demos, agreements and contracts exchanged via the free messaging app. This mobile-to-mobile exchange of music and ideas has allowed MOVES Recordings to compile tracks that have, for example, been produced in Holland with vocals from artists in Tanzania, Nigeria and Ghana, in a timeframe that would have been impossible in the recent past.
The first in the series Afro Nation Vol #1 is scheduled for release in November with a single, ‘Your Love (Mogbe)’ by Boj and Tiwa Savage, which shines a light on Nigeria’s new Alte scene which fuses the percussive sound of Afrobeats with musical experimentation and slick, fashion first aesthetics, released on September 26th . High profile radio support has already been confirmed from, among others, Ebro on Beats.
The next instalment of the series, Afro Nation Vol #2, will be recorded at a writing camp in Ghana during the forthcoming Afro Nation Festival , which takes place between the 27-30th December in the country’s capital, Accra. This is currently scheduled for release in February 2020.
Ian McQuaid, MOVES Recordings Head of A&R said, “We are delighted to be working with Afro Nation - they've had a massive impact in a small space of time by teaming passion for music with a fine grasp of logistics- a combination we have always aspired to ourselves at MOVES Recordings. Curating the first installment of the Afro Nation EP series has been a pleasure; songs and verses have flown back and forth across the African continent and diaspora, developing as they go, and the breadth and musical innovation of everyone involved has been inspiring. There's such an excitement and energy around the project, we can't wait to share it with the world..!”
Obi Asika, co-founder of Afro Nation said, "Afro Nation are excited to take a next step in supporting the culture by releasing music from the hottest new African artists from round the globe. MOVES Recordings’ track record of breaking Afrobeats hits made them the ideal partner to join up with. We're looking forward to some amazing releases to come!"
Kofi Kyei, MOVES Recordings Head of Marketing said, “MOVES Recordings and Afro Nation share an innovative eye in how the culture can evolve and expand into new spaces within the industry. There’s a huge sense of professional and personal pride with this collaboration. As tracks have come through from across the globe, these curations really are touch points of the philosophy and dense spectrum of Afrobeats as a genre”.
Paul-Rene Albertini, CEO Marathon Music Group said, “Finally! There are no barriers to creators from all over the world to be working together and no regional markets any more in the new music industry, this is how and why we’ve built the Marathon Music Group".
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THE HEADLINES
Spotify talks growth, bundle royalties and short-video plans (see Digital)
BPI CEO calls on music industry and government to unite around 5 key priorities to support human artistry and sustainably promote British music (see News)
Hipgnosis Song Management fires back at Songs Fund board (see Business)
Blackstone bid for Hipgnosis receives backing from board (see Business)
Taylor Swift’s new album breaks Spotify records (see News)
Independence - what’s up with that BPI press release about 2023 music consumption? (see Comment)
Creator Remuneration Working Group meet for the first time (see News)
Concord's takeover of Hipgnosis (see Analysis)
Concord set to acquire Hipgnosis Songs Fund (see Business)
Is the music industry gaslighting artists? (see Comment)
BPI’s new Yearbook highlights an independent sector growing for a sixth consecutive year (see Reports)
Can’t cross the moat? Walk around it. (see Comment)
The conversation around Fandom needs to change (see Opinion)
Viagogo: Carrying on ticketing, despite the controversy (see News)
Taylor Swift songs return to TikTok (see Digital)
Spotify plans new remixing tools for the TikTok generation (see Digital)
Is Spotify plotting a largescale push into short-form video? (see Digital)