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  • Nigerian singers, Asake, BNXN selected for YouTube grants

    Nigerian singers, Asake, BNXN selected for YouTube grants

    Nigerian artistes, Ahmed Ololade popularly known as Asake, and another Afro Beat Singer, Benson BNXN, have been chosen by Youtube as grant recipients of its 2023 Youtube Black voices creators and artist cohorts.

    According to youtube Managing Director of Emerging Markets, Alex Okosi, the initiative was a follow-up to the global Multi-year commitment made in 2020.

    Through the campaign, YouTube will give creators and the African creative sector, respectively, $20,000 and $50,000 as seed funding through the 2023 #YouTubeBlack Voices creators and artist cohorts.

    Okosi, who noted that the goal of the grant was to support and advance Black songwriters, producers, creators, and artists on the platform, revealed that 40 creators from Sub-Saharan Africa would be part of the 135 #YouTubeBlack Voices Creators selected globally and enrolled in the cohort.

    Among the 23 #YouTubeBlack Voices artists selected were African fast-rising musical artists Kamo Mphela from South Africa, Gyakie from Ghana, BNXN and Asake from Nigeria.

    The selected would also enjoy dedicated partner support for six months with the opportunity to participate in programmes including bespoke training, workshops and networking programmes spread out across the year.

    ”We are excited about the creators, musical artists and producers from Africa joining others from across the world in the 2023 #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund,” Okosi stated.

  • YouTube announces grant to support Africa creators

    YouTube announces grant to support Africa creators

    YouTube on Tuesday announced its expansion efforts to support creators and the creative economy in Africa with $20000 and $50000 respectively through the 2023 #YouTubeBlack Voices creators and artist cohorts.

    Alex Okosi, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA, said in a statement that the initiative from YouTube was a follow-up to a global, multi-year commitment made in 2020.

    Okosi said that the grant was intended to uplift and grow Black creators, artists, songwriters, and producers on the platform.

    According to him, YouTube is seriously interested in the growth of the creative community in Africa.

    He said that for the creators, artists, songwriters and producers that would be joining this third cohort, it would go beyond the initial training to measure success with them over a long-term period.

    Okosi also stated that it would ensure that the creators achieved sustained success.

    He said that 40 creators from Sub-Saharan Africa would be part of the 135 #YouTubeBlack Voices Creators selected globally that enrolled into the cohort.

    He said that among the 23 #YouTubeBlack Voices Artists selected for the programme were African fast-rising musical artists, Gyakie from Ghana, Kamo Mphela from South Africa, Asake from Nigeria and BNXN from Nigeria.

    He said,‘’As support from YouTube, grantees will receive $20,000 and $50,000 as seed funding.”

    Okosi said that they would receive dedicated partner support for six months and have the opportunity to participate in programmes including bespoke training, workshops and networking programmes spread out across the year.

    ”We are excited about the creators, musical artists and producers from Africa joining others from across the world in the 2023 #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.

    ‘’The initiative is dedicated to equipping up-and-coming Black creators and artists with the resources to succeed on our platform,” he said

    According to him, the cohort will also include Hip Hop producer MashBeatz from South Africa and Nairobi-based producer Ukweli, who will be joining 17 #YouTubeBlack Voices Songwriters and Producers globally.

    Okosi that the artists, songwriters, and producers joining the #YouTubeBlack Voices Music Class of 2023 would be required to set goals, develop content strategy, and engage with their fans on YouTube, with the assistance of a YouTube partner manager.

    According to him, there will be networking opportunities with other artists, songwriters, and producers included in the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.

    Okosi said that there would also be a chance to maximise the impact of their channels as they provide catalogue-development opportunities.

    He said that over the next few years, YouTube would be directly investing in more than 500 creators and artists from across the world.

    “It is to support, grow, and fund their channels and content development through the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund”.

  • We won’t allow Twitter, Google, others to spark crisis in Nigeria – Lai Mohammed

    We won’t allow Twitter, Google, others to spark crisis in Nigeria – Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said Twitter, Facebook, Google and the like would not be allowed to throw the country into a crisis situation.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Mohammed made this disclosure at the 3rd edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration scorecard 2015-2023 series in Abuja on Thursday.

    The Information Minister disclosed that the government was especially monitoring the situation at Twitter following the takeover by Elon Musk.

    Mohammed said his office had been inundated with a lot of inquiries in recent times on what will become of the FG agreement with Twitter in view of the change in its ownership.

    “Many have asked for our reaction following reports that there has been a spike in fake news, disinformation and hate speech since the micro-blogging site changed ownership. Many have even asked us if another ban is in the offing?

    “Let me say this: We are closely monitoring the evolving developments at Twitter. It has never been our intention to ban any social media platform or stifle free speech. Not at all.

    “What happened in the case of Twitter is well known to all. Twitter became a platform of choice for those who want to destabilize Nigeria, using fake news, disinformation and hate speech. No nation will allow any social media platform to plunge it into anarchy. Definitely not Nigeria.

    “But we have continued to engage positively with the different social media platforms, including Facebook, Google (owners of YouTube) and Twitter.

    “We have no intention of banning any social media platform again. But we will also not sit by and allow any platform whatsoever to throw our nation into crisis,” the Minister said.

  • Some YouTubers with sterile contents – By Francis Ewherido

    Some YouTubers with sterile contents – By Francis Ewherido

    By Francis Ehwerido

    I have been going to YouTube, specifically African YouTube channels, for a while now. I started with wildlife channels before adding travel channels and others. Initially, I really enjoyed the experience because it opened my eyes to the developments taking place in the rest of Africa. But since some people, especially young and inexperienced African YouTubers without, set goals and knowledge of mass media ethics saw YouTube as an opportunity to earn a living entered the YouTube space, I have been put me off. The one that really got me pissed off and made my anger to boil over is the one I stumbled on with the topic: “Can a Nigerian marry or date a Ghanaian?” What a dumb question? Before independence Ghanaians and Nigerians were already getting married to one another. One of the happiest couples I have met is a Ghanaian man and a Nigerian woman. Marriage is essentially about the people involved. Culture can be a factor, but the critical factor is the couple, especially if they understand marriage for what it is: companionship.

    If two blind folded people were to have sex, for instance, without uttering a word, which will reveal their accent, can they tell from the feel of  the vagina or the penis their nationality, race or ethnicity? It is pre-existing biases and beliefs that colour or poison people’s minds. Notwithstanding, love conquers all. Love is mysterious, once two souls connect genuinely, ethnicity or nationality take the back seat. That is why, interethnic, interracial and marriages across national borders endure.

    Apart from the above topic, there is the obsession and continuous comparism of Nigeria and Ghana. Both countries have had a long time healthy rivalry in football, a sport where 11 players are pitched against each other. This makes comparism easy. Older Nigerians will never forget the heartbreak that Abedi Pele, the great Ghanaian and African player caused Nigerians. He played a major role each time the Black Stars of Ghana defeated the Green Eagles (as the Super Eagles were called then). The Green Eagles had great players, but Abedi Pele was exceptional

    I see the comparism Nigeria jollof and Ghana jollof rice as fun, but the truth is, a great Nigerian cook will give you delicious jollof rice  while a lousy Nigerian cook will give you jollof rice that taste like paper. The same applies to Ghana. So, there is no rivalry there; it is just fun.

    I was trained in journalism when the only mass media were print and electronic. They still remain the most reliable media to date.  So I decided to go there and verify the so called intense rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana, as the YouTubers portray. In the Nigerian Newspapers, there is scarcely any news on Ghana. I only saw one two-paragraph story on four Ghanaians resident in Nigeria, who were involved in some infractions. Nigeria has enough internal issues to fill the newspapers of Nigeria. The last time news on Ghana featured prominently in Nigerian newspapers was when the Black Stars nicked Super Eagles to the 2022 World Cup ticket.

    The expulsion of Nigerians from Ghana in 1969 and Ghanaians from Nigeria in 1982 has nothing to do with rivalry. As far as I am concerned, it is due to the inexperience and wrong sense of judgement by the leadership of both countries at that time. Do not forget that these leaders were very young then. I do acknowledge that the experience might have left a bitter taste, especially in the mouths of those who were affected. I recall my friend telling me how his father who was very rich in Ghana came back to Nigeria to start life all over again. The same story probably reverberates with some people in Ghana

    Some Nigerians refer to Ghana as “ordinary Ghana” sometimes which Ghanaians find very upsetting. Ghanaians, on the other hand, never fail to remind Nigerians of how peaceful Ghana is and their more stable electricity. They also taunt Nigerians about instability, erratic power supply, frequent disruption in school calendar and fraudsters.  In truth, many Nigerians have left Nigeria for Europe and other countries in Africa, including Ghana, for further education due to frequent strikes. The erratic supply in Nigeria is a fact, but the truth is there no black African country enjoys uninterrupted electricity supply like we have in Europe and that should be every country’s target, not just stable power supply.

    Some young Nigerians are involved in criminal activities in Ghana. This is making many Ghanaians angry. That is understandable, but they have laws to take care of that problem. There are a few reasons why young Nigerians go to Ghana. One, they talk about the peace and security in Ghana. Two, young Nigerians have herd mentality. Some youngsters disappear from Nigeria and reappear after a while. They have become very rich overnight. What did they do to make money? Nobody, including some parents, is interested. Rather peers just want to go Ghana and “blow.” It is later you will hear rumours that they did rituals and internet fraud.

    I do not want to go into entertainment because Ghanaians who are the gurus in that sector acknowledge Nigerians dominance in music, comedy, films, etc. Nigeria is undisputed entertainment hub in Africa. These young Nigerians have gone beyond Africa to the global scene and are making waves.

    So, which rivalry are these YouTubers hyping? I studied mass communication and decided to go to the traditional media and verify the rivalry. There is not much Ghanaian news in Nigeria’s newspapers and electronic media. I have never been to Ghana so I went online to see their newspapers. The stories on all the front pages of all the newspapers I saw were issues concerning Ghana. The only Nigeria-related stories I saw, and not even on the front page, were on one Nigerian cross dresser who recently opened a multi-million naira house and three Nigerians arrested for allegedly involvement in internet fraud.

    I also watched a few television programmes on Ghana television stations. On entertainment, some downplay the giant strides Nigeria has made in entertainment, while others readily acknowledge it and advise Ghanaian entertainers to find out what Nigeria is doing right. Generally, they are not happy about the state of the Ghana entertainment industry. That is fair enough. So where did all these YouTubers get this the rivalry from? They are just trying to get more subscribers and drive traffic to their channels. Unfortunately, they are also irritating some readers/viewers.

    Personally, I want to see the growth and development in other African countries, not non-existent rivalry. I want every African country to grow so that Africa can be like Europe. How does the non-development of other African countries help Nigeria? These ill-trained YouTubers should the study other successful YouTubers on how to be successful. They should come up with irresistible contents and not promoting hate and non-existent rivalry. Also, Nigerian YouTubers based outside Nigeria, should leave Nigerians at home alone, and just enjoy their lives wherever they are, while we grapple with our challenges and look for solutions, we are tired of noisemakers; what we need are solution providers, not people who devalue us in their countries of abode. If you cannot add value, leave us alone.

  • YouTube announces Africa superstars to perform at Africa Day Concert

    YouTube announces Africa superstars to perform at Africa Day Concert

    YouTube on Monday announced a line-up of artists hailing from five countries to perform at the third edition of the Africa Day Concert.

    Alex Okosi, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA, said in a statement that the annual concert is a musical homage to Africa, showcasing the vibrant African music stars. who are making headlines across the world.

    The concert is aimed at commemorating the foundation of the Organisation of Africa Unity, formed on  May 25, 1963, by using music as a platform to showcase African culture.

    Okosi said that the concert brings Africans, the Diaspora, and people across the world together to celebrate a continent that is home to more than 1.5 billion people and is spawning new ways of artistic expression.

    He said, that this year’s concert would feature artists from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, South Africa, and Congo who are set to perform.

    “YouTube as a platform has been mainline for connecting African artists to people all around the world.

    “The Africa Day Concert is an opportunity to reaffirm YouTube’s support for African artists as they showcase the vibrant sounds and culture that makes Africa truly unique.

    ‘’The highly anticipated concert will showcase musical performances that will be streamed to a global audience,’’ he said.

    According to him, from Nigeria, talented music artists, D’banj, Davido, CKay, Yemi Alade, Reekado Banks and Mayorkun will be performing at the virtual concert this year.

    He said that also performing from the West African region includes the popular Sierra Leonean recording and performing artiste, Drizilik.

    Okosi said that also set to perform at the Africa Day Concert were singer-songwriter and poet, Busiswa Gqulu, and singer and dancer, Kamo Mpela; both from South Africa.

    He said that the artists confirmed to perform at the Africa Day Concert 2022 were Busiswa South Africa Ckay, Nigeria Davido, Nigeria Dbanj Nigeria among others.

    To join the livestream of the Africa Day Concert, please visit https://goo.gle/AfricaDayConcert on May 25 at 6 pm.

  • YouTube terminates R. Kelly channels after singer’s sex offence conviction

    YouTube terminates R. Kelly channels after singer’s sex offence conviction

    YouTube has permanently suspended two channels of disgraced R&B singer, R. Kelly, who was found guilty of sex offences last week. The platform will not allow him to create any new channels in future.

    However, YouTube has not banned Kelly’s music: The internet video giant will continue to offer the singer’s music catalogue on YouTube Music.

    On Tuesday, YouTube removed the two channels — RKellyTV (which had 3.5 million subscribers) and RKellyVevo (which had about 1.6 million subscribers) — citing a violation of its terms of service, Variety report.

    Efforts to watch videos on the now-removed channels display a message that says, “This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated.”

    “Egregious actions committed by R. Kelly warrant penalties beyond standard enforcement measures due to a potential to cause widespread harm,” YouTube VP of legal Nicole Alston wrote in a memo, as reported by Bloomberg. “Ultimately we are taking this action to protect our users similar to other platforms.”

    Kelly’s official accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook also have recently been disabled.

    YouTube’s move to delete Kelly’s channels comes eight days after a federal jury found him guilty of racketeering and eight charges of an anti-sex trafficking law. Kelly is set to be sentenced on May 4, 2022. The 54-year-old faces 10 years to life in prison.

    YouTube said it pulled down the channels linked to R. Kelly in accordance with its “creator responsibility guidelines” That policy prohibits “on- and/or off-platform behaviour that we may consider to be inappropriate,” including “intending to cause malicious harm to others” and “participating in abuse or violence, demonstrating cruelty, or participating in fraudulent/deceptive behaviour leading to real-world harm.”

    Kelly’s longtime label, Sony Music’s RCA Records, parted ways with the singer in January 2019 after months of condemnation. However, nearly his entire catalogue remains with the label and is still available on major music-streaming services.

    In a survey conducted by Morning Consult after Kelly’s conviction, 44% of audio-streaming service users said platforms like Spotify and Apple Music should remove his music from their catalogues, while 36% said his songs should stay up and 20% had no opinion or said they didn’t know.

    TheNewsGuru recalls that on September 27, Kelly was found guilty in New York federal court of leading a scheme to recruit women and girls for sex, following decades of women coming forward to accuse him of sex crimes. In 2008, Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges in Illinois, where he is still facing additional charges.

    During the trial, one witness alleged that they had seen Kelly sexually abuse late R&B star Aaliyah in 1993 when she was only 13 or 14, the Associated Press reported.

     

  • YouTube earmarks $1,000 each for 20 creators

    YouTube earmarks $1,000 each for 20 creators

    YouTube on Wednesday said it had earmarked $1,000 each for 20 creators with eligible channels at the YouTube NextUp programme that will be available in Nigeria and South Africa.

    Addy Awofisayo, YouTube Content Partnership Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, said in a statement that the programme was an opportunity for local creators to take their content creation to the next level.

    Awofisayo said that 20 creators with eligible channels would be selected to win a production stipend of $1,000, which would be for the acquisition of production equipment to advance their YouTube careers.

    She said that the selected creators would also have the opportunity to attend a week-long intensive ‘Creator Camp’ as well as learn new skills and access mentorship by the YouTube NextUp partnership team.

    According to her, the YouTube NextUp programme is available to creators who are committed to advancing their YouTube careers and producing fresh and compelling content.

    ‘’Eligible channels for selection into the YouTube NextUp programme should have 10,000 to 100,000 subscribers and at least three pieces of original and native video content uploaded in the past three months.

    ‘’Channel accounts must be compliant with the YouTube community guidelines and have no strikes. Participation in other YouTube creator masterclasses is also a basis for acceptance.

    “We believe that the next generation of successful creators is already honing their skills on YouTube.

    ‘’We are excited that the support from the YouTube NextUp programme will take creators to the next level in their YouTube careers, enabling them to develop whole new genres and online experiences for audiences around the world,” she said.

    Awofisayo said that applications for the YouTube NextUp programme are currently open on YouTube NextUp, each creator must submit an entry form along with the video the creators are most proud of.

    She said that the video should best represent their technical production skills, creativity and storytelling ability.

    According to her, the creators also need to write an essay in not less than 200 words on ‘Why should you be selected? Among others.

    She said that judging would involve the evaluation of the creator’s submitted video and essay along with a general evaluation of their channel.

    The content manager, said that YouTube, through programmes like YouTube NextUp, had a long-standing commitment to being an advocate for and ally to the diverse communities that reside on the platform

    Awofisayo said YouTube would continue to expand its efforts to support marginalised and underrepresented communities.

    She said that in Nigeria, over 500 channels now have over 100,000 subscribers while in South Africa over 250 channels now have over 100,000 subscribers.

    According to her, this is an increase of over 60 per cent, year on year as of June this year.

    She said that the percentage of YouTube channels in Nigeria making seven figures or more revenue in Naira had now increased by 100 per cent year on year.

    According to her, South Africa also now has an increase of 70 per cent of channels making six figures or more in revenue in Rands, year on year in the period under review.

    “YouTube creators are already doing what they are passionate about and making money from it.

    “YouTube NextUp aims to take them to the next level in terms of income generation and professionalism,” Awofisayo said.

    Since its launch in May 2005, YouTube had become the world’s most popular online video community allowing billions of people to discover, watch and share video.

  • YouTube offers scholarship to black artistes

    YouTube offers scholarship to black artistes

    YouTube Music says it is offering scholarship to scores of black artistes to help them commercialise their work.

    Alex Okosi, YouTube’s Managing Director for Emerging Markets, said in a statement that it would open grant applications for the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund Class of 2022 from June 21, 2021.

    Okosi said that the six-month scholarship term would see recipients undertake courses in music production, engineering, songwriting, mixing, music business and much more.

    According to him, eligibility has been expanded to include songwriters and producers, allowing black artistes residing in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Canada, United Kingdom, United states, Brazil and Australia, to apply.

    ‘’YouTube Music was also launching a new partnership with renowned music education institution, 1500 Sound Academy, founded by GRAMMY-award winning songwriter and producer, James Fauntleroy and Larrance “Rance” Dopson.

    ‘’Through the inaugural #YouTubeBlack Music Future Insiders Scholarship, YouTube would fund 10 full ride scholarships to the Academy’s Live Online 1500 Music & Industry Fundamentals programme.

    “The YouTube Music team is excited to expand the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund and create new opportunities while also reflecting on the progress made to date,” said Okosi.

    According to him, the six-month scholarship term will see recipients undertake courses in music production, engineering, songwriting, mixing, music business and much more,” he added.

    Okosi said that through the inaugural Class of 2021, the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund provided resources including dedicated one-on-one support, seed funding, training and networking.

    He said that others include programmes enabling the 21 grantees achieve incredible growth, not only on YouTube, but also in their careers which included from Jan. 2021 through April 2021, the class collectively received 1.4B views on their official artiste channels

    Okosi said that the six artistes saw over 50 per cent growth on official artiste channel subscribers while four artistes saw 200 per cent growth on their official artiste channel views.

    He said that other achievements were as part of YouTube Music’s Africa Month celebration, Sho Madjozi, Sauti Sol, and Fireboy DML, hosted exclusive live stream virtual concerts on each of their Official Artist Channels, among others.

    According to him, Future Insiders a Podcast, aims to equip at-risk and underserved youth, who aspire to enter the music and creative industries, with skills on content development.

    He said that following the programme’s early success, Future Insiders would be expanded globally with more details to be shared later .

    Also, to celebrate Black culture, YouTube Music has activated #YouTubeMusic Moments – a collection of content series, live streams, and events whose primary goal is to celebrate Black culture, identity, and experiences.

  • We’re all clear now – Google

    We’re all clear now – Google

    Internet search giant, Google has said the coast is now clear for all its users to start enjoying it’s services at 100% again.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports millions of users who rely on Google for efficiency suffered apprehension on Monday as a number of Google’s apps suffered a rare outage.

    The apps were knocked offline worldwide and the reason for the outage was yet to be ascertained but Google has said the coast is now clear.

    “We’re all clear folks! Thanks for staying with us,” @GoogleWorkspace tweeted some hours after the outage.

    The brief outage had a significant impact on Google’s millions of users, many of whom rely on Google services for efficiency.

    Gmail, YouTube, Play Store, Analytics, and Google Docs were all affected. Other Google’s products such as Drive, Google Ads, Google Search Console, merchant ads were also affected, according to users’ experience across the globe.

    Google users who rely on Google services to have control over their homes were not spared as some were either locked out of their homes or had problems with lighting their homes.

    https://twitter.com/joemfbrown/status/1338452107419148290?s=19

    At the time of filing this report, TNG can confirm Google apps affected are showing signs of response, indicating they are gradually coming back online.

    Outages like this are very rare with Google. Although, a similar issue occurred in June 2019 but affected only Google users in the United States.

    In that instance, the reason for the outage was a change to server settings that was supposed to be applied to a few machines in a specific region – but was accidentally applied to many more.

  • BREAKING: Google suffers major outage

    BREAKING: Google suffers major outage

    Millions of users who rely on Google for efficiency suffered apprehension on Monday as a number of Google’s apps suffered a rare outage.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the apps were knocked offline worldwide and the reason for the outage was yet to be ascertained as Google officials were yet to address the occurrence.

    The brief outage had a significant impact on Google’s millions of users, many of whom rely on Google services for efficiency.

    Gmail, YouTube, Play Store, Analytics, and Google Docs were all affected. Other Google’s products such as Drive, Google Ads, Google Search Console, merchant ads were also affected, according to users’ experience across the globe.

    Google users who rely on Google services to have control over their homes were not spared as some were either locked out of their homes or had problems with lighting their homes.

    https://twitter.com/joemfbrown/status/1338452107419148290?s=19

    However, at the time of filing this report, the apps are showing signs of response, indicating they are gradually coming back online.

    Outages like this are very rare with Google. Although, a similar issue occurred in June 2019 but affected only Google users in the United States.

    In that instance, the reason for the outage was a change to server settings that was supposed to be applied to a few machines in a specific region – but was accidentally applied to many more.

    Google was yet to address the issue at hand.