Skiza Tunes have been around for a while now, having been launched back in 2009.
Safaricom, which carries the product, has been at the forefront to ensure that artists can get revenue from other streams besides the ordinary music business line.
To this end, the operator has announced that musicians, and other content creators whose materials are used as call-back tunes, will see their earnings from Skiza grow by 40 percent.
During the announcement of this development, Safaricom said that more than 20K artists and content creators will benefit from the move thanks to the boost in Skiza revenue share by 33 percent.
The jump in revenue share will reflect for all content on the Skiza platform from July 1, 2021. The increase will also apply to both music and non-music tones.
Safaricom says that the positive adjustment is timely because the pandemic has seen many artists struggle to earn a living.
Safaricom’s move is a timely boost for artists and content creators who have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic which has reduced engagement with their audience significantly cutting their earnings. The entertainment sector including the Skiza service has also been affected by reduced customer spending in the face of the pandemic – Statement by Safaricom
The carrier adds that the development is long-term, and will seek other ways to support the entertainment industry in the country.
We launched Skiza in 2009 as an avenue to connect content-creators to their fans and it has since grown to become the preferred mobile entertainment service for more than 9 million Kenyans. Our decision to increase artist and content-creators revenue share by 33% will act as a further boost to the creative industry to support talent growth and sustainability – Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom
Safaricom has since launched Baze, a video-sharing platform that seeks to give creators a platform to share their materials while earning some revenue.
You can read more about Baze here.