Waabeh, a new audio streaming service, made a splash entry to the market with the streaming of the tenth edition of the Kisima Awards held on November 2.
This move to stream a live event is to keep in pace with the changing technology and also included a heavy presence of social media channels.
“To bring the celebration and the music nearer to the listener, Kisima for the first time this year will be streaming all the nominated music online. In partnership with Waabeh, Kisima will ensure that listeners across the world listen to the music and engage with the various nominees online,” the organizers said.
Waabeh is an online platform that hosts music and other audio content from the continent making it available to listeners online. The company also has an Android application that enables streaming on Android powered smart phones.
The platform also has apart from music, Podcasts, Audio Books, Radio documentaries and Educational Material, making it a portal for African sounds and products.
Waabeh, a street slang in Nairobi meaning “awesome”, currently has 500 tracks from musicians across the continent. Interesting content users can discover include audio dramas such as “Jongo”, a 12 part fast paced drama set in grimy ghetto of “Jongo” in Nairobi.
The digital audio market, save for music, hasn’t gotten much limelight in Africa. But with this new product content producers will look into providing audio materials such as drama and audio books for the African market.
The Kisima Awards have been plunged into controversy of late, with major artists in the country, shunning their nominations to the awards.
