Ghana-based music distribution and rights management company Highvibes has partnered with Downtown's Songtrust to power its music publishing administration service. The two companies say that 95% of songwriters in Africa are currently unpublished, and they are hoping to change that.
"Africa is the largest market yet to be tapped into, with an immediate need for stabilisation and structuring of digital music distribution across Africa, especially when it comes to publishing administration", says Highvibes CEO, Gbolahan Mathias. "Our partnership with Songtrust provides us the ability to publish countless African music rightsholders for years to come, which has been estimated to exceed more than one million by 2030".
"It's inspiring to see how Highvibes has devoted itself to helping and educating songwriters, artists, and producers across Africa on the importance of protecting their intellectual property, and appreciating its financial value", adds Songtrust’s Director Of Business Development for EMEA and APAC Mandy Aubry. "Songtrust's mission is to build a more equitable music ecosystem, and global partnerships like this are another step in the right direction".
The partnership will mean that African songwriters signed up the Highvibes' publishing service will be able to collect royalties both on the continent and globally via the Songtrust platform.