Introducing SanaaCharts, Kenya’s First Music Charting System
Last Friday evening, a group of stakeholders in Kenya’s music industry gathered in Supersonic Africa’s dimly lit upstairs studio to learn about SanaaCharts. Following the demonstration, a mix of excitement, awe and curiosity over what had just been presented was palpable. Co-founded by Taio Wakhungu and Ian Shiundu, SanaaCharts is Kenya’s first music charting system of its kind.
The current norm of Kenya’s music industry is a lack of accountability and transparency on the part of collection management organisations (CMO’s) such as MCSK (Music Copyright Society of Kenya) when it comes to the collection and distribution of royalties. Artists have previously had no way of tracking how often their songs were being played, and therefore how much they should be receiving in royalties. SanaaCharts is here to disrupt that status quo by offering a level of transparency and credibility that the Kenyan music industry is in desperate need of.
Using the same audio footprint technology as Shazam to identify songs, SanaaCharts will currently be monitoring 5 of Nairobi’s urban radio stations: Homeboyz radio, Kiss FM, Capital FM, NRG 254 and Milele FM, and tracking airplay of music by Kenyan artists. Like the Billboard Charts, SanaaCharts will tabulate the Top 10 songs per station, and Top 100 songs overall per week, with the intention of scaling to present monthly and yearly logs. The collection of data is completely computerized removing the risk of human-error.
Created by musicians for musicians - Taio being a rapper, DJ, sound engineer and former member of Camp Mulla, whilst Ian produces under the moniker Fvzzkill - creative empowerment runs through the DNA of the company. No longer will you as a musician have to struggle to call a producer at a radio station to find out how many plays you’re receiving, or fight with an MCSK representative to show you your logs. By entering SanaaCharts.com on any search engine, Kenyan artists will now be able to track their radio airplay for free and subsequently use this data to hold CMO’s accountable for their payouts. Artists are also provided with the option of registering their details on the website
Beyond being an accountability tool, the intention of SanaaCharts is to create a new sense of competition, as well as collaboration, amongst Kenyan musicians. For the first time artists will have access to a credible source that allows them to keep tabs on their counterparts’ performance. This charting information can then be used to inform artist decisions such as marketing strategies, the music creation process etc.
This is just the beginning as Taio and Ian have the intention of expanding on the number of radio stations being tracked, as well as scaling into the East African region. Whether you’re an artist, music business professional or fan, I highly suggest taking the time to check out SanaaCharts.com and witness the revolution for yourself.
