Stonebwoy, Cina Soul urged to “work together closely” with Universal Music to achieve career goals

Universal Music Group-signed Ghanaian artistes, Stonebwoy and Cina Soul have been urged to work closely with the world’s biggest music label to achieve their goals.

Joe Chialo, Senior Vice President, A & R, Universal Music Central Europe & Africa told Showbiz in an exclusive interview, the artistes need to take advantage of the influence and reach the label has.

The ‘Most Original’ and ‘Awo’ acts were officially introduced as new additions to the label on July 17 this year during an event to launch Universal Music Nigeria to manage operations of the label in West Africa.

“We’re living in a time of a lot of collaborations so Universal has this power to enable artistes to come together. Universal has the power to approach producers. Universal has also the power to create a long term plan so I would really urge them not only to think from record to record but really to sit down and look at all the revenue streams and all the journey as an artiste that they want to take and work together closely with the label to reach those goals.” stated Chialo.

Joe Chialo, Senior Vice President, A & R, Universal Music Central Europe & Africa

Chialo, who also doubles as the Managing Director of AfroForce 1 and AirForce 1 Records also shared his thoughts on African artistes having the “potential” to compete on the global music scene.

“I totally believe that African artistes have the potential to not only compete but to be on the top level of world music scene but I think it has to do with how they present themselves. I’m not talking about creativity, it’s more than enough in Africa,” explained Chailo.

“Africa is a creative superpower. It is a hub but I’m talking about how do you perceive yourself as an artiste, how hard do you work, what kind of structures do you have, what is your vision, with whom are you partnering up so it is a complex issue but the potential , yes.”

He advised African artistes who fail to make a mark on the international music scene to “try again” and “again” until they succeed.

“Try again. Try again. If you are a real artiste, if you are a real musician, you have no other choice than to try again because you love music so much. And I tell you one thing, the most successful people have been doing what they love over and over and over again until they achieve it.”

Originally published by Graphic Showbiz newspaper in November 2018

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