According to reports by the Variety, Live Nation; the world’s largest live-entertainment company, has acquired a majority stake in Veeps, the ticketed livestream platform launched by Joel and Benji Madden of the band Good Charlotte. The Madden brothers, along with cofounders Sherry Saeedi and Kyle Heller, will remain at the helm of Veeps, with their full team staying on to continue with all operations of the business, according to the announcement.

Established in 2017, Veeps is designed for ticketed livestreams, and facilitates engagement between artists and fans with features like chat and exclusive merch purchases, while also supporting broad social marketing and VIP offerings. Unlike many livestream platforms, Veeps is also commission-free.

The platform, which hosted approximately 1,000 ticketed livestreams in 2020, has presented concerts by artists including Brandi Carlile, Liam Payne, Pete Yorn, Louis Tomlinson, Architects, Rufus Wainwright and many others. While the company declined to share audience numbers, Live Nation noted that Payne’s concert (pictured) in October “was primarily responsible for a record number of over 3.7 billion chat messages on Veeps across all livestream shows that month.” Wainwright held more shows on the platform in 2020 than any other artists with 33.

The move is a logical one for Live Nation: While infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that mass gatherings like concerts may return by the autumn “if everything goes right” — a big if, considering the United States government’s weak response to the pandemic — the process will inevitably be gradual, and it may be some time before people feel comfortable gathering in enclosed spaces with fellow humans. A future scenario where most major concerts offer both live and livestreamed options seems likely.

Ghanaian native solo singer and record producer, Bisa Kdei is set to premiere the official visual representation – directed by Abass- for his Gyakie assisted feel-good bonafide highlife tune dubbed ‘SIKA’. The song, (the twi word for Money) is a love Ballad, reminding us that, although life may be easy with money at hand, love is what keeps us grounded. Stream song here: https://bounce.lnk.to/Bisa-Sika

In the song, the Highlife Lord sings to his love that, once he is financially stable, she will want for nothing, but for now, he appreciates that their love is enough. His butterfly sweet vocals and intentional lyrics perfectly blend with traditional highlife instrument. Gyakie adds a sultry depth, making Sika a beautiful and authentic duet that takes us back and reminds us that Ghana’s original sound is timeless.

See shots from behind the scenes below;

With credit given to YouTube Music, Award-winning pop group, Sauti Sol, have become the first Kenyan performing and recording talents to be featured on the Times Square in New York. The Billboard conveys visuals from their lead single “Suzanna” of their fourth studio album “Midnight Train” which was performed during Youtube Black Africa Creator Week Celebration in November 2020.

“Thank you, YouTube Music for celebrating black voices and allowing us to be heard globally #YouTubeBlack #YouTubeMusic,” the group wrote on Instagram.

YouTube announced the inaugural 2021 class of partners for its #YouTubeBlack Voices program — a group of 132 creators and artists from around the world who will receive funding and support from the video giant. Sauti Sol, Fireboy DML, Sho Madjozi will be part of the creatives who will get dedicated partner support from YouTube and seed funding for the development of their channels. YouTube also will host training sessions, workshops and networking programs.

“We’re excited to be part of the first #YouTubeBlack Voices Artist Class along with 20 other incredible artists,” the group shared the news on Instagram. “Our identity informs our sonics, our storytelling, and our fashion. Much like our country, Kenya, our music is multi-layered, with an East Africa groove. Our passion is for the craft and artistry of music, and our music is a soundtrack to people’s lives.”

emPawa Africa signed artiste, Joeboy announced his forthcoming debut album earlier last year. On Monday, 18th January, 2021, the Nigerian singer and songwriter revealed through his official social media accounts that he was almost ready to present his next piece of work to the world. “Our album is ready and it’s beautiful… watch this space”, the singer post on his Instagram page.

Aptly captioned “Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic”, the album will premiere on all digital stores from Thursday, 4th February, 2020. With details, including album cover, producers employed for the project and tracklist, yet to be revealed, it is believed “SBBM” will come laced with creative expressions of diversity – a way of showing the different perspectives he’s experienced in his life and music. It will also come paired guest artistes and producers from across the region or continent.

Joeboy released his debut extended play Love & Light in November 2019. It was released by emPawa Africa and was supported by the singles “Baby” and “Beginning”. The EP also contains the Mayorkun-assisted track “Don’t Call Me” and “All for You”.

Joeboy released the Mr Eazi-assisted track “Fààjí” on October 26, 2018; he used his portion of the grant he received from emPawa100 to shoot a video for the song. Joeboy’s single “Baby” was released on March 1, 2019; it garnered 20 million streams across YouTube and Spotify in 2019. The visualizer music video for “Baby” surpassed 31 million views on YouTube.

Joeboy released the Killertunes-produced track “Beginning” on August 15, 2019. The visualizer music video for “Beginning” surpassed 23 million views on YouTube. In it, he finds himself developing feelings for a friend whose advances he had initially dismissed.