Tosin Clegg
YouTube has been instrumental to the growth of content creators across Africa and the world. From short-form to long-form videos, the platform has opened up significant revenue opportunities for entertainment creators across the film, music, podcast and comedy industries. Anglophone and Francophone artiste Amosun Adekunle, popularly known as M’Kido, has benefited significantly from the YouTube platform, with more than 166,000 subscribers. His blend of multiple languages in his music has taken his craft across diverse nationalities, opening him up to a wider audience through the platform.
On the importance of YouTube to his career, particularly in reaching new audiences in Nigeria and internationally, M’Kido said, “YouTube has become very important to my career because it gives me a direct connection to people beyond borders. As an artiste, I don’t want my music to be heard only in Nigeria. I want people in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, France and different parts of the world to discover my sound and understand my story.
“For me, YouTube is more than just a platform for uploading music. It is a global stage where I can introduce people to M’Kido, my culture, my languages, my journey and my vision as an African artiste. Every person who discovers my music through YouTube is another opportunity to build a relationship with a new audience.”
The artiste also believes YouTube has changed the way Nigerian artistes promote and release music compared with the traditional era of radio, television and physical media. He said, “The traditional era depended heavily on radio, television, record stores and other gatekeepers. Those platforms are still important, but YouTube has made it possible for an independent or emerging artiste to speak directly to the world.
“Today, an artiste can release a song or music video and someone thousands of kilometres away can discover it almost immediately. You don’t necessarily have to wait for a television station or radio programme to decide whether your music should reach an audience.
“I think the biggest change is accessibility. YouTube has given African artistes another powerful way to tell their stories, promote their music and build communities around their work.”
Looking ahead, M’Kido sees the platform becoming even more important in taking African music and stories to the world. Africa has many stories, cultures, languages and sounds that the world still needs to discover.
He said, “As an artiste who creates across languages and wants to connect Anglophone and Francophone Africa, I see YouTube as one of the bridges that can help make that happen.
“My dream is to see Nigerian and African music become truly global without losing the identity that makes it African. I want people to hear our languages, see our culture and understand our stories while still enjoying music that can compete on a global level.
“For me, the future is not just about exporting music from Africa. It is about exporting our stories, our creativity and our identity.”