Rewarding Musicians Via an App

COVID made it far more difficult for musicians to make a decent living. Grammy-nominated Kenyan musician Bien-Aime Alusa of popular group, Sauti Sol, has co-founded a digital streaming and payment platform, HustleSasa, to help artists recover from revenues lost to the COVID lockdown. , which officially launched in November 2021, allows the singer-songwriter and fellow creatives to stream music or sell branded merchandise, concert tickets, food, fashion and other services in one mobile phone application. Artists or vendors sell their products directly to the market, with no set-up costs or monthly fees, and receive payment instantly via bank card or mobile money, avoiding expensive commissions charged by some apps. Alusa said he is in talks to spread operations across the continent, from Ghana to South Africa.