How Tech Has Helped In Globalising African Music. 

Thanks to recent development in technology, African music has spreaded to the rest of the world becoming one of the most sought for musical pieces here in the world. Thanks to tech,  it has made African artists stand out excellently in their musical career. Accessing African music in our time now is very simple and easy. But let’s find out more together,  long before the digital era , accessing African music, mostly  during  the time of legendary icons  like Fela Kuti, mostly includes physical mediums like vinyl records, cassette tapes, or live performances. With this physical contact, it limited  the spread  and accessibility of all African music in the  local communities or regions and beyond. 

However, with the introduction of technology into the African art music system, especially using the internet and streaming platforms, African music has experienced an important  transformation and has also gotten International and global reach. I’ll be outlining some ways here how technology has helped improve grow and promote African culture system, African music to be precise  through music:

1. Global Accessibility: African music today has gained global accessibility through Streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube have all helped African music to be accessed globally by different fans. African music lovers  no longer have  to rely on physical tapes or attending  live performances in order to enjoy African music; they can simply always stream it online anytime and from any way. 
2. Digital Distribution: African music has gotten digital distribution. With the advent of technology, it has democratised the distribution of all African music to different parts of the world. Every independent artist can always upload their music to different platforms, such as SoundCloud or Bandcamp, which will automatically reach audiences with or without record labels. 
3. Cultural Exchange:  African music through technology has succeeded in cultural exchange.  By cultural exchange I mean that African music has shared its own culture with the world through Social media platforms and different digital communication systems which  have helped cultural exchange, also giving  African artists a chance to collaborate with other international musicians and also  share their music on the global stage. With this  exchange it has helped to  enrich African music by including different influences. 
4. Preservation of Cultural Heritage: technology has helped African music to preserve cultural heritage. All Digital archives, storage space, and online platforms have helped in preserving, save keeping and promoting African musical heritage across the globe. With different projects like the African Music Archives catalogue and digitising recordings, always making sure that traditional and historical African music is not completely lost to time.
5. Faster Discovery and Exploration: technology has helped African music to have faster discovery and exploration. Technology has given different audiences access to African music. It has made it easier for different music enthusiasts to discover and explore African music genres to their satisfaction, to know different African artists, and their cultures. With Streaming algorithms, organised playlists, and different  online communities which helps users discover new African music designed to their interests and satisfaction. 

Nevertheless, with all the advantages that comes with African music starring out through technology,  there are also some notable disadvantages to the digitalization of African music which includes: 

1. Digital Divide: Technology has caused a digital divide in accessing African music. The digital divide, especially in rural areas of Africa, has limited access to technology and speedy  internet, this has hindered  the full spread of African music to certain other populations around the world. 
2. Monetization Challenges: With the advent of technology in spreading African music it has caused monetization challenges to African artists. As technology has helped  increase the reach of African music to the world, monetizing that reach can be quite  challenging for artists who do not have enough cash particularly with different  issues such as  low royalty rates and piracy  on different  streaming platforms.
3. Homogenization of Sound: Technology has brought homogenization of sound to the African sound. With many critics disagreeing on the fact that the globalisation of music through different digital platforms has brought about  the homogenization of sound, with many genres becoming more commercialised and in the process losing their different cultural identities.

With the advent of technology,  technology has played an important and  transformative role in helping the promotion and preservation of African music and its  culture. While also opening up different  opportunities for African artists to reach their global audiences, most  challenges have  to be addressed to make sure  that African music will thrive continuously  in this digital age and time.