Coca-Cola is expanding its music platform “Coke Studio” to a global stage. Originally launched in Pakistan in 2008, the Coke Studio program is digital-first, always-on and provides an opportunity for emerging talent to partner, create and deliver moments of musical magic to new audiences.

The first moment is the introduction of a 90-second film titled “The Conductor” featuring Nigerian singer songwriter and producer Tems and six other global superstars namely Grammy nominated American R&B sensation Ari Lennox; British singer songwriter Griff; Turkish electro-pop producer Ekin Beril; Latin urban pop powerhouse Mariah Angeliq; Canadian-Indian rapper and producer Tesher; and colourful, multilingual K-Pop girl band TRI.BE.

‘The Conductor’ pays homage to the legendary rock band Queen through a unique collaboration that encapsulates the multicultural magic at the core of the Coke Studio platform. The 90-second film centers on a re-recording of Queen’s iconic ‘A Kind of Magic’ melody, produced in an extraordinary collaboration with global breakthrough artists who each bring their own unique style to the music, reimagining the track for a new generation.

According to Pratik Thakar, Head of Global Creative Strategy and Content, Coca?Cola, “Coke Studio is a direct extension of Coca?Cola’s Real Magic philosophy. It celebrates the unique ability of music to unite and uplift and provides a connection point for fans around the world to come together and enjoy a new experience.”

“The Coke Studio platform was born in Pakistan and has gone on to have great success there as well as in Africa and the Philippines, including 11 million YouTube subscribers. We believe it has the potential for exponential growth, and today we’re excited to introduce it to a wider global audience, using the reach of our iconic brand to help bring new audiences to some extraordinary artists,” Pratik Thakar adds.

In Africa, Coke Studio was hitherto known as “Coke Studio Africa“, a non-competitive music reality show organised by the Coca-Cola company where Africa’s biggest Musicians are paired to perform life. It featured top musicians like King Sunny Ade, M.I., Waje, Bez and Salif Keita.

“We set out to do something different with Coke Studio,” said Joshua Burke, Head of Global Music & Culture Marketing, The CocaCola Company. “Coca?Cola has always had a strong connection with music, working with stand-out emerging talent in different communities in all corners of the world, as well as a strong heritage in connecting people across borders and cultures. Coke Studio brings these two things together in a way that’s powerful and future-facing, supporting the development of talent in the music industry, while also connecting new audiences to new music – and to each other.”

Burke also said that “We see ‘The Conductor’ as both a homage to the legendary Queen and an opportunity to refresh and reinterpret one of their greatest tracks in different ways across cultures and musical genres, for a new generation. There’s magic in that too.”

The launch of Coke Studio and ‘The Conductor’ has been curated in partnership with Universal Music Group, the world leader in music-based entertainment, with five of the participating breakthrough artists signed to the company’s iconic record labels, and a sixth with its Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) division. ‘The Conductor’ was created with creative agency, BETC London and produced with Iconoclast’s director Pierre Dupaquier (WAFLA).

“Collaborating with these incredible artists and the Coca?Cola team on both the music and creative vision for this launch was magic,” said Richard Yaffa, EVP, Global Brands, Universal Music Group. “Our companies are aligned in our deep commitment to showcasing phenomenal talent, to partnering with artists from all over the globe and to supporting them in sharing their music while creating opportunities to expand their fanbase.”

‘The Conductor’ and Coke Studio™ global platform is live now.

Though the Coke Studio started earlier, Coca Cola was lenient in making it a global platform that will compete in the music industry. Apple Music which started in 2015, has become a global music force and a huge source of revenue for the iPhone maker.

This move by Coca Cola to expand the Coke Studio is also a strategy of diversification – divesting from consumables to multi-billion dollar music industry.

Under the aegis of its recently established Africa Transformation Office (ATO), the global Information Technology (IT) giant, Microsoft, in March 2022, graciously announced new initiatives to accelerate the growth of 10,000 African start-ups and fast-track investment on the continent’s ecosystem over the next five years.

Microsoft’s recently launched global Founders Hub will now be available to African start-ups through the ATO.

It’s noteworthy the Founders Hub is a self-service venture that provides start-ups with a wide range of resources, including access to mentors, skilling content, tools like Microsoft Azure and GitHub, and go-to-market and business support.

Microsoft is also creating new partnerships with accelerators and incubators across Africa, including Grindstone, Greenhouse, FlapMax and Seedstars to provide industry-based start-ups with access to markets, technical skills and funding opportunities.

These partnerships would provide African start-ups with access to skilling programs and markets, including opportunities to co-sell with Microsoft, as well as access to technology, with support from Microsoft’s engineering and product teams for co-innovation opportunities.

To enable start-ups to rapidly scale through using investment funding, Microsoft is establishing industry alliances and partnerships with venture capital investors that would facilitate access to $500 million in potential funding for African start-ups.

This funding would reportedly come from a network of venture capital investors, who would dedicate a portion of their financial support to start-ups in the Microsoft network.

It would interest us to note that Microsoft had already established partnerships with several key venture capital investors, including Banque Misr, Global Venture Capital and Get Funded Africa, and the intention was to grow this network of venture capital investors in the next five years to increase funding and enable them to scale up and drive economic growth.

Microsoft believes the vibrant African start-up market is well placed to become a cornerstone of the continent’s digital economy, supporting local innovation through relevant solutions to societal challenges.

The Managing Director of the Microsoft ATO, Wael Elkabbany said, “Investments into Africa’s start-up ecosystem are growing at an exciting pace. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), there are more than 640 active tech hubs across Africa, accelerating innovation and creating employment, particularly among the youth.”

“However, currently the African start-up market represents less than one per cent of total investments worldwide. This needs to change.”

He reveals that Microsoft’s endeavour to dramatically scale its impact would be driven by an overarching strategy with three key focus areas.

Elkabbany concludes, “There is huge potential for Africa to become a thriving hub of digital innovation on the global start-up landscape. Our ambition is to see an explosion of local inventions that will contribute positively, not just to Africa’s digital economy, but to global society.”

On his part, the Start-ups Lead of the Microsoft ATO, Gerald Maithya further disclosed that Microsoft was establishing partnerships with venture capital investors, primarily those with global reach and regional bases, who are interested in one or more regions within Africa.

He said, “Our goal in establishing these partnerships with venture capital investors is to extend the network of potential partnerships between Microsoft, venture capital investors and start-ups, thereby increasing the funding made available to eligible start-ups.”

“We understand that each start-up is unique and exists beyond the limitations of a one-size-fits-all partnership model. This is why Microsoft will tailor each partnership to the needs of individual start-ups, providing support and access – whether to technology, markets and co-sell opportunities, funding or digital skills – to enable them to grow and contribute to the wider economic growth of Africa.”

What was more of interest in Microsoft’s report, where it mentioned that ‘currently the African start-up market represents less than one per cent of total investments worldwide’ having acknowledged that the continent could boast of more than 640 active tech hubs.

This is to say that the concerned authorities on the African continent aren’t doing enough as expected of them, hence the compelling need to expedite actions in a bid keying into the needful.