Glo has taken the lead in developing African talents in music – Spiro, Sony Music scribe -

*Spiro Damaskinos

Spiro Damaskinos, is the International Marketing Director of Sony Music’s RCA Africa label and the Greek guy who has put in 17 years of his life into producing music describes himself simply as “ a music guy” and in the simplest terms, a Disc Jockey, who has worked with countless established international names across the world. He has worked with the likes of R-Kelly, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Chris Brown, to name a few. In this chat with Weekend Groove, Spiro speaks about Sony’s contract with Glo, the company who has brought the internationally acclaimed best reality TV show, X-Factor to Africa for the first time and many more: excerpts

Why did Sony decide to partner with Glo on X Factor Show?

We at Sony, globally, are the partner for X Factor. And like two great minds, with Glo sponsoring the show and with Sony Music being the global music company for X Factor, a natural synergy came into being. It has been good.

What’s your impression of the artistes you have seen on the show so far?

First of all, we are so excited we are launching X Factor in Africa, specifically in Nigeria and Ghana through Globacom who have taken the initiative to bring the best reality TV show to Africa. We are so happy to just develop the talents here and to give the platform for these talents to showcase themselves. The show is not aired in South Africa but we are keeping abreast with the production company, back there and they give us the CDs, the DvDs and we are very impressed. There is a wide range of talents here, either with the solo or the group artistes. It is very exciting. I think it is a fantastic level of artistes we have for the show and you will see as the show develops into second and third season, the artistes can only get better, developing even more.

How do you compare the talents you have seen here with those you have worked with across the world?

You must remember this is all about developing raw talents and if you talk about artistes I have worked with, you are talking about professionals who have been in the trade for a long time. There is no way you can compare developing artistes to established artistes but from the perspective of raw talent what we have here can hold their own anywhere in the world. I must tell you the music talents here in Nigeria and in Ghana are of world class quality. Quite impressive and simply world class.
Can you tell us briefly about Sony as a Brand?

At Sony, our role is simply to discover talents, record talents and release them and we have got high ethics how we operate. We like to be a recording company of choice because of high level of development and service we give with the artistes that are signed to us.

What should the contestants have?

It’s about having the X Factor, at least, that was the reason we identified with this project globally. X Factor is about having a little extra quality, maybe in the voice, in the way they carry themselves and connect with the audience. There is a certain factor there about the way an artiste grabs you, the delivery, the poise and all the factors that combine to make an artiste endearing and different to the listening public.

Glo is the first organisation to bring the show to Africa. What is your view about what Glo has done?

I think it’s fantastic. I think it’s wonderful that Glo has got the vision to bring on board, to sponsor and launch a show like this, to invest in the growth of African talents. It is highly commendable.

Would the winning act record a single or full album?

The winner gets a full album contract though it’s going to be in stages.

How would you market the winning act in Africa?

Of course, through normal marketing avenues. We have quite an extensive network throughout Africa. We are going to explore all traditional marketing roots, everything, from recording singles, radios, videos, online campaign, touring, essentially, all elements of marketing will be explored.

Which artistes have you worked with?

Internationally, we have the likes of Beyonce, Chris Brown, R-Kelly, Foo Fighters, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys- so many. In Africa, we started signing artistes only recently and we have signed D’Banj, some East African artistes like K-Switch. We are just plugging into the African market, and really, it’s been so exciting in such a short time.

What would you advise the voting public to look out for while voting for the contestants?

It’s so hard to say because different things work for different people. It is really up to the voters to go with their heart depending on who they connect with. You cannot really advise what the public should look out for. It is the most challenging aspect of the show and that’s why it is much fun because you never know what ‘s going to connect the public to the artistes. People see things in different perspectives.

But what are the qualities that make a good artiste?

It’s about everything: it can range from a good voice, good song-writing, instrumental to just someone being marketable. It is also very important when you sign an artiste, you identify who the artiste is and why you are marketing the artiste too. You never can tell, it varies from artiste to artiste.

Apart from the 150 thousand dollars Glo is giving out, what is your own total package?

The winning act is automatically signed to Sony Music to record a full album. So, he has the opportunity to tap into the Sony system to be label mates with the likes of Beyonce, Chris Brown and many others. It is like coming into the world of Sony Music, so to speak. At Sony we are all family and they get all the resources we have got over the years, recording, making videos, an international platform to work with.

So in essence, it’s like the winning act having their lives changed overnight?

I don’t believe in the overnight change of life but it is a continuous process. I must tell you the real work begins after the winner emerges. It is not a matter where you think because you have won you go to sleep,no. The moment you are on screen, that’s when the real work starts. Sincerely, they must work even harder after the show.

Where will you be producing the winner, in Africa or Europe?

We believe in Africa. We don’t believe there is any advantage other parts of the world have over say, Nigeria, Ghana or South Africa. Whatever we can do in those places we can replicate in Africa just as efficiently as in Europe or any where in the world.

Sourced from vanguardngr.com