Cameroonian Sony Music rep, Eva Sobila recommends the need for digitalization

Cameroonian Sony Music rep, Eva Sobila confabulate the need for digitalization

She has earned a badge of honour for her field of concentration. Even though she loves to keep a low profile, Eva is a resilient individual whose business acumen stems from life experiences. Naturally, she loves music and the moment she figured out she could make a living doing something she loves, she went all out 200%.

Eva Sobila doubles as a Media Personality, Sony Music rep in Cameroon, Label Executive, Audiomack ambassador, Dope Music Host, and VP of the Cameroonian Music Council. She had her primary and secondary education in Cameroon and later travelled to the States to further her education where she studied Communication – Journalism and Marketing.

In an exclusive interview with John Claude of BeenieWords, she acknowledged how important and relevant digitalization has become in the era of Covid. According to her, Covid alone has made us realize how important the digital sphere is – in all fields. In keeping with the age of digitalization, she made mentioned of being able to utilize the internet to be known and make a living is a new wave. Just look at the number of songs Tik Tok users have made popular. The benefits of digital marketing are endless – some people have gone from posting covers on Instagram to charting on Billboard Hot 100, other has gone from posting original content to being brand ambassadors for big brands. 

Eva Sobila

When it comes to the future of the African music market, my best examples are songs like ‘Essence’ by Wizkid ft Tems, ‘Love Nwantiti’ by Ckay, “Peru” by Fireboy DML, “Ibadi” by May D and a whole lot more. Some songs were released as recently as a year ago and others a couple of years back and look at the outcome due to digital marketing. Afrobeats to the world – she discussed.

As Sony Music rep, her prime holy grail is to make artists in the region/country blow bigger and better globally by doing numerous things like pitching for playlisting on major streaming platforms, airplay on mainstream radio around the world, collaborations with A-list artists, world tour opportunities and a whole lot more.

Cameroon has many genres of music and they are all popular. There is Njang from the North-West Region, Makossa from the Littoral Region, Bikutsi, and sub-genre Mbolè, from the Center Region, Benskin from the West Region. Jovi, Daphne, Mr Leo, Blanche Bailly, Magasco, Salatiel, Ko-C, Kameni, Tzy Panchak, Stanley Enow, Locko, Mimie, Askia, Rinyu, Mic Monsta, Blaise B, Cysoul, Averio Djess, Mink’s, Ridimz, Vernyuy Tina, Tenor, Sandrine Nnanga, Maahlox and a whole lot more are endlessly flying high the flag of Cameroon.

Eva Sobila – Cameroonian Sony Music Rep

Talking of being an Audiomack ambassador, she has an official playlist called “Hometown Heroes: Cameroon”. Amazing songs by different Cameroonian artists are added to the playlist each week and this makes the artists visible to Audiomack users. According to Eva, Cameroonian music is doing well and it’s going to do even better. Adding that, their artists are being recognized by international award ceremonies and they do shows/perform in festivals and have high streaming numbers in countries that they haven’t even heard of. This goes to show that the only way forward for the Cameroonian music industry is up.

Considering music as her passion, she has worked with the rapper Mic Monsta, an amazing talent, one of the best lyricists in the country. He was such a joy to work with and his talent is unmatched, she disclosed. For a short period, she managed an artist called Ewube, a dancehall queen. At this moment, she works with Magasco, an Afropop artist. He is also very talented and very diverse. He excels in every genre. She also manages a young lady called Nayah, a vocal extraordinaire. You should check them out.

Getting to the end of the interview she added that, the future for Cameroonian music is extremely bright. Cameroonian music has been sampled by your favourite artists like Michael Jackson sampling the late Cameroonian legend Manu Dibango, the makossa guitar chords from the Littoral region are the foundation of the Ndombolo music genre from DRC and the Republic of Congo. This is to say, the new wave of Cameroonian artists will impact the world the same way other legends did.

Dope Music on the other hand is an informative YouTube show that informs about the business of show business. It sheds light on the different ways money can be made if you are in the music industry – from record label owners to managers. Artists, listen to your managers and appreciate the work they put in. You have no idea the amount of work they are doing in the background. Managers, keep doing what you are doing and be open to new strategies. The industry changes every day so we have to be alert at all times was her piece of advice to both artists and managers.