Wild Africa has concluded plans to launch “Music for Wildlife,” a concert series that brings African artists together to protect the continent’s iconic wildlife. For launch this weekend with OAS1SONE, it is a premium live, on-demand content and live experiences network on Trace’s TV broadcast channels and streaming platform.
In Nigeria, the shows can be found on Trace Naija, channel 325 on DSTV. Produced by Wild Africa, a nonprofit organisation inspiring the protection of Africa’s wildlife and wild spaces, and with OAS1SONE, Music for Wildlife now sees Africa’s creative talent and natural heritage celebrated globally, reaching more than 350 million people.
Music for Wildlife’s engaging blend of studio sessions, interviews and captivating wildlife content will reach viewers in over 180 countries, across 28 localised Trace TV channels and Trace+ global streaming platform. These performances will air across Trace’s television and streaming platform from June 21 onwards aligned with Trace’s 21st Anniversary.
Through the intimate concert series, audiences will meet Africa’s finest musicians, including chart-topping stars such as Musa Keys, CKay, Focalistic, and a multitude of other stars as well as the latest emerging talent, as they tell the story of their music, lives, careers and inspirations, and express their passion for endangered species.
Each concert also includes special features from African and international stars from music entertainment, sports, comedy, television, and film like Davido, 2Baba, Jacky Chan, Boity, Alex Iwobi, Stonebwoy, Emmanuella, Yao Ming, Sir Richard Branson, Morgan Heritage, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Stephanie Linus, Djimon Hounsou, and many others.
Featuring over 150 musicians from across the continent, Music for Wildlife harnesses the emotive power of music to raise awareness and inspire action for wildlife protection.
Never has the need been more urgent for relevant, creative ways to help society connect with conservation, according to Wildlife Africa.
Africa, home to a quarter of the world’s biodiversity, faces enormous challenges – from poaching to habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade to climate change and human-wildlife conflict. Wildlife populations calling the continent home have plunged by 66% in the last 50 years, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report.
Once home to rhinos, giraffes, and cheetahs, Nigeria faces rapid biodiversity loss rates. With just 50 West African lions, about 100 Cross River gorillas, and a couple hundred elephants, many species stand on the brink. According to the UN, the country also has the highest rate of deforestation in the world, losing 3.7% of vitally important forest each year, and has emerged as an export hub for the illegal trade in pangolin scales and ivory.
But Africa is not staying silent. From Johannesburg to Lagos, Accra to Windhoek, artists raise their voices, speak out against the threats facing wildlife, and inspire their audiences to connect with their wild spaces in national parks. Nigeria’s musicians, 2Baba, Ckay, Laycon, 2Baba, and more, are especially vocal and are working with Wild Africa as part of a wider campaign beyond Music for Wildlife. They’re taking a stand against illegal bushmeat, deforestation, the illegal wildlife trade and promoting wildlife tourism. And it’s having an impact.
A recent survey of 1,000 Nigerians conducted by Lagos-based Market Surveys International found that 88 percent are aware of Wild Africa’s campaign, with 97 percent of people aged 10-17 reporting that they remember the campaign. Additionally, 86 percent said they would no longer kill or consume because of learnings from the campaign, and 31 percent said they have stopped consuming bushmeat due to the campaign.
This kind of impact is the aim of partnerships between artists Trace, OASISONE, and Wild Africa, as each makes clear.
“Africans should care about protecting wildlife. Wildlife and national parks create a lot of jobs in Africa, such as attracting tourists from across the world. Let’s use music and arts, to protect our amazing wildlife,” noted Focalistic, one of the early pioneers of Amapiano and multi-award-winning rapper, singer, songwriter and global superstar.
“African artists are very powerful voices and can make the difference to raise awareness for better wildlife protection in Africa. Trace is proud to open its global network to host the Music for Wildlife shows that perfectly align with our values and initiatives,” says Olivier Laouchez, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Trace Group.
“Trace, one of the most powerful global broadcast media networks of African music and content, joins some of the most influential artists and voices in African music entertainment, in partnership with one of the leading conservation communications organisations in the world, to collectively lend their voices for Africa’s future, for its wildlife conservation.
“We are thrilled to be part of this game-changing partnership, both for the massive audience reach in protecting Africa’s wildlife, but also the unprecedented push this will achieve for Africa’s amazing artists and music, to audiences of millions around the globe,” says Jandre Louw, Founder and CEO of OAS1SONE.
“We are excited to partner with Trace in the launch of Music for Wildlife across their varied and far-reaching channels. This collaboration allows us to leverage the power of music to connect with a continent-wide and even global audience, turning up the volume on the issues that affect not only wildlife but the natural foundation on which human life depends,” says Peter Knights, Wild Africa CEO.
