Pepsi Nigeria, the cola soft drink company, has partnered with Empire, the American record label, to launch a music academy in Nigeria.
Segun Ogunleye, the marketing manager at Seven-Up bottling company, announced the partnership at an event held in Lagos on Thursday.
He said the Pepsi Music Academy (PMA) will “cater for the discovery and incubation of talents across the music industry”.
Ogunleye said through the academy, participants will be exposed to industry education from business leaders who have contributed to the global growth of Afrobeats and the Nigerian music ecosystem.
“Afrobeats which is now exported globally, has become more unaffordable for the average Nigerian and with PMA, we will be raising the next set of industry talents to grow Afrobeats and continue to make fun moments more accessible to our consumers. This is the reason we have partnered with a global music entity, Empire to birth the Pepsi Music Academy (PMA),” he said.
“The Pepsi Music Academy will be a gamechanger for the music industry because it will not just be a platform to discover, nurture and empower music talents, it will also provide a rounded education for young individuals who are interested in other aspects of music such as A&R., legal, public relations and marketing, sound engineering among others.”
Ogunleye revealed that the top three finalists from the academy will get brand new SUVs, a living allowance for 2 years, Pepsi brand ambassadorship, and music production by Sarz, Masterkraft, and Blaisebeatz, the Grammy winners.
Other benefits include a music video production sponsored by Pepsi and a 2-year developmental recording deal with Empire.
Mobolaji Kareem, Empire’s regional head of West Africa, described the partnership as a landmark project for the next generation of talents in the music industry who will further expand Afrobeats’ dominance globally.
“We are happy to partner with Pepsi to continue to foster talent and develop the music ecosystem in Nigeria,” he said.
“Together, we ensure that music talents from the country are able to actualise their dreams and become global superstars.”
Interested participants should submit entries via the official website of the academy.
The portal will be opened for a period of eight weeks.
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