Just recently in June, Safaricom underwent a brand repositioning which saw the company come up with a ‘new’ logo and tagline. Safaricom is no longer ‘The better Option’ and has adopted a new one, Twaweza. I find this one much precise in the company’s achievements, and definitely Kenyan. According to Bob Collymore during the launching, Safaricom was aimed at presenting a more humane network.

“We [Safaricom] are calling the spirit, Twaweza, and simply it means that we believe when we come together, great things happen.” Said the company’s CEO. The company intends to be a “digital lifestyle enabler,” a phrase which only time will tell what it really means.

Among the services that Safaricom will be offering, is music streaming application which will be launched sometime this month. The service is intended to be a platform where artists can post and share their music, which can also be bought from the platform. Think of it as a Kenyan beat port or iTunes. Cool, huh?

Bob Collymore, while addressing artists in PrideInn Hotel, Mombasa, made it clear that the innovation will be a streaming service, which will provide talented artists with a revenue stream from their art. According to Bob, artists put in too much work and skill to create great music, which should not be free. This is a very considerate move, which may play a great role in helping artists earn from their music, a thing that is not usually easily achievable in this country.

Earlier, the company has launched other innovative ways to help artists, among them Skiza Tunes. This is a service that allows fans to use music as their ringback tunes when calling someone. Artists are then paid depending on the frequency of use of the service. Although the service is not very appealing to most, many artists have found it beneficial and motivating.

“Skiza is great, but you need to be able to stream your music. People need to be able to stream and buy your full tracks. That is why, we are launching a Safaricom music app where you can put your music for sale. I don’t believe your music should be free, it doesn’t work for me,” said Bob Collymore.

Contrary to the Skiza tunes, however, the service will provide better quality and complete songs. The service will also offer cloud storage facilities, which will help ease on the space occupied by audio files. The move comes at a time where the use of audio streaming platforms, online radios, and other wed-base forms of entertainment are being highly embraced.