The cola soft drink manufacturer Pepsi Nigeria has teamed with the American record label Empire to build a music academy in Nigeria.
Segun Ogunleye, marketing manager at Seven-Up Bottling Company, announced the partnership on Thursday during a ceremony in Lagos.
The Pepsi Music Academy (PMA), he says, would “cater for the discovery and incubation of talents across the music industry.”
Participants will be exposed to industry education from business executives who have contributed to the global growth of Afrobeats and the Nigerian music ecosystem, according to Ogunleye.
“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 announced that the top three academy finalists will receive brand new SUVs, a two-year living allowance, Pepsi brand ambassadorship, and music production by Grammy winners Sarz, Masterkraft, and Blaisebeatz.
Other perks include a Pepsi-sponsored music video production and a two-year developmental recording deal with Empire.
Empire’s regional head of West Africa, Mobolaji Kareem, praised the collaboration as a major project for the next generation of music industry talent who would further spread Afrobeats domination 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.
