Camille Storm - On Music in Africa before, during & post Covid_19

As a continent, Africa has become synonymous with music over the years. Whether it’s dancing to the beat of our own drums, telling our stories or acknowledging the inherent groove that exists in every aspect of our lives, it’s safe to say that our love affair with music transcends status, nationality, tribe and generation. The late great Nelson Mandela once said, the curious beauty of African Music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad tale. Our current sad tale is Covid-19 and the disastrous effects it has had on our livelihoods. But like famines and uprisings in the past, we have had each other, a lot of music and heart to pull us through. However, like many lines of work, the music industry was affected profoundly by the Coronavirus outbreak. To give us a better look at Africa’s vibrant music scene before, during and after the pandemic, we sat down with Camille Storm, a Creative Entrepreneur with her finger on the pulse of Africa’s music scene. 

Please introduce yourself 

My name is Angela Kariuki, but I go by Camille Storm. I was born on October 31st 1995 in Nairobi, Kenya. I’m an entrepreneur,  music executive and journalist. I would describe myself as a perfectionist, ambitious, risk-taking mogul in the making. 

One might say you wear many hats, which are they? 

I’m known for being a music journalist as I have profiled major names in music such as Rema, Kwesta, and more for various international publications like The Fader, OkayAfrica and Boiler Room. In recent times though, I have ventured more into the music business side of things with my agency, Camille & Co. where we offer A&R(artists and repertoire), public relations and consulting services and with our latest expansion which is my new distribution service C&C distro.(first and only Africa-owned distribution service in East Africa as far as I know)  So there's journalist, publicist, music consultant, A&R and music distributor. At this point just call me a music executive. It makes it easier! lol

When did your journey in the music industry begin and what inspired it? 

I was heavily inspired by conscious hip-hop as a pre-teen which was really weird because I was an 11-year-old girl listening to Lupe Fiasco, Common and Mos Def all the time. But that was when I became obsessed with music and started exposing myself to all genres and really expanding my musical palate.  I I always loved writing and I excelled at English in school so at some point I meshed my love for music and writing and started my first serious blog “The Camille Way” in 2011. After years of blogging and then writing professionally about music, I was approached by an OG in the industry who thought I had the potential to do more than just write. He wanted me to start organizing and curating events with him and that’s pretty much how I realized I could do much more in this space. Even though events are now not my thing anymore, it was my first introduction to the business side of things.  But still, I would’ve never seen myself ending up where I am. I’ve kind of dabbled in different fields in this business and now I’m just getting to figure out where I belong and what role I’d really love to play with regards to the African music industry. But when I look back, it’s kind of crazy that I’ve made a career out of having a really good taste in music. 

Who are some of the industry greats you look up to? 

A lot of people who meet me tell me I remind them of Karen Civil which is awesome cause I definitely admire her a lot. But on a personal note, the people who inspire me the most are the ones I’ve met on my journey who have believed in me and taught me so much. I’d say Bizzle Osikoya (Co-founder of the Plug Entertainment, Lagos Nigeria), has certainly pushed me, mentored me, and shown me how much can be possible when you make the right moves in this industry. I also really admire my partner and good friend Frank Nwafor(A&R , co- founder of JAM Distro Africa and Sound Genie Global) .I've seen him A&R and promote artists from scratch till they have chart-topping tracks. It’s also special because he’s my business partner and we push each other every single day and I feel that we both are working to change the narrative of African music.

Is it a great time to be on the continent? 

This is such a wonderful time. We have the world’s attention, we have bargaining power, so much is possible. I hope more people across the continent take advantage of this special time to make the partnerships we need to take our industry to the next level and start competing globally. 

Which African acts have you enjoyed yourself the most working with? 

Working with Rema will always be a top moment for me because I’m also his biggest fan as everyone knows! Those are the moments you will always remember, to be able to contribute to the journey of an artist you are obsessed with isn’t something everyone gets to say they have done. I thank God for that. 

What has surprised you the most about the music business/industry 

As a consumer or a music journalist it’s easy to idealize artists because you love  their craft but when you get to know some of them on a personal level it isn’t always as dreamy. When you’re on the music business side of things you have to look out for yourself because artists can be very selfish and will always put themselves first. You have to sometimes actually forget about the music and focus on other more mechanical aspects of the business. So yes, working with artists has definitely shown me things!

Which African acts do you think we're sleeping on?

Alpha P, Kiienka, Merry-Lynn, Veen, Supa Gaeta, Maison2500, David Meli, y’all will definitely all know about these guys soon if you don’t already. Premium talent. 

What are the current most played songs on your phone/iPad etc? 

Cross My Heart( Remix) by Tellaman featuring Alpha P, Kokonya by Spice Diana featuring Harmonize,  Based on by Sammie Ca$h, Mastingo by Kahu$h featuring Chris Kaiga. 

How has covid 19 affected the industry?

Well for starters it’s made everyone in the industry look into other creative ways of marketing and promoting their music while they can’t go out and perform or do physical interviews and the like. There’s obviously a much bigger emphasis on digital promo and social media engagement. The main thing I’ve seen is all the new creative ways we have had to figure money in an attempt to make up for all the money lost when artists are not performing. Monetized livestreams, merchandising, partnering with brands, there’s been a lot more talk about these other revenue streams that may have not been taken as seriously in our industry before. 

What lessons has covid/lockdown taught the many people involved in the industry?

I would say that it’s important to maximize on all possible revenue streams as an artist or industry professional. Many African artists mainly made money from shows but now it’s not that easy. These are the times when being a brand ambassador could be very helpful, or having a great merch line that you can market to your fans, or ensuring your music is getting editorial support and as much promotion as it can on streaming platforms. 

What is the future of the music industry in Africa post covid? 

We just have to adjust and move with the times. But it’s interesting watching players in Asia for example who are still making millions of dollars with virtual concerts, maybe that’s where the world is headed. Maybe we need to start investing in virtual reality and creating experiences for audiences that don’t involve them being there physically. We don’t know when Covid will end or if something like this would happen again but it’s definitely been a wake up call and forced us to put our heads together and come up with new ideas. To be honest, as much as it sucks, I think a lot of innovation has and will come out of this period.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

In 5 years, I will be A&Ring albums and singles by some of the biggest acts in Africa who I may be already working with right now but they just haven’t blown up yet lol. In 5 years, I hope the structures I am trying to put in place with my record label and agency will be fully-functional and in a position to broker important deals and opportunities for African artists. C&C Distro should be in international conversations when it comes to independent music distribution partners and Camille & Co. should have broken at least 3 highly successful artists. In 5 years, just like now, anything will be possible but on a much higher level. Godspeed. 

You can follow more of Camille’s work on: Twitter & Instagram

Interview by Ras Mutabaruka

Images by Paul Kidero for TAP Magazine Issue 14