A Study on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pop Music Production and Dissemination in Kenya

Abstract

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in the creation and dissemination of pop music in Kenya. The pandemic forced pop musicians to use innovative methods in magnitudes that had never been experienced by musicians since the invention of music technology in the mid-19^th century. The pandemic necessitated the need for pop musicians to develop innovative technological methods for musical production, performance, and dissemination. This study examined the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the musical production, performance, and dissemination in Kenya. The study objectives were two-fold: (1) To investigate how COVID-19 opened new avenues for live music production, and (2) How COVID-19 changed the music consumption and dissemination modalities across various age-groups. We relied on ethnographic data that was largely descriptive in character while looking at how pop musicians created and disseminate music in Kenya during the pandemic. This literature review looks at the music making and performance of popular genres during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya which include Afro-fusion, Afro-soul, Afro-pop, Genge, Hip-hop, Jazz, Bongo, Alternative music and Rhythm and Blues. For our analysis, we considered only the research on popular musical genres such as Afro-fusion, Afro-Soul, Afro-pop, Genge, Hip-hop, Jazz, Bongo, Alternative, and Rhythm and blues. We collected data from organizations including UNESCO, Kenya Nairobi horns music project, Café Ngoma, Kenyan research on popular music and popular music articles written during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study showed that digital music modalities such as music streaming, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram became extremely popular as musicians spent more time at home producing pop music for the consumer market. On the other hand, the lifting of pandemic restrictions in public life brought back live pop music events, which are currently seeing a rise in demand.

Keywords: COVID-19, pop music, Kenyan electropop music culture, music technology, social media, fourth industrial revolution

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-27-02

Publication date:September 30^th 2023