Spotify empowering Pinoy creators

I always get a big kick out of checking the daily Spotify hit list. I've been covering the music business for many years and one of my dreams back then was to find a local chart dominated by Filipino artists, not foreign acts.

- BABY A. GIL

This finally happened about five or six years ago when I saw Moira dela Torre, the harana boys Zack Tabudlo, Arthur Nery and others leaving the foreigners on the wayside. And with Dionela, Bini and Hev Abi on top these days, it has been so ever since.

Gustav Back, managing director for Spotify SEA (Southeast Asia), said that the present ratio between foreign and local acts as far as streaming is concerned is 75 percent to 25 percent in favor of the Pinoys. That is quite a number not to mention the fact that our artists also most of the time occupy the top rungs.

Back, who like Spotify comes from Sweden, wants it to stay that way. He was in town a few weeks ago to meet and greet our artists and to hand out Spotify trophies to the most streamed music. The task was a happy one.

“We at Spotify are very proud of how we have been able to help put Filipino music in the charts,” he said.

In fact, he said Spotify has come up with a lot of ways to keep Pinoys busy creating big streamers and enjoying the experience.