The Recording Academy, the body responsible for the Grammy Awards in the USA, has received a bid from Kenya of KSh. 500 M to host the awards ceremony.
President William Ruto revealed this during his town hall meeting at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) to commemorate the Hustler’s second anniversary on Monday.
The event was intended to emphasise his administration’s commitment to strengthening Kenya’s creative industry and positioning the country as a global entertainment hub.
This development comes after The Recording Academy pledged its intent to expand “across the Middle East and Africa to collaborate on a framework to bolster the Academy’s presence and services in these rapidly growing music regions.”
KBC Digital reported the news in June when the expansion was announced.
The then Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts Ababu Namwamba said: “Creative Economy is among the key cogs in the wheel driving the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) in Kenya.”
He added that the Kenya Kwanza government saw “the creative sector as a fitting ignition for lighting and unleashing the full potential of this enormous youth bulge.”
The announcement by the Grammys in June came after the institution had embarked on a mission in 2023 to meet music creators and learn more about the music scenes from around the world.
The Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr explained the initiative as a way for the 67-year-old instituiton to change.
“The way music has been going, the way that the world is going, it’s becoming smaller, technology is allowing us to do more, and we’re seeing these really thriving, vibrant music scenes maturing and developing all around the world, and the music ecosystem has just evolved. It’s just changed,” he said.
In April, President Ruto said that Kenya was one of four countries to be chosen to participate in the Grammys through a collaboration with Grammy Global Ventures.
In his address at the town hall on Monday, President Ruto reiterated his government’s position and said the deal was done.
“We have already paid the Ksh. 500 million. This is not something we are planning to do; it’s already done,” President Ruto said.
“I’m confident that the gentleman here from the Grammys can confirm that we’re on the right track to securing Kenya’s position in this exciting initiative.”
The Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi explained that this was one of the outcomes of the president’s visit to the US and his visit to the Tyler Perry studios.
“One of the outcomes of those engagements is a focused effort to grow Kenya’s creative economy and establish Kenya as a hub for global entertainment events,” Mr Itumbi said.
Kenyans react to the KSh. 500M bid
The news has drawn mixed reactions from Kenyans given the country’s perilous economic position.
Coming on the heels of a doctor’s strike, a lecturer’s strike and the news that Kenya Railways has defaulted on its SGR loan, the reception has not been enthusiastic.
Media personality Gathoni reacted to the news by saying that the money could have supported the entertainment industry in Kenya instead.
“Paying 500M to the Grammys while our entertainment industry receives nothing every year is crazy.
“Mind you, it’s not that there’s no budget allocated for Art, it’s that it never reaches the artists.”
Writer and lecturer Wandia Njoya reacted to the news that the Music Copyright Society of Kenya had asked comedian MC Jessy to pay KSh. 200K to host a comedy event by referencing the Grammy bid.
“We have paid 500m to the Grammy’s, I hear. When Kenya Kwanza promised to support creatives, they didn’t mean Kenyan ones,” Ms Njoya said.
All in all, the bid aligns with broader government efforts to forge international collaborations in sports, technology, and the arts.
