| Trace Africa | |
| Picture Format: | DStv, 1080i (HDTV,) - DStv |
| Owner: | TPG Capital |
| Country: | South Africa |
| Area: | Africa |
| Headquarters: | Johannesburg |
| Replaced: | Trace Sport Stars (DStv) |
| Website: | http://www.trace.tv/trace-africa |
| Terr Serv 1: | DStv |
| Terr Chan 1: | Channel 326 |
| Terr Serv 2: | Zuku TV |
| Terr Chan 2: | Channel 746 |
Trace Africa is an Afro-pop music channel dedicated to airing Africa's top music artists. Trace Africa, Africa’s number one music channel, is dedicated to playing and showcasing music of Africa’s top artists and genres including Afro-pop, coupé-décalé, Kwaito house, Afro-trap, makossa, and ndombolo through radio and live concert events. Trace Africa is a smaller section of the larger Trace brand, a company dedicated to spreading music, news and culture throughout the African Diaspora. Trace Africa the radio show first premiered on DStv, in 2016 as a replacement to Trace Sports Stars through the whole continent and as of 2017 is also now on StarSat[1]
Since then, Trace Africa has greatly expanded with ten radio shows featuring music from all corners of Africa. With the implementation of these new radio shows the youthful, innovative music channel, with the ability to offer powerful audiences in target populations, has recently been rated number one in French-speaking Africa.[2] Trace Africa has traditionally found much of its success through music broadcasting; however, it places to expand its reach into the field of sports with its launch of Trace Sports Channel. This channel aims to connect sports and entertainment by showing the private lives of sports stars. With this new development, Trace hopes to expand its reach globally so as to free itself from reliance on developed countries[3]
Trace Africa has ten radio shows with specialized music from all corners of Africa. Two of these, Naija and Mziki, traditionally Zimbabwean music, are a recent addition to Trace Africa. According to Trace’s chief executive officer Oliver Laouchez, "Trace is already the leading music brand in Africa. These three new localized music channels will help promote more artists from the three biggest music hubs of Africa and they will better serve the strong need of the local audiences for great local content".[4] The premier of these specialized shows was taken with open arms by many Zimbabwean artists because their music is often overshadowed by music from Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. The Trace Africa Channels include:
Since music for Trace Africa is selected and researched from local and international artists at one of the three Trace sites located in South Africa, Cameroon and Nigeria, local artists are set to benefit greatly from the growth of Trace Africa. Those from Zimbabwe have especially benefited from Trace Africa’s methods of finding music. Zimbabwean artists have often been suppressed in the shadow of more well-known Nigerian and South African artists, and Trace Africa has now become the platform where many artists can showcase their talents and put themselves on the map. Furthermore, with the new trace Africa geography-based channels, Zimbabweans and other artists who have often been overshadowed now have the chance to be seen. This also increases creativity and productivity in local artists.[6]
Trace is the overarching brand that encompasses Trace Africa founded in 2011. Trace is a mix of music videos, specials and documentaries, covering genres like kwaito, house, sungura, coupé-décalé, Afro-pop, rumba and ndombolo. With its headquarters based in Paris and sites in three countries in Africa, Trace has become an international broadcasting and news platform in the past seven years. Trace’s website, trace.tv, helps readers and listeners keep up with the latest of African pop news. Trace showcases music through featured, charts, playlists, clips, events and Trace Live, live performances held by Trace throughout the year.
Culture is also a fundamental part of Trace news and featured articles about African TV, movies and art. Trace also uses its news portion to showcase famous Africans throughout the diaspora through style sections, red carpet looks and biographies about rising black women called "black girls' rule." Finally Trace rounds out its news outlet with its lifestyle section featuring blogs about beauty and fashion, sports news, guides to traveling African cities and information about Trace-hosted events throughout Africa.
Trace FM is the radio section of Trace and is the means through which Trace Africa is broadcast. Trace FM is focused by country or geographical region, including TV channels, radios events and apps. The specific channels of Trace FM are listed below:
TV channels: urban, tropical, Africa, toca, mziki, naija, gospel, sports stars, prime
Radio stations: Guadalupe, Guyana, Ivory Coast, Martinique, Paris, La Reunion, Haiti
Events: Trace Live, Trace Music Star
Apps: Trace Play, Trace radio
Trace Africa hosts events throughout the African diaspora aimed at spreading African culture and music through what is dubbed as Trace Live. Some examples of these events include: