Upstart Label ChiBase Productions ....

ChiBase Productions founder/president Chetachi Ecton

By Patricia Meschino | August 19, 2014 11:44 AM EDT
As the ancestral home of American jazz and the blues, Jamaican reggae and Trinidadian calypso, the music of Africa has had a far-reaching influence on genres throughout the world. Yet contemporary African artists, with few exceptions, struggle to impact beyond the continent, or fan bases within African expatriate communities in the U.S. and Europe.

The recently formed New York City-based label ChiBase Productions aims to establish a mainstream presence for the diversified sounds emanating from a continent with over a billion people spread over some 50 countries, singing in a wide array of languages and dialects, juxtaposing cutting-edge technology with ancient traditions.

ChiBase Productions' Nigeria-born founder and president Chetachi Ecton was inspired to set up the label three years ago, following a Thanksgiving gathering in her Philadelphia home.

"My (American-born) children were listening and dancing to these beautiful Nigerian songs that I had never heard before, so I wondered, if there is such lovely music being made in Africa, why isn't it played on the radio or on TV here? So I decided to start a label that can take African music to the world and see what kind of difference it can make," Ecton explained in an interview with Billboard at her midtown Manhattan office. 

Ecton presides over several successful enterprises, including a Philadelphia-based home healthcare agency and the When In Need (WIN) charitable foundation through which she is currently rebuilding and completely furnishing an elementary school in her hometown of Owerri (referred to as Nigeria's entertainment capital). Ecton is a recipient of several citations for her achievements in business including the 2011 Entrepreneurship Award from Philadelphia's African and Caribbean Business Council. Drawing from her business experience, passion for Africa and lifelong love for music, Ecton has structured ChiBase Productions as a one-stop entertainment platform offering artist development, licensing, joint ventures, distribution, marketing, touring and management services.
read more: http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6221860/chibase-productions-african-music-label