"Music Exchange was established in 2009 as a bridge and guide into the broader entertainment economy," says MEX founder Martin Myers. "What was clear to us, from the outset, was a real need to help educate and keep safe young, aspiring and established creatives."

"We've successfully achieved that by brokering and investing in masterclasses, an annual conference that is now in its 11th year, and outreach programmes that extend as far as the European Union," adds Myers.

ayoba offers:
  • free instant messaging
  • voice and video calling
  • games
  • music
  • news, and
  • entertainment news.
"This partnership with ayoba gives all of its active users access to our content, which we look to share with creatives right across the continent," Myers says. "In growing our reach, we get to share our voice by investing decades-worth of insights, learnings, best practice and practical advice that before now was severely lacking. It's an honour and an exciting next chapter for MEX in helping turn raw talent into commercial success for everyone on the ayoba platform."

"ayoba is delighted to partner with MEX," says Olivier Prentout, head of customer at ayoba. "The education they will be provided via our platform fits so well with our values to entertain, educate and uplift."

"Their work is critical in our creative communities, and we look forward to exposing it via our music blog The Daily Plug. We launched this channel nearly a year ago as we could see the need for education in our community and the uptake has been nothing short of amazing," concludes Prentout.

ayoba users can access MEX on The Daily Plug by subscribing to the channel at no cost. They can do so by downloading the app from the Play Store, register and signup for the channel.

The Daily Plug currently has over 400 000 subscribers. ayoba also offers over 40 additional music channels, including playlists and artist spotlight channels. MTN users are provided with a daily allocation of free data to access ayoba.

For more information, visit www.musicexchange.org.za. You can also follow MEX on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.