Former Spotify Global Programming Head of Hip Hop Tuma Basa has officially agreed to join YouTube as its New Director Of Urban Music. Basa’s new position at YouTube was initially reported last month in May, but YouTube chose not to comment on the new hiring until now.
YouTube announced that Basa “will lead activities that draw on his deep industry connections and expertise in programming to increase our engagement with the urban music community, artists and consumers.”
Since this is a newly created role, Basa will be able to shape the position to his liking as long as he meets the standards of YouTube. Essentially, Basa will be mainly responsible for helping artists and labels get the full benefit of YouTube’s direct-to-fan tools through product education and individual meetings; in addition, he will also serve as a liaison between YouTube and the urban music artist community to enhance engagements with YouTube affiliates.
Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music at YouTube, provided the following statement on Basa’s hiring, and how he benefits the company:
“Tuma brings a deep knowledge of the Music Industry with many years of experience at BET, MTV, REVOLT and most recently, Spotify. His experience will be invaluable to the music journey we are on at YouTube, connecting artists and fans across the globe, and I am thrilled to welcome his voice to our collective efforts.”
YouTube aims to capitalize on the growing urban music category that has shown a lot of potential in total views and popularity. With the hiring of Tuma Basa, the company finds itself in a better position to compete for artist engagement and higher rates of consumer viewership, especially after Basa’s proven success with Spotify.
