Local artists are now able to roll in the money thanks to a New Zealand-based company that allows them to earn from streaming their content online. 

Gone are the days of selling CDS and albums. A local musician is testimony that making money by streaming is the future for Samoan musicians.

A well-known local musician, Asuao Mautoatasi Asuao, has made a significant contribution to the local music industry. He expressed his gratitude to Precise Digital for recognising him and other local artists.

"Precise Digital reached out to us in 2020 and started streaming our music through all platforms and for that, we feel that we're actual real musicians," he said.

" I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Josh and Michael of Precise for everything and for considering us local artists.

Asuao began as a solo musician, but in recent years, his wife Matalena Seumanutafa Asuao has joined him, and the two have become one of Samoa's most musical duos.

"The money we received has benefited us in many ways, including improving our musical career by allowing us to buy the necessary equipment for a new release, as well as helping us make ends meet while caring for our family.

"The largest sum we received last year was $12,000, which was a real pleasure to receive."

According to Asuao, music has such a wide variety and getting the right song at the right place and at the right time will give any musician a chance.

He also emphasises the need to improve local artists because pursuing a music career requires a high level of work ethic and the proper approach.

 “We are living on a small island and there's no competition there, but I believe that more work is needed to better our local artists. 

"Show business is an experience and you never know what might happen, it can take overnight or a lifetime to make it through, but I urge our emerging musicians to never give up.

"Our country has heaps of good musicians and aspiring musical writers that could write good songs but don’t have the means to have them play or be given the chance to do so.

"We write songs that have feeling and meaning, but also never be afraid to take whatever chance you're given to showcase your talent and be out there in the real world."

Precise Digital is a music distribution company that serves as a bridge between artists and streaming platforms, helping our local musicians get their music onto various digital platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and TikTok.

They manage the entire process, including encoding, metadata and royalty collection ensuring that the artists can focus on creating music and excelling.

They feel that musicians in Samoa and the Pacific are losing out.

In an interview with Stuff, Precise Digital chief executive Michael Giles estimated Pacific musicians were losing out on thousands of dollars of royalties.

He said artists received on average a small fraction of a cent for each time one of their songs is streamed on a major platform if they meet the requirements.

For YouTube, the minimum requirement for monetisation is a platform of 1000 subscribers and more than 4000 hours of watch time on public videos within the last 12 months.

The head of distribution for Polynesian music is a Samoan, Mase Josh Mase.