Dudu Sarr, our member from Senegal, is a recognized expert in the music sector in Africa. A major voice in the Francophone Africa Jazz Scene, he holds a postgraduate degree in Information Management Systems from the University of Westminster during the 20 years he spent in London building his career as an artist manager and a booking agent. Dudu came back to Dakar, where he founded the Dakar Music Expo, an international music fair that draws artists and festival goers from across the world, and is also one of the most popular music festivals in Francophone Africa.
Artist Manager, Talent Promoter, Culture Exchange Champion
Dudu Sarr has been Grammy Award Winning Musician Youssou N’Dour’s international manager for the past 12 years, a position that has allowed him access to the who-in-whos of the global music industry. Dudu uses this access to advocate for African music and the development of new African talent in Francophone Africa in particular and Africa in general.
Dudu is a fervent champion of culture exchange between Africa and other parts of the world. The Dakar Music Expo which he founded in 2020, has become a platform to shine the spotlight on talent across Francophone Africa, (which he believes is underrepresented in current mainstream music) and to have conversations on building the African music industry. This year’s edition of the event focused on the development of African Jazz, a genre that Dudu is particular in love with, and was attended by twenty five (25) representatives from the Jazz Festival Network in Europe
Dudu also leads The African Music Export platform, a dynamic project in conjunction with by Delicious Tunes, a respected agency based in Germany led by Stephanie Schumann with over 12 years of experience in exporting African music worldwide. This platform aims to amplify the rich, diverse sounds of African music and ensure they reach new audiences globally. With Dudu’s extensive experience and network, combined with Delicious Tunes’ expertise in promoting African talent and managing cross-border music ventures, the African Music Export platform connect artists with global opportunities, building international collaborations and performances.
Furthermore Dudu is also the founder and director of Motherland Music, an Events, Artist Management & Booking, and Music Production company based in London, United Kingdom, but with clients all around the world.
Moving Forward
Dudu Sarr believes that artistes in the Francophone Africa music industry need to be more visible in mainstream music conversations, and thus he continues to use his platforms, most especially the Dakar Music Expo, which he produces, to be a platform to promote genres of music from Francophone Africa. Furthermore he believes in the power of culture exchange to take African music global. For example, one of the music projects he is working on is focused on Turkey, a culture that he believes is as rich musically as Africa and which African musicians can collaborate with in terms of culture exchange.
