Professionalizing the Creative Economy in Africa
The increase in the visibility of African artists on the global stage, in terms of collaboration with superstars, awards and endorsements has not been in doubt. However one question that is increasingly being asked across the continent based on this visibility of African talent is how has this rise in visibility benefited the local communities in the African continent that the talents come from It is this question that has birthed the efforts of a community of music industry professionals across the continent who wish to to help African creatives in leveraging digital platforms for distribution, fostering cross-border collaborations, and building stronger industry networks to support talent development and market expansion. Our board member, Kayode Adebayo was on France 24 Paris “Eyes on Africa” with Georja Calvin Smith, to talk about our vision and work around professionalizing the creative industry in Africa. Watch the interview on our Facebook page
Building Professional Networks in the African Music Industry
The African music industry is getting more and more vibrant, diverse, colourful and youthful, and over the past decade there has been an exponential increase in the visibility of African artists on the global stage, in terms of collaboration with superstars, awards and endorsements. However there is a need to create a community of music industry professionals across the continent to help African creatives in leveraging digital platforms for distribution, fostering cross-border collaborations, and building stronger industry networks to support talent development and market expansion. One of our members, Germany-based Zimbabwean creative Plot Mhako, had an interview with The Standard, about us and the work we are doing to connect music professionals in Africa. You can read more about the interview here : Newsday
The Role of African Music Festivals in Supporting Africa’s Growing Music Industry
Over the last few years, African festivals have increased during summer across the Diaspora and over the Continent. However, many music professionals have often called for better integration, harmonisation and promotion across the different African regions to ensure that more opportunities are unlocked across the African music landscape and enterprises to help access financing, promoting tourism and economic development. In this podcast our founder, Katherine McVicker speaks with Nonso Mordi of Africa Business Radio on the role of African music festivals and events in supporting Africa’s growing music industry, increment in revenues and tourism and what policymakers and various African tourist agencies need to do to facilitate this and deliver socio-economic impact and foster employment. You can listen to the interview at Africa Business Radio