Sarah Jane Nicholson is a prominent figure in the South African music industry. Originally from the Netherlands, She now spends most of her time between South Africa and Berlin. Known for her creative energy, community-first mindset, and fearless ideas, she continues to build platforms that push boundaries and place African creativity at the center of the global conversation, she has successfully connected African music with global markets. With nearly two decades of experience in various sectors, She has evolved into an impactful presence in the African music industry in particular, and the global music industry as a whole.
Artist Manager, Techie, and An Advocate for Women in the African Music Industry
Nicholson is the Managing Director of Paradise Africa Distribution, an affiliate of the global company Paradise Worldwide – a tech power team with headquarters in Berlin and offices around the world that specializes in protection and independent rights collection – and is committed to developing African music on a worldwide scale, providing a new age model for independent artists and labels, breaking down the traditional management model in lieu of an evolved approach to the music business, authentically tailored to the artist’s needs. Sarah is one of the Founders of Africa Rising Music Conference, an annual female led Independent music conference that takes place in Johannesburg every May.
Over the years, she’s supported groundbreaking artists from Zakes Bantwini to Moonchild Sanelly, and engineered cultural collaborations between South Africa, Berlin, Ibiza, New York and beyond. Being a bold advocate for neurodiversity and underrepresented voices in the music business, Sarah Jane is also the founding member of Women in Music South Africa, and also leads Mamas in Music Africa with initiatives that spotlight the role of women and mothers in reshaping the global music industry. With a growing catalogue of globally expansive releases and a rapidly expanding conference, SJ is not just watching the tide change – she’s the one helping to shift it.
Her Goals Going Forward
S.J. Nicholson wants to be at the forefront of pioneers building a future-facing model for music. Paradise is deeply engaged in AI rights protection, and the brand has been working alongside Allrights Aixchange and as part of the Get Paid Get Played campaign by the Association for Electronic Music. S.J believes AI will play a major role in the future of the African Music industry, but African creators in particular need to be protected, credited, and properly compensated. It’s a space where artists and rights-holders risk losing significant income if they don’t get involved now. Sarah Jane Nicholson also hopes to use her experience as a regular speaker and curator on the global circuit to lead forward-thinking conversations on talent development, cross-continental collaboration, and industry innovation that highlight Africa’s global potential.
At Arts Connect Africa, we recognize S.J. Nicholson as an impact maker on the African continent, because her efforts are in line with our own goals as a collective.
