African music to take centre stage at RBF Pan-Africa event

The B2B music conference will feature panel discussions, keynote addresses, insightful digital company visit, matchmaking sessions and a hybrid showcase experience with European and African artists. Additionally, a songwriting camp organised by ROBA Music Publishing will connect authors, producers and artists from both continents a week before the event. 

The MIAF has played a curatorial role in the programme, of which the showcase experience and music industry discussions will be available for the public to view. 

The showcase programme will feature Tems (Nigeria), Awa Khiwe (Germany), Kelvyn Colt (Germany) and Yugen Blakrok (South Africa), with the performances broadcast via the Music In Africa Facebook page on 31 May from 8pm CAT. 

The second day of Reeperbahn Festival International Pan-Africa will be dedicated to discussion sessions with respected professionals currently working in the African music and entertainment industry, including Boomplay Tanzania general manager Natasha Stambuli, Aristokrat Group founder and CEO Piriye Isokrari (Nigeria), International Federation of the Phonographic Industry regional director for sub-Saharan Africa Angela Ndambuki (Kenya), Daju founder Hannah Shogbola (UK), musician and producer Muzi (South Africa), Lynx Ghana CEO Richie Mensah (Ghana), festival producer Yemisi Mokuolu (UK) and AfroNation executive producer Ruddy Kwakye (Ghana). 

The discussions will begin at 2pm CAT on 1 June and take a detailed look at the various areas of the African music industry, including its live music platforms and circuits, genres like amapiano, Afrobeats, Afro-trap, singeli and bongo flava, the potential of music streaming, and digital innovation on the continent. Interested individuals can view the insightful discussions by purchasing tickets here.

European delegates will then take part in digital company visits on 2 June where African decision makers will give valuable insights into their work and market. The company visits will include Africori, Lynx Ghana Limited and perFORM Music Incubator. To round off the event, a matchmaking session will take place on 3 June with a view to foster business collaborations between European and African music industry players. 

Reeperbahn Festival International Pan-Africa is a continuation of a reciprocal partnership between the MIAF and Reeperbahn Festival, which saw the German organisation participating at the MIAF’s ACCES music conference in Accra, Ghana, in 2019. Reeperbahn Festival brought three acts and a 30-strong European delegation to the Ghanaian capital, which dedicated itself to learn more about the local music market and create contacts with music professionals from across the African continent. The partnership is broadly based on facilitating sustainable business engagements and exchange between European and African music businesses and professionals, as well as the provision of performance opportunities to musicians in both territories. 

“Promoting international cultural exchange and enabling small and medium-sized music industry participants to enter new and relevant cultural markets is the goal we have been pursuing with our spin-off Reeperbahn Festival as a central European music platform since 2016,” Reeperbahn Festival CEO Alexander Schulz said. “With the support of the German Federal Foreign Office, we are taking this strategy into the world – even under the conditions of these challenging times. In cooperation with our partner the Music In Africa Foundation and their fantastic network, our participants are guaranteed the greatest possible amount of attention along with a high level of efficiency in establishing new contacts. With our pan-African edition, I wish all delegates, artists and partners a successful four-day programme.”

For more information, visit the Reeperbahn Festival Pan-Africa official website.