Inaugural African Music Business Dialogue slated for Accra in March

The conference is powered by Bwired Ghana and Bayeni Holdings, and will run under the theme, The Bigger Picture: Action Today, Wealthier Tomorrow. It is expected to provide musicians and industry players with key tips on how to generate revenue and preserve copyrights, and expose industry players to untapped opportunities in the entertainment space, particularly with the industry going digital.

The summit will seek to educate local musicians about how to profit from their works and foster discussions around music revenue accessibility for local musicians. It will offer a platform for cultural exchange and connect local industry players with their international counterparts while promoting Ghanaian music in the process.

Musician Trigmatic is among the leading Ghanaian creatives who will speak at the event. The award-winning rapper, who was this month appointed to the governing body of the National Folklore Board, will be joined by Afro Nation Ghana festival boss and The Rave Group CEO Ruddy Kwakye. Other Ghanaian speakers include sound engineer Kofi ‘IamBeatMenace’ Boachie-Ansah, creative entrepreneur George Nii Ofoli Yartey and Creative Arts Agency deputy CEO Frank Owusu.

South African speakers are management consultant Zamani Ndimande, A&R director Alexis Faku, label exec Benjamin Ngakane, brand specialist Thabo Ngwenya, marketing and PR expert Lerato Masepe, finance and insurance expert Edward Ngwenya and Metro FM DJ Sabby.

“The music industry in Ghana is one that has been attracting patronage from time immemorial,” the organisers said. “The understanding of how we combine genuine expressions with instruments is an honourable venture that is expected to earn respectable levels of income and serve as an economy booster. 

“In other African countries such as Nigeria, the creative arts industry, led by music, is currently the second-highest employer, whereas in other advanced countries, such as the US, it contributes $170 billion annually to US GDP, supporting 2.47 million jobs across a wide range of professions only to mention but a few.”

The organisers say that Ghanaian professionals’ frustration with limited revenues in the local music industry stems from a gap in education about the music business as well as limited resources and investment. “This event will break such unfortunate frontiers by providing a holistic strategy and how regulators, musicians, patrons and all stakeholders can benefit from it,” they said.