ONGEA! music summit releases 2022 programme

Interested participants can register for free here to watch and participate in the discussions planned for this year’s edition.

With the industry yet to fully recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, artists have been forced to become more innovative to sustain their careers, something the summit will delve into in detail.

Running under the theme Embracing the New Normal, ONGEA! 2022 will seek to equip music professionals with knowledge to operate in an ever-changing marketplace where technology is a major driver of success.

For three days, close to 40 carefully selected industry experts will take participants through some of the most critical and urgent issues facing the industry in the ‘new normal’.

Topics that will be discussed will include:

• The Role of Music Export Offices in the New Normal.
• Music Events in the New Normal.
• Anti-piracy in the New Normal.
• Grants, Loans and Investments in the New Normal.
• The Value of Influence: Branding and Endorsements in the New Normal.
• The Evolution of Music: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.
• Well-being for Creatives in the New Normal.
• Licensing in the New Normal: The Evolving Roles of Platforms, Distributors, Labels and Publishers.

Ongea, meaning ‘speak up’ in Kiswahili, started out as Kenya Music Week in December 2004. “After a decade, it was time to broaden our scope, so we rebranded to ONGEA! – The Eastern Africa Music Summit to include all East African countries,” ONGEA! founding director Mike Strano said. “As our annual corporate social investment, ONGEA! exists to help develop a creative industry that is more professional, transparent and profitable for all, using music as a driver.” 

Strano is also an outspoken voice in the fight against piracy and convenes the Kenyan chapter of pan-African lobby group Partners Against Piracy. His work on this front was one of the reasons ONGEA! was conceived. “Piracy robs our music, and other creative Industries, of up to 99% revenue. For example, in Kenya the loss to piracy is estimated at Ksh92bn (about $760m) per year,” he says.

ONGEA! 2022 will be hosted on Airmeet – a new platform for virtual summits, meetups and workshops that also features a social lounge to deliver a rich networking experience.

Confirmed panellists include Africa in Colors founder Raoul Rugamba (Rwanda), Reeperbahn Festival International head Evelyn Sieber (Germany), Ngoma Nehosho founder and Cultural Connections Africa co-founder Walter Wanyana (Zimbabwe), International Federation of the Phonographic Industry sub-Saharan Africa regional director Angela Ndambuki (Kenya), Creative Enterprise Centre managing director David Muriithi (Kenya), the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Holly Lance, Southern African Music Rights Organisation legal services general manager and chairperson Chola Makgamathe (South Africa), Downtown Music managing director Darryl Hurs (Canada), LyricFind international publishing senior vice-president Robert Singerman (US), journalist Gracey Mae (UK/Nigeria), Music In Africa Foundation director Eddie Hatitye (South Africa) and musician Muthoni Drummer Queen (Kenya), among many others.

After each 90-minute discussion, delegates will be able join a dedicated networking lounge assigned to each panellist to interact with for an hour. Questions are encouraged throughout each panel via chat to ensure maximum interaction.

Apart from the panel discussions, ONGEA! will feature virtual exhibition booths and pre-recorded showcase performances. “Given these features in our event design, we believe that ONGEA! 2022 will be a memorable experience,” the organisers said. “The 2021 event featured 25 countries, which we hope to exceed in 2022. At 4pm on Friday, we’ll close the event with Be Present Everywhere, which is a networking initiative.”

ONGEA! 2022 is supported by the Music In Africa Foundation, ACCES, Mdundo, PHAT! Productions, Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut, the German Federal Foreign Office, Airmeet and Yakwetu.

For the latest updates, follow ONGEA! on Twitter and Facebook. Download the event programme below (PDF).