NEFCISA
NEFCISA

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) is proud of its partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) as a Strategic Implementing Partner (SIP) for its Social Employment Fund (SEF). Through this collaboration, MIAF is running a national programme that is creating jobs, addressing skills gaps, and strengthening South Africa's creative industries — in line with the SEF's overarching goal to generate work for the common good and build community value through employment, social contribution, and inclusive economic participation. Operating under the banner NEFCISA (National Employment Facility for Creative Industries in South Africa), the initiative is recruiting and training participants, matching them with host organisations, and has already placed 1 500 workers across the country — surpassing its original target of 1 000. NEFCISA is delivered through a network of 20 host organisations spanning five provinces, who are actively hosting participants and contributing to work for the common good across South Africa's creative and cultural industries. Key Objectives: Support employment and entrepreneurship in the creative industries. Offer skills development and training programmes. Foster partnerships between public and private creative sectors. Promote South African creativity at both provincial and national levels Foster community development through social contribution.

ACCES
ACCES

ACCES Conference and Showcase Festival is Africa's leading music industry gathering, bringing together the people shaping the future of the continent's music business. Artists, entrepreneurs, executives, investors, policymakers and cultural leaders from across Africa and around the world come to ACCES to build partnerships, exchange ideas, discover talent and create new business opportunities. Since its launch in 2017, ACCES has become the continent's premier platform for professional exchange and music market development. Combining a high-level conference with a curated showcase festival, networking, exhibitions and industry programmes, ACCES offers a unique space where creativity meets business and where African music connects with the global industry.

Gender@Work
Gender@Work

Music In Africa Gender @ Work is a three-year training programme aimed at upskilling and increasing the participation of female professionals in the African music sector. Launched by the Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) in April 2019, the programme is connected to the MIAF’s ACCES music conference – a pan-African event held in a different African country every year. This connection enables the programme to reach new participants in a different African country every year. The programme marks the beginning of a more concerted effort by the Foundation to support the participation and inclusion of women in all facets of its programmes and the music sector in Africa as a whole. Over the three years, the programme will aim to address gender imbalances in the sector through training, lobbying, facilitating knowledge exchange and dialogues that foster the interest of women. The broader objectives of the programme are to: Provide industry training for women on critical music industry skills, focusing on: Stage management Electronic music production and recording Music business management Technical knowledge Provide an opportunity for both professional and aspiring women to benefit from the Music In Africa network and its broad range of activities in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Provide a solution-based platform in the form of a round table at ACCES with a view to identify challenges, discuss opportunities and lobby for the interests of female practitioners. Offer participants the opportunity to benefit from programmes offered by MIAF’s partners. Increase access to educational materials. Integrate participants in the broader ACCES programme to maximise experience and exposure to the industry. Record and present training materials on the www.musicinafrica.net, including but not limited to tutorials, templates and other best-practice materials. Communicate women-based themes that support the initiatives and messages of the programme. MAIN TRAINING ACTIVITIES Training in first country (Ghana): In the first year, participants will be trained on all aspects of stage management by a team of experienced stage managers from 10 to 17 November 2019. The programme will offer robust classroom training as well as practical, hands-on training in which participants will also be given the opportunity to manage various aspects of the ACCES performance programme. Training in second country: The second training iteration will take place at ACCES 2020 when the programme will diversify its course to include music production lessons and training on other music business topics. A round-table platform will also be introduced to coincide with the ACCES programme. Training in third country: The third training iteration will take place at ACCES 2021 in a different country, offering an advanced course. HOW DO YOU GET INVOLVED?  As a participant, facilitator or trainer: The programme enrolls up to 12 trainees every year. All opportunities are advertised publicly on this website, and will be added to this page. Please keep checking this page for new calls (below under UPDATES & CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES). As a partner Please contact Claire Metais at [email protected]. APPLY The call for applications for 2020 will be announced soon. The Music In Africa Gender @ Work programme is made possible with the support of the Prince Claus Fund, Siemens Stiftung and Goethe-Institut.

Sound Connects Fund
Sound Connects Fund

For cultural and creative practitioners and organisations operating in southern Africa, access to funding remains a major challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a massive impact on government policy, spending and the economy in general, and has seen spending on culture being moved further down the list of priorities. Further, the cultural and creative industries repeatedly cite four main areas where investment is needed for growth, which are increased visibility, mobility including access to new markets, finance and support structures.

Instrument Building And Repair Project
Instrument Building And Repair Project

Experience the Vibrations African Instruments Exhibition online in 3D

News

Sound Stock launches 10 million-asset AI-curated royalty-free audio library

30 Dec 2025 - 13:40

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Sound Stock has launched a new royalty-free audio platform, positioning itself as the largest AI-cultivated library of original sound assets, with more than 10 million items available at launch.

Sound Stock founder and chief executive Josh Linsk said the platform was designed to prioritise accessibility over restriction.

The company enters a competitive stock audio market with a model that combines in-house production, AI-assisted curation and a subscription structure designed to remove limits on access and downloads.

The catalogue covers four main asset types including sound effects, samples, loops and full music tracks, available in MP3 and WAV formats. This breadth distinguishes Sound Stock from many existing platforms, which often specialise in only one or two categories despite creators frequently requiring a mix of assets for a single project.

Subscriptions are priced at $4.99 per month, or $3.99 per month on an annual plan. The company states that all plans include unlimited downloads, with no credit systems or tiered access. Prospective users can also browse and preview the full catalogue without creating an account, a feature that is uncommon among subscription-based audio libraries.

Sound Stock founder and chief executive Josh Linsk said the platform was designed to prioritise accessibility over restriction. “Creators deserve abundance, not gatekeeping,” he said. “That’s why we built the world’s largest fully original sound library, so anyone can access millions of royalty-free, ready-to-use assets instantly, without ever worrying about hitting download limits.”

Linsk contrasted Sound Stock’s approach with traditional models that limit usage. “Unlimited truly means unlimited with Sound Stock. Other platforms cap downloads because they profit more when users download less. We take the opposite approach, we want creators to download as many sounds, music tracks, and effects as they need until they find the sounds that are the perfect fit for their project.”

The company says all assets are produced internally, rather than sourced from external contributors or shared libraries. According to Linsk, this is intended to avoid duplication across platforms. “Most platforms rely on the same contributors, recycling the same content across multiple sites. We created an entirely in-house catalogue, so every sound on Sound Stock is unique and original,” he said.

Sound Stock has also introduced a ‘Variations’ feature, allowing users to preview multiple versions of a single sound. This functionality is aimed at improving workflow efficiency, particularly for game developers and sound designers who require precise tonal or textural differences across environments.

By combining proprietary AI systems with an internal production team, Sound Stock is seeking to scale its offering while maintaining control over originality. Whether this model will gain traction in a crowded royalty-free audio market remains to be seen, but its emphasis on unrestricted access and in-house content marks a notable departure from prevailing industry practices.

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