The Revenue Streams for African Musicians project

Participants in pilot phase

3,000

Provinces in pilot phase

9

Countrie(s) in pilot phase

1

Duration (months)

18

PILOT LAUNCH IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa-based music creators, i.e. all individuals involved in music creation in their personal capacity as songwriters, performers, producers, etc. are invited to participate in the Revenue Streams for African Musicians (RSFAM) survey. A multi-faceted initiative aimed at guiding African music creators to earn more income from their works, the pilot phase has been launched in South Africa in April 2021.

The study will collect and analyse data on the earning trends of music creators to identify and optimise the practices that generate income across South Africa’s nine provinces. MIAF has developed a unique online survey open to all musicians via our website and has mobilised field researchers across the country to engage with musicians on-the-ground and through online engagements, in line with COVID-19 social distancing measures.

Collecting and analysing the data from a substantial sample size will help MIAF and partners develop tools, guides and capacity building programmes to empower musicians with workable knowledge and advocate for the development of relevant legislation to support the music industry.

The online survey and field research are key components of the first phase of the project roll-out. The ongoing project aims to replicate and adapt the research model in other countries on the continent.

KEY OBJECTIVES

Helping African musicians generate more income and make better revenue decisions by providing them with reliable data, statistical information, analysis, practical tools and educational content based on revenue streams that work in the continent; identifying the key revenue streams on the African continent; conducting informed advocacy aimed at shaping policies and regulatory frameworks that meet the challenges of the African music industry in a changing digital age; and promoting the development and professionalisation of the music industry in Africa.

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HIGHLIGHTS

SA music creators invited to participate in revenue streams initiative

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) invites all music creators operating in South Africa to participate in the recently launched nationwide Revenue...

Call for applications: Field researchers at the Music In Africa Foundation

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF), a non-profit organisation operating in the field of African music, is inviting ...

MIAF introduces Revenue Streams for African Musicians project

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) has announced the launch of the Revenue Streams for African Musicians (RSFAM) project – a multifaceted initiative with an objective to help African music...

OVERVIEW

A key focus of the initiative is to establish a scalable research system for the African music sector that will evaluate and provide detailed analysis in relation to the ways in which music creators earn money in a particular African country. This rigorous examination identifies a definitive framework of the revenue streams available to musicians in each country, while offering a reliable basis for practitioners to adopt and fully maximise on existing and new income streams that are relevant and specific to their work. The pilot phase in South Africa will take place over 18 months and will offer:

1. Industry research, analysis, mapping and reporting

This refers to a data-based, multi-method research process that will provide statistics on revenue generation trends for musicians in South Africa. This data will assist in developing a framework of viable revenue models. An innovative web platform is used to gather and present this data, supported by field research, consultations with key industry role players as well as the ingestion of existing data.

2. Capacity building

Once the revenue models are identified, it will be key to train practitioners to fully utilise sustainable models. Our findings will inform training and the development of tutorial content, including an innovative revenue model recommendation tool that will guide practitioners to discover models that suit their profiles. Training workshops will target participants from all the provinces in South Africa, especially practitioners from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.

3. Advocacy for policy change

As a way to strengthen our advocacy and drive positive change in the interest of practitioners, the project will set up a dedicated committee to carefully study revenue trends against existing policies and legislation, with an aim of identifying impediments, offer legislative recommendations and engage with the relevant bodies in South Africa.