Nigerian Afropop megastar, Yemi Alade, has been confirmed as a
speaker at the Midem's African Forum 2018 slated for June in Cannes, reports ITRealms.
This is coming as Midem, the global music community,
launched its High-Potential Markets Programme designed to assist music
professionals from around the world by encouraging business development and the
discovery of new talent.
The new initiative, ITRealms gathered, aims at fostering
bilateral exchanges between international and national music executives and
sectors in order to facilitate the structuring and professionalization of the
high-potential markets.
In 2018, the new Programme will focus on the African music
industry with a four-day ‘African Forum’ during Midem (June 5-8 in Cannes). The
forum will be preceded by a series of industry meetings across four African
countries, to support the structuring of the African music industry, stimulate
discussions between African and international music stakeholders, develop
sustainable business models for African labels and artists in order to boost
African music on a local and international scale.
“Africa has incredible wealth in terms of musical talent and
diversity of musical styles but the continent currently represents just 2% of
the world music market, ” comments Alexandre Deniot, Director of Midem. “As the
home of the global music community, Midem is committed to supporting the
development of the international music sector and that includes providing
African artists and music companies with a platform to reach more fans and
generate new revenues. We look forward to welcoming them to Midem in 2018 and
beyond.”
The African Forum is organised by Midem in association with
TRACE, the leading pan-African music media network.
“By partnering with Midem on the African Forum, we bring
together Midem’s power as an international music business acceleration
platform, with our expertise in afro urban music, along with our local
knowledge and excellent relationship with our subscribers in Africa, at the
service of promoting African talent and providing creative solutions to improve
its local and international development,” notes Olivier Laouchez, CEO, Trace.
The African Forum, running throughout Midem, will host
high-level discussions involving African and international music industry
leaders, politicians and official institutions. In addition, it will provide a
platform to promote African musical creativity, a Midem Night dedicated to
African music and opportunities to share knowledge and professional training.
“It is such an exciting time to be an artist and especially
in Africa, where there are so many talented and creative musicians who are
breaking boundaries and whose music travels throughout the world, ” says Yemi
Alade, Nigerian Afropop megastar, whose single ‘Johnny’ has set a new record
for over 85 million views on YouTube, making it the most-watched video from a
African artist.“However there are still many challenges and, to take it to the
next level, we need to come together and work on strengthening and structuring
of our music business in Africa. I’m very pleased to be part of the Midem
African Forum and hope that sharing my experience as an artist will highlight
the immense opportunities for African artists, not only in the continent, but
globally,” adds the multi-award winning artist and fashion designer.
Alongside the African Forum in June, Midem is organising local
meetings in the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South Africa and Republic of the
Congo.
Taking place from April 4 to April 12, this series of
one-day events will bring together African and international music
professionals for meetings, conference debates, workshops and live showcases.
Attendees will include labels, mobile operators, rights collection companies,
streaming platforms, music publishers, artists, media, politicians, influencers
and professional associations and institutions.
According to mobile telephony data, Sub-Saharan Africa
currently accounts for one tenth of the world’s mobile telephone subscriber
base and the market is growing faster than any other region in the world.
Estimates are the Sub-Saharan smartphone users will number 498 million in 2020
compared to 300 million in 2016.*
“The convergence of the massive take-up of mobile telephony
in many African countries, combined with the growth a young generation that is
passionate about music, offers huge potential to structure and develop the African
music scene both at home and internationally. Artists have a unique opportunity
to reach new fans who are listening to music on mobile devices, while work
needs to continue to protect those artists’ rights and generate a fair share of
revenues. The High-Potential Markets Programme is a long-term initiative to
support the growth and international reach of national and regional music
ecosystems. We hope that the African Forum will help grow Africa’s share of the
world music market and provide the global platform that African music
deserves,” adds Midem’s Alexandre Deniot.
Uj. N. Dominic/ED, Ops
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