Browsing: the music business in Africa

• Sony Music Publishing (SMP) has launched its inaugural songwriting camp in West Africa.
• The programme, which started on January 5, 2023 will end on January 12.
• Artists can benefit from Sony Music Publishing Songwriting Camp in a variety of ways.  

Sony Music Publishing (SMP) announced the launch of its inaugural songwriting camp in West Africa. The program, which began on January 5, 2023 and ends January 12, 2023 is an effort to support and drive growth opportunities for creative communities across Africa.

Led by SMP head of A&R, Wale Davies, the event will include sessions with renowned songwriters and artists such as Tems, Ladipoe, Lojay, GuiltyBeatz, Ozedikus, AV, Berwyn, Moon Willis, Jonny Coffer, Rymez among others. In addition to these interactive workshops there are also wellness activities as well as community outreach initiatives geared towards empowering upcoming generations of songwriters.

“It’s an honour to spearhead the inaugural Sony Music Publishing …

The music industry makes a significant contribution to the economy. The industry has evolved over the years. Back in the day, artists made a sizeable income from selling cassettes or CDs. With the advent of technology came music downloads. Estimates indicate that in 2001, close to 40% of music CDs sold were pirated. There was no noticeable difference between the original and pirated version, except the latter was sold at a much cheaper cost, which drove up music piracy.

Initially, record companies and artists attempted to lobby for more stringent measures on music pirates. Unfortunately, the ability to prosecute lagged far behind the rate of piracy. The stronger copyright laws also alienated the fan base. 

It appeared digitization would be the death of music until innovation caught up. The late Steve Jobs developed Apple iTunes that allowed people to pay to download music. With the development of the Torrents protocol, …