The launch of an ambitious new initiative designed toward boosting the fast-growing music business in Africa was one of the highlights of the final day of Discop, which wrapped Oct. 27 at the Sandton Convention Center.
A partnership with ONGEA! Africa, hosts of the annual ONGEA! Eastern Africa Music Summit in Nairobi, Discore was conceived with an eye toward “bringing together TV, film, online content producers and music supervisors to understand what can be found here in the African marketplace,” said Patrick Zuchowicki, general manager of business event organizers Basic Lead.
“We believe music helps TV series travel better,” he added. “Bringing those two worlds together…to discover the talent, it makes sense.”
The partnership with one of the continent’s oldest players in the world of music publishing and rights was built on the fact that they share “a pan-African vision” with their counterparts at Discop, according to Zuchowicki. “They know the industry inside-out,” he said. “They’re going to bring all the intelligence…[and] we’re going to bring the content.”
The launch of an ambitious new initiative designed toward boosting the fast-growing music business in Africa was one of the highlights of the final day of Discop, which wrapped Oct. 27 at the Sandton Convention Center.
A partnership with ONGEA! Africa, hosts of the annual ONGEA! Eastern Africa Music Summit in Nairobi, Discore was conceived with an eye toward “bringing together TV, film, online content producers and music supervisors to understand what can be found here in the African marketplace,” said Patrick Zuchowicki, general manager of business event organizers Basic Lead.
“We believe music helps TV series travel better,” he added. “Bringing those two worlds together…to discover the talent, it makes sense.”
The partnership with one of the continent’s oldest players in the world of music publishing and rights was built on the fact that they share “a pan-African vision” with their counterparts at Discop, according to Zuchowicki. “They know the industry inside-out,” he said. “They’re going to bring all the intelligence…[and] we’re going to bring the content.”
Along with Discore, organizers are planning a program called Discomics, aimed at the animation and video game industries.
Basic Lead is looking to triple market attendance by 2020, an expansion that points to how cross-border trade in Africa will be the dominant force in shaping a market “fueled by local content and regionalization of business,” according to Zuchowicki.
“Within the next five years, the Sub-Saharan African marketplace is expected to grow by 35% and become the fastest-growing world region for entertainment content business,” he said. That growth “will be driven by original, multi-platform entertainment content produced in Africa, reinforced trade between sub-Saharan African countries, and intra-regional co-production initiatives.
“People from Nigeria are not going to go to Sweden to sell their content,” he added. “They’re going to stay in Africa. That’s where their prime market is.”
SOURCE: Variety.com
