ACCES 2024 to spotlight music rights management in Africa

As part of a broader strategy aimed at strengthening music rights management systems in the African music sector, ACCES 2024 will feature a number of conference sessions and a dedicated forum on the subject at the Kigali Convention Centre and Mundi Centre.

To open the proceedings, Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) CEO Annabell Lebethe will lead with a keynote speech. This will be followed by a panel discussion and forums that will tackle the matter at length.

Keynote speech and music rights forum by SAMRO

Lebethe, who heads Africa’s largest collective management organisation (CMO), will focus on the vast, untapped market potential in African countries that CMOs have yet to fully leverage for the benefit of their members. Her keynote will emphasise Africa’s immense potential, highlighting the importance of collaboration among CMOs, drawing insights from both African and European contexts.

“The key aspect is the need for aggressive, continuous improvement of CMOs through collaborations and partnerships to achieve exponential growth in the value CMOs create on behalf of their members,” SAMRO’s general manager for sales and licensing, Karabo Senna, said. “This ensures that CMOs contribute significantly to improving revenue streams for music creators.”

After the keynote, SAMRO will organise a music rights management forum, targeting key stakeholders in the music rights management value chain. The forum will provide a platform for stakeholders to share experiences and explore best practices to enhance the value generated by CMOs for music creators across Africa.

CAPASSO on harmonising the collection of music royalties

SAMRO’s presentation will then make way for a discussion led by CAPASSO – Africa's leading digital rights licensing agency. The panel will bring together leaders from key CMOs to discuss current collection practices, strategies for enhancing efficiency and transparency, the impact of digital platforms, and how African systems can adapt to the evolving industry landscape.

The panel discussion will feature CAPASSO CEO Jotam Matariro, Copyright Society of Malawi executive director Dora Makwinja, CISAC regional director for Africa Samuel Sangwa, Rwandan Society of Authors CEO Jean de Dieu Turinimana, National Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights Office of Algeria deputy director general Mehdi Delmi, and CAPASSO stakeholder relations and membership manager Lerato Matsoso.

ACCES will host over 60 speakers from over 50 countries, a showcase festival featuring over 20 artists, exhibitions, workshops, a songwriting camp and much more.

About ACCES

ACCES is a pan-African trade show for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent, and create business linkages. ACCES is held in a different African city every year, attracting active music industry players from across the globe. ACCES 2024 is organized by the Music In Africa Foundation, a non-profit pan-African organization, in partnership with the Rwanda Convention Bureau, the Ministry of Youth and Arts in Rwanda (MINIYOUTH), Siemens Stiftung, the French Institute, Goethe-Institut and Mundi Center. See all our sponsors and partners here.

See the full list of ACCES partners on the official website.

Register for ACCES 2024 here.