Boost for artists as Masters of The Industry Africa goes live

Masters of The Industry Africa (MOTI), an online skill-sharing platform and resource, was launched this week. "MOTI provides a step-by-step narrative about what artists should know about the music industry," project founder Munya Chanetsa said.

The platform will provide African creatives looking to enter the music industry premium curated resources and tools necessary to succeed in the business.

“There is plenty of musical talent on the continent, but what is lacking is basic business knowledge necessary for creatives to succeed,” Chanetsa said. “This platform covers all that is needed to know right from the beginning. We will also introduce the MOTI Digital Split Sheet and Metadata Form. These two essential tools will be completed as soon as a song is made to avoid potential revenue generating problems in the future that are common in the music industry.”

The platform has a feature called Ask A MOTI that can be accessed after registration. It allows users to ask questions and receive responses via social networks such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

MOTI also offers free masterclass videos tackling a number of topics, including Artist Branding, Building a Team, So you Made a Song, All about Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), Branding, and The Recording Industry of South Africa. To watch other videos, users must subscribe to MOTI.

Speaking to Music In Africa, Chanetsa said the platform was launched as a result of his willingness to learn more about how the music business works.

“When I transitioned from Connect Africa to CAPASSO, I had already been in the industry for just over 10 years and I thought I knew a lot. However, when I made that transition, I came to the realisation that I don't know everything in this industry, especially this whole area of publishing, CMOs, copyrights and all that stuff. So I was like, if I don't know this, then what chance does anyone who even wants to join the music industry have?”

Chanetsa is a well-known music executive in Africa with more than 10 years of A&R and licensing experience. He has engaged mobile and online platforms, independent record labels, artists and music publishers. He has also been a featured presenter on music copyright at leading forums and conferences in South Africa, Angola, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Find more about MOTI here.