Kenya: Goethe-Institut to host second music industry talk this Friday

Conceived at the start of the year, the six-episode series will run until October and seeks to empower Kenyan music creatives with knowledge to navigate what can sometimes be a challenging sector.

The talks will connect creatives at any level of their career with professionals who will offer them insights into the business and marketing side of the industry to support their individual growth. The platform will also serve as a sounding board for ideas intended to transform the Kenyan music sector into one that is vibrant and artist-centred.

The event is free to attend and will be held at the German cultural centre’s auditorium. The first edition on 19 April examined the legal issues around intellectual property (IP) and music publishing. The discussion was led by IP experts David Katee, Kaindo Kiarie and Wandiri Karimi. You can watch the talk here.

The second event will look at music distribution and streaming revenues, and will feature Boomplay East Africa managing director Martha Huro, The Orchard senior artist and label manager for East Africa Beth Achitsa and Mdundo Kenya licensing manager Agnes Opondo.

“Streaming revenues and effective music distribution are areas that plague the majority of creators in the music scene,” Goethe-Institut Kenya cultural programmes head Susanne Gerhard said. “What are your rights as an emerging artist when it comes to streaming royalties? What do you need to do to protect your IP and music compositions? These are some of the pertinent questions to be addressed during the discussion.”

“Revenues from music streaming have the potential to be an artist’s biggest earner,” she added. “However, this is not always the case for most artists, especially those with less streams. How can they navigate this?”

Kenyan music publicist Anyiko Owoko, who serves as the curator and moderator of the event, said: “Music distribution is such a central topic for artists. It’s not just about making your content available but it’s key to also make it discoverable, accessible and viable to keep up with the music business. This is the difficult balance that many artists strive to realise. But with the help of clever marketing, PR strategies and collaborations with distributors and labels, it’s possible to achieve. Our speakers will dive into strategies to employ to accomplish this during the session.”

Goethe-Institut Nairobi 2024 music industry talks:

• Streaming Revenues and Music Distribution – 10 May
• Digital Footprint for New Media Entrepreneurship – 7 June (exact date TBC)
• Safety Planning for More Inclusive and Safer Spaces in the Industry – 2 August (exact date TBC)
• The Business of Music – 6 September (exact date TBC)
• Them Mushrooms: A 50-year Journey – 4 October (exact date TBC)

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