Music In Africa Live launched to fund musicians, educators and professionals

Covering all African countries, the aim of MIAL is to offer financial support to operators, to enable them to create high-quality performances and promote, market and showcase their content to a wider global audience, primarily via digital means, and to facilitate the creation and dissemination of educational content with a view to upskill and enable professionals to adjust and adopt to the needs of the changing music industry.

The MIAL project will run two concurrent grants, namely showcase grants, which enable musicians to earn income from digital performances, and capacity-building grants, which support capacity-building projects that develop critical skills among professionals using digital means.

“We are pleased to launch Music In Africa Live, especially as it addresses some of the key challenges faced by musicians on a daily basis," MIAF director Eddie Hatitye said. "The ability to earn and grow is supremely important for every music professional, especially at this time when everything seems to have stopped. We are hoping that many people will seize this opportunity and use it to unlock more opportunities for themselves.”

MIAL will support activities implemented between 15 October and 15 December 2020. All calls for applications were launched today, inviting companies and organisations across the continent to apply until the deadline on 26 September 2020.

While only companies and organisations can apply, they must be able to demonstrate that their projects will primarily benefit musicians by offering them paid performance opportunities, exposure and skills development (for capacity-building projects).

Showcase grants

Showcase grants support the production of high-quality digital live concerts with African musicians, with an emphasis on professional productions that offer real exposure, potential export opportunities and generally more opportunities for participants. Apply for this grant HERE.

Capacity-building grants

Capacity-building grants support digital initiatives that develop relevant critical skills for music professionals to navigate new challenges and the transformations of the industry, especially those introduced by the pandemic. Apply for this grant HERE.

About Music In Africa Live

Thousands of African musicians have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has occasioned unprecedented lockdowns and restrictions across the continent. African musicians and professionals traditionally make a living from live performances, and now they find themselves in extreme difficulty.

The Music In Africa Live project is one of a number of new projects that the Music In Africa Foundation is introducing this year to support music professionals in Africa.

The project is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, Siemens Stiftung and Goethe-Institut.

Visit the MIAL website here.

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