SA: JOJ to host Jazz Wise music business workshop for young musicians

The workshop, running from 9.am to 4.30pm, is aimed at high school and university students as well as young professionals seeking to develop careers in the music industry. It will bring together musicians, educators, cultural practitioners and music industry professionals for discussions on the business and professional skills required to build sustainable careers.

The programme will cover areas including songwriting, A&R, recording, publishing, marketing, investment, knowledge acquisition and sustainability. It will also provide participants with opportunities to network with industry professionals and learn about different aspects of the music business.

The workshop will be facilitated by singer, television presenter and creative entrepreneur Pilani Bubu, a South African Music Awards (SAMA) award-winning artist and producer of the Folklore Festival. Her experience includes brand development, budgeting, grant applications, deal-making and artist production.

The first panel, Risk Capital for Culture, will examine who funds cultural projects and how artists can access financial support. The panel will feature Violet Maila, a creative industry expert who has featured on numerous projects across the African continent; Dorine Lebreton, deputy director at the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS); and Caroline Christgau, project coordinator for Music and Creative Economy at the Goethe-Institut Johannesburg.

The second discussion, From Classrooms to the Global Stage, will consider whether talent alone is sufficient to sustain a music career. Panellists will include jazz pianist, educator and musicologist Dr Phuti Sepuru; composer, arranger, bassist, vocalist, arts researcher and lecturer Chantal-Willie Petersen; Croatian-born jazz vocalist and composer Ziza Muftic; and guitarist and composer Vuma Levin, a former Standard Bank Young Artist Award recipient for jazz.

The final panel, Purpose Value Versus Industry Value, will explore whether artists can remain true to their creative purpose while generating income from their work. It will be moderated by drummer, author and academic Tumi Mogorosi.

The panellists will include independent singer-songwriter Internet Athi, whose music has accumulated more than one million streams without a record label; musician, producer and founder of Manana Music Ndumiso Manana, who is the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music; and Nontando Mokoena, Project Manager for the SAMPRA Development Fund at the South African Music Performance Rights Association.

The workshop will also be used as a platform for recruiting interns for the year.

“Empowerment is access,” Joy of Jazz festival CEO and curator Mantwa Chinoamadi said. “When young musicians and students step into spaces like Jazz Wise, they must leave with more than inspiration; they must leave with industry knowledge, real networks, and the confidence to turn talent into enterprise. Our job is to open the doors, bring the right people into the room, and ensure the next generation doesn’t just watch the industry; they lead it.”