Star-studded line-up for Music Exchange in Cape Town

Over the two days, the annual symposium of the industry’s finest strategists, marketers and musicians will get to share and engage in lectures and collaborative breakout sessions all geared to empower and entertain. Diverse subjects covering every aspect of the African and global entertainment economy will be unpacked and shared by the very best in their respective disciplines. From the importance of arts and culture, insights into international trends, working in Africa, marketing amd multi-media distribution mechanisms, right through to rights protection and how to be seen and heard in a local and global market, Music Exchange promise to deliver it all.

Expected to speak at the event is Bryan-Michael Cox, the American songwriter and producer who has been responsible for album sales of over 100 million and has won the Grammy Award eight times. Cox has co-written and co-produced hit singles by the likes of Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Janet Jackson, Usher and numerous others since he began producing professionally in 1998. In September 2009, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. He was also named by Billboard magazine as one of the top 10 producers of the first decade of the new millennium. Cox holds the a Guinness World Record for the longest consecutive period of chart success, after spending over five continuous years on the Billboard chart, breaking the record previously held by The Beatles.


Another international speaker on line-up for Music Exchange is London-based Brandon Bakshi, BMI’s Executive Director of Writer/Publisher Relations for Europe & Asia. While at BMI, Brandon has been responsible for the signing of Daft Punk, Pete Townshend, Queen, Sade, Afrojack, Deadmau5, One Direction, Shaggy, Avicci as well as Ellie Goulding. He has been a past speaker and moderator at the Winter Music Conference in Miami, USA, Amsterdam Dance Event in the Netherlands, as well the Music Managers Forum (MMF).

Other speakers on the bill include Marc Marot (Crown Talent & Media Group), Yoel Kennan and Neil Naidoo (Africori), publisher John Fishlock, legal expert Nick Matzukis, Nic Burger, Pino Di Benedetto, and musicians Moreira Chonguica, RJ Benjamin, Trevor Jones and Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse, along with many others.

The conference is a “high-touch” event whereby the speakers are present throughout the day and you can engage with them continually. Delegates are encouraged to bring their product to exchange and network with speakers and delegates.

MEX 15 takes place at various venues at Grand West Casino in Cape Town on 25 and 26 September 2015. Tickets cost R100 per day or R150 for the full event and available from Shoprite and Checkers outlets countrywide, online at Computicket or by calling (+27) 861 915 8000. For more details visit the Music Exchange website or watch the video below.