SXSW: US market wants African music

The list of African participants is strongly represented by West Africa and includes AKA (South Africa), Kwesta (South Africa), DJ Dollar (Senegal), Nix (Senegal), Sahad and The Nataal Patchwork (Senegal), Lax (Nigeria), Patoranking (Nigeria), Seyi Shay (Nigeria), Adekunle Gold (Nigeria), Remna Schwarz (Cape Verde), Val Fleury (Liberia), Black Prophet (Ghana), Lil Shaker (Ghana), Lorine Chia (Cameroon), Mokoomba (Zimbabwe), Pierre Kwenders (Canada/DRC), Alsarah and The Nubatones (Sudan/US) and Sarahmée (Canada/Senegal).

“SXSW is a showcasing opportunity for artists. It is a music industry event where artists can play in front of agents, labels, managers and talent buyers,” SXSW senior music event a programming manager Todd Puckhaber told Music In Africa. “It’s a great chance for artists to promote their music and make connections to the industry from around the globe.”

Puckhaber said the weight of SXSW, which hosts about 200 000 fans and industry professionals every year, would often elevate the careers of already well-known musicians.

“Tinariwen is a good example,” he said. “Although already a successful group, their performances at SXSW led to a much greater interest in Tuareg music.”

Puckhaber, who attended Music In Africa’s ACCES conference in Dakar, Senegal, last year, said a big advantage of performing at SXSW was that artists could expand their fan base exponentially by playing to a completely new audience.

Commenting on whether US record labels and festival bookers were interested to work with African artists, Puckhaber said the presence of African musicians at SXSW was proof that there was demand from the industry.

“One can see an increase of African and global music artists being booked at mainstream festivals throughout the US, not to mention the music and performing arts venues looking for new and interesting forms of music,” he said.

Puckhaber said career level and musical ability were some of the criteria that the organisers of SXSW employed in their decision-making process when confirming artist to perform at this year’s event.

“For the most part, artists who play SXSW need to have reached a certain level in their career where they have a developed fan base in their particular region. This often means that they have been able to retain an agent, manager and label that are working with them to further their career.

“At this point, they may be ready to branch out into the international market, which is represented at SXSW. Sometimes we bypass those guidelines because we hear something very special in their music and may offer an invitation based on that alone,” Puckhaber said.

For more information, visit the SXSW official website.