Top Ghanaian musician Samini confirmed for ACCES 2019

Samini will join music industry experts from more than 50 countries at the third edition of the music trade event, and will be sharing his knowledge of the complex music industry in Africa with local and international delegates.

Other notable ACCES 2019 speakers confirmed so far include Chocolate City vice-president Aibee Abidoye (Nigeria), TRUE Africa founder and editor-in-chief Claude Grunitzky (Togo/UK), Simfy OTT music services head Oye Akideinde (Nigeria), Boomplay Ghana manager Elizabeth Ntiamoah (Ghana), artist and music producer Kofi 'IamBeatMenace' Boachie-Ansah (Ghana) and Grammy-nominated musician, author and rights activist Mark Levine (US).

Held in a different African city every year, ACCES is the leading pan-African trade event for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages. This year’s programme will feature more than 80 speakers from around the globe, and 13 bands from different African countries that will entertain delegates over three days.

Samini's music career began in 1999 and in 2004 he released his debut studio album Dankwasere, which was well-received by local fans, earning him two awards at the Ghana Music Awards. The album was supported by the single 'Linda'. Since then, Samini’s career has gained international recognition, most notably in the UK where he won the Best African Act Award at the 2006 Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards. Samini has also been honoured at the Headies, Channel O Music Video Awards, Bass Awards and MTV Africa Music Awards.

He has worked with such artists as Sean Paul, Akon, Kevin Lyttle, Shaggy, Wayne Wonder, Damian Marley, Beenie Man, Jay-Z and Chaka Demus & Pliers. He has recorded with Steel Pulse and Etana, and has performed in the Netherlands, Canada, the UK, Germany and Italy.

To date, Samini has released seven albums, namely Dankwasere (2004), Samini (2007), Dagaati (2008), C.E.O (2010), Next Page (2013), Breaking News (2015) and Untamed (2018).

About ACCES

ACCES is a pan-African trade event for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages. ACCES is held in a different African city every year, attracting active music industry players from across the globe.

ACCES is organised by the Music In Africa Foundation, a non-profit and pan-African organisation, in partnership and with the support of Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut, Reeperbahn Festival International, Alliance Française, BMG, MediaSound Hamburg, the Multimedia Group, Africa Art Lines, Afrikayna, the Gold Coast Hub, the Year of Return, the Prince Claus Fund and the ANT Mobility Grant from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

This year ACCES has a partnership with Reeperbahn Festival – one of the most important meeting places for the music industry worldwide and Europe's largest club festival based in Hamburg, Germany. The partnership creates a framework for the festival to collaborate with ACCES in facilitating sustainable business engagements and exchange between European and African music businesses and professionals, as well as the provision of performance opportunities to musicians in both territories.

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