Corporate opportunities for musicians in South Africa

This article focuses on opportunities for musicians in the corporate sector.

Sponsored and brand-commissioned songs

Apart from a once-off appearance or sync deal for an ad campaign, an artist can partner up with a brand on a bespoke campaign. In 2019, KFC commissioned South African rapper Stogie T for a song titled ‘Original Recipe Freestyle’. Playing on the rapper’s tendency to adapt to the zeitgeist, the fried chicken corporation created a campaign based on the rapper pivoting to trap music to promote its Wrapstar burger.[2]

AKA, meanwhile, released the song and music video ‘Practice’ in which he name-drops Reebok, while appearing dressed in the British sportswear brand from head to toe.[3]

Such partnerships are usually reserved for big-name artists, as they give campaigns extra weight, but as an emerging musician, it is not futile to draft that proposal to partner up with companies.[4] 

Video: South African rapper Stogie T’s ‘Original Recipe Freestyle’ was commissioned by KFC.

Cultural consultation

Musicians, as industry insiders, offer a rare and valuable outlook on pop culture. They tend to have a good sense of what the masses will react to and what they will possibly shun. As much as cultural critics, analysts and journalists are tasked with the job of documenting and dissecting culture – thus making them a ‘traditional’ fit for cultural consultant duties – musicians can be deployed in the same role.[5]

South African rapper Reason, who has a background in advertising, has offered his insights towards the creation of content for several brands through the agency SlikourOnLife. Similarly, any musician can assist brands in communicating with the demographic they serve.[6]

Keep your eyes open for consultancy roles and roles that require your background knowledge and expertise, such as writing on music or industry subjects, musical directorship roles and adjudication positions.

Some average monthly income figures from the Music In Africa Revenue Streams for Music Creators in South Africa 2022 report are included below:

• Consultation services: R7 928
• Musical directorship: R7 817
• Adjudication in competitions: R6 164
• Writing on music-related subjects: R5 252

Speaking engagements

Musicians often make compelling public speakers due to their familiarity with perfomance and large audiences. Platforms such as Capitec Bank’s workshop series titled Live Better Talks involve musicians imparting their knowledge of the industry in a panel-discussion format. Such talks are designed to offer guidance on not just success in the music business but as a professional overall.

Lebo Kgothadi, senior brand partnerships and sync manager at Universal Music Group, recommends being alert to speaking engagements regardless of their size – including podcasts, business events, school functions, and so on. Part of being a musician includes sharing your story and/or giving back, and speakers who give engaging talks are those who tell their story with authority and authenticity.[7]

According to the Music In Africa Revenue Streams for Music Creators in South Africa 2022 report, formal public speaking engagements generated a monthly average of R4 041 for music creators in South Africa, while creative keynote speaking gigs brought in a monthly average of R2 956.

Video: In this edition of Capitec’s Live Better Talks, AKA, J'Something and YoungstaCPT discuss the importance of marketing yourself as a musician.

Creative workshops and masterclasses

These are similar to speaking engagements, but they are often more focused in nature. Creativity workshops and masterclasses are usually reserved for producers, DJs and instrumentalists, and can comprise a blend of speaking and live performance in the form of technical demonstrations. Leaders in the field include the likes of DJ Ready D, producer 37mph and drummer Joshua ‘JStar’ Zacheus, who have all partnered with gear brands and taught countless masterclasses across South Africa.

These opportunities usually take place during music festivals or music conferences and are often coupled with brand ambassadorships where the the musician performs demonstrations – for example drumming, beatmaking or scratching techniques – on branded gear. These opportunities are typically offered to musicians who are technical leaders in their fields.

As an emerging producer or instrumentalist, a YouTube channel would be a good place to start showcasing your technical skills to potentially attract these masterclass opportunities.[8] A YouTube channel would also, effectively, provide you with a showreel of your skills and what you can offer in terms of creatively engaging an audience. Being able to share a YouTube link is an easy way to pitch individual companies about more low-key creativity workshop opportunities – such as team building initiatives, end-of-year functions, etc.

According to the Music In Africa Revenue Streams for Music Creators in South Africa 2022 report, creativity workshops for corporates generated an average monthly income of R9 965 for music creators in South Africa. Meanwhile, online masterclasses provided an average monthly return of R2 869.

Final thoughts

Although it helps to have an established profile when approaching corporate organisations, musicians of all levels should actively look to make productive partnerships within the corporate world. Against the backdrop of a flailing live performance sector, the corporate environment can provide an important source of revenue for South African musicians in the coming years.

Resources and citations 

• [1] Original interview for Music In Africa with Lebo Kgothadi, Senior Brand Partnerships and Sync Manager at UMG: January 8, 2022 
• [2] O’Connor, A. (2019). “Stogie T mumble raps in new KFC campaign”. Between 10 and 5. Accessed on January 20, 2022: https://10and5.com/2019/04/16/stogie-t-now-a-mumble-wraps-in-new-kfc-campaign/ 
• [3] Mkhabela, S. (2019). “Here’s Everything You Need to Know About AKA and Reebok’s Upcoming Sneaker Collaboration”. Okay Africa. Accessed on January 20, 2022: https://www.okayafrica.com/aka-x-reebok-collaboration-the-sneaka/ 
• [4] Interview with Lebo Kgothadi. Ibid.
• [5] Original interview for Music In Africa with Reason (Sizwe Moeketsi), Rapper and Cultural Consultant: January 12, 2022 
• [6] Ibid. 
• [7] Interview with Lebo Kgothadi. Ibid.
• [8] Ibid.

This article is part of the Revenue Streams for African Musicians project, supported by UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity in the framework of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the Siemens Cents4Sense programme, Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut, the National Arts Council of South Africa and Kaya FM. 

Editing by David Cornwell and Kalin Pashaliev