The Revenue Streams for African Musicians project

Participants in pilot phase

3,000

Provinces in pilot phase

9

Countrie(s) in pilot phase

1

Duration (months)

18

PILOT LAUNCH IN SOUTH AFRICA

The pilot phase of the RSFAM project has been running since November 2020 and will conclude this year.

During this period the Music In Africa Foundation has worked closely with music industry experts and researchers on the following:

Collection of data on the earning trends of 3000 South African music creators.
Identification of revenue models that are viable for South African musicians based on their historical and current performance in different locations.
Development of a peer-reviewed industry report on research findings.
Dissemination of information and findings from the study.
Implementing training workshops in Cape Town, Durban, Polokwane and Johannesburg.
Creation of educational content and capacity-building programmes. A new section will soon be launched on this website offering a wide range of educational content on revenue models that work in South Africa.
Appointment of a dedicated Policy Committee which has conducted an audit of local music industry legislation and produced a report with recommendations.
Organising a policy seminar in Johannesburg on 22 April 2022.

HIGHLIGHTS

Call for applications: Revenue Streams for African Musicians workshop in Johannesburg

As part of the Revenue Streams for African Musicians (RSFAM) project, the Music In Africa Foundation is inviting all practising musicians based in...

RJ Benjamin, Monde Mkhizwana to facilitate RSFAM workshop in Joburg

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) has joined forces with...

Call for applications: Revenue Streams for African Musicians workshop in Polokwane

As part of the Revenue Streams for African Musicians (RSFAM) project, the Music In Africa Foundation is inviting all practising musicians based in...

Call for applications: Revenue Streams for African Musicians workshop in Durban

As part of the Revenue Streams for African Musicians (RSFAM) project, the Music In Africa Foundation, in partnership with the...

Call for applications: Revenue Streams for African Musicians workshop in Cape Town

As part of the Revenue Streams for African Musicians (RSFAM) project, the Music In Africa Foundation, in collaboration with the Bridges for Music Academy...

Music community in SA mobilised for fair treatment and opportunities

By UNESCO

Would it be possible to live in a world where music did not exist? Music is part of people’s everyday lives. It is constantly present, whether it is musicalising...

Call for applications: SA music industry policies auditor

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) seeks to contract an individual to...

Call for applications: Music writers in South Africa

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) seeks experienced researchers, music journalists and/or music industry...

SA music creators invited to participate in revenue streams initiative

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) invites all music creators operating in South Africa to participate in the recently launched nationwide Revenue...

OVERVIEW

A key focus of the initiative is to establish a scalable research system for the African music sector that will evaluate and provide detailed analysis in relation to the ways in which music creators earn money in a particular African country. This rigorous examination identifies a definitive framework of the revenue streams available to musicians in each country, while offering a reliable basis for practitioners to adopt and fully maximise on existing and new income streams that are relevant and specific to their work. The pilot phase in South Africa will take place over 18 months and will offer:

1. Industry research, analysis, mapping and reporting

This refers to a data-based, multi-method research process that will provide statistics on revenue generation trends for musicians in South Africa. This data will assist in developing a framework of viable revenue models. An innovative web platform is used to gather and present this data, supported by field research, consultations with key industry role players as well as the ingestion of existing data.

2. Capacity building

Once the revenue models are identified, it will be key to train practitioners to fully utilise sustainable models. Our findings will inform training and the development of tutorial content, including an innovative revenue model recommendation tool that will guide practitioners to discover models that suit their profiles. Training workshops will target participants from all the provinces in South Africa, especially practitioners from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.

3. Advocacy for policy change

As a way to strengthen our advocacy and drive positive change in the interest of practitioners, the project will set up a dedicated committee to carefully study revenue trends against existing policies and legislation, with an aim of identifying impediments, offer legislative recommendations and engage with the relevant bodies in South Africa.