David Alexander

David Alexander was named the senior vice-president of Downtown Music Holding's new markets division in June 2021. He is also the founder and outgoing managing director of Sheer Music Publishing (Pty) Ltd based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Sheer Music Publishing (Pty) Ltd is the largest African owned music publishing company on the African Continent. The company represents African songs and songwriters for the world. Some of the company's clients are Cassper Nyovest, Lira, Kahn, Zahara, Stonebwoy, Ricky Rick, Mandoza, Eric Wainaina, Sauti Sol, Wouter Kellerman and Philip Miller. Sheer Publishing also represents international Publishers in Africa – some of their clients are Kobalt Music (Bob Marley, Paul McCartney), Mushroom Music (Kylie Minogue), Mute Song (Nick Cave), Budde Music (Alphaville), Downtown Music (One Republic).

Alexander is also the director of the Music Publishers Association of South Africa and the Vice-Chair of CAPASSO (The Composers and Publishers Association of South Africa)

Alexander founded Sheer Publishing back in 1996 to exploit a gap in the local Jazz scene. Today Sheer Publishing has a vast catalogue rich with diverse South African, African and International Chart music ideal for licensing purposes. Sheer Music Publishing offers the ultimate one stop solution for all deals and has music placements on movies such as Black Panther, District 9, Chappie, Blended and the Oscar winning Tsotsi and the Academy Award nominated Searching for Sugarman. Sheer Publishing has placed music on television shows such as Private Practice, The Vice, Rizzoli & Isles, Idols, The Voice and Big Brother and has been instrumental in successful commercials such as Heineken, Castle Light, Vodacom, MTN, Makro, Cadbury’s PS, Wimpy, Engen and Ackermans just to name a few.

Sheer Publishing is very active on the African Continent and David has travelled to many sub-Saharan countries in search of new clients. David has given papers and served on panels at music industry conferences such as Midem (France) Canadian Music Week (Canada), African IP Forum (Tanzania), Salaam Music Expo (Senegal), Womex, Kenya Music Week and ONGEA (Kenya), NIMEX- the Nigerian International Music Expo (Nigeria), Porto Musicale (The Brazilian Music Exhibition) and the Wami Conference (Western Australian Music Industry) as well as at Moshito, Music Exchange, Music Imbizo in South Africa.

At the Annual General Assembly (GA) of the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) held during Midem 2016 David was appointed to the Popular Music Bureaux which is a sub-Board of the ICMP. David is also on the Board of the IMPF (Independent Music Publishers Forum) which is a global organisation representing Independent Music Publishers.

Alexander has presented master classes on Music Business and Music Publishing at the University of the Witwatersrand, the Universities of Johannesburg, Pretoria and Kwa-Zulu Natal and has given Guest lectures at the Academy of Sound Engineering, Gordon Institute of Business and many other tertiary institutions. He has consulted to the South African Department of Arts and Culture, the Department of Trade and Industry and some of the Regional Government Departments.

Alexander is a member of Entrepreneurs...