Music Business for Africa’s first class began on July 8th with the first module. There was anticipation of what to expect at the program’s debut online meeting since the faculty guests had already been announced across all MBA social platforms. Two classes make up the module “Introduction To Music Business In Africa”. The first class’s topic explores the history of the African Music Industry with Elizabeth Sobowale Programme Director MBA, as the moderator of the class. It was an enlightening session for all the MBA students where the students learned about the history of African music, the genres, and the evolutions of sounds across Africa.
The faculty guests took their time to dig deep and explain in clear detail how the African Music scene has gone through a very significant evolution over time and why African people, governments, businesses, and investors need to realize the value of our artists and build systems to support/develop their value and harness it to develop our continent and shape the narrative for the messaging we distribute through the music.
The second class of the Module was held on the 9th of July and was moderated by Stephanie Okocha, Founder of Panda Entertainment & Talent Manager. This session, under the same module, served as the continuation of the first class, however with a different topic that speaks about music and the African economy. Here are some of the positive feedback from the student’s discussion board on Ed App — A multi-award-winning mobile-first learning platform that introduces a better way to train teams anytime, anywhere, on any device.
Major Highlights from Module One, Class One: African Music Industry History
The faculty guests for this class were:
- Ayomide Oriowo Co-founder and Head of Operations; TurnTable Media Data Analytics TurnTable Charts
- Ayo Shonaiya – Founder, R70
- Jide Taiwo – Writer, Author, and Media Executive
This class focused on the history of the African music industry and explored opportunities that attracted majors to Africa in the 70S and 80s, and most importantly elements that led to the growth of the music industry in the 90s and 2000s. It was such an interactive class and the students were happy to join the session.
Additionally, there was enlightenment on how sounds travel and the roles of current stakeholders in the future of the African Music industry.
Major Highlights From Class Two: Music and the African Economy
This class held a great amount of value and deep insights into music and the African Economy. The tutors shared some opportunities for growth and development in Africa’s music industry and explained how other sectors of the economy interact with the music and creative industries. At the end of the session, the students also gained knowledge of challenges hindering the growth of the music industry in Africa.
The faculty guests were:
- Umeadi Onyekwelu
Head of Music Licensing, West Africa, MdundoGodwin Tom Managing Director,
- Godwin Tom Managing Director, SONY Music Publishing, West Africa.
One of the highlights of this class remains that the music industry creates employment opportunities for artists, producers, managers, and technicians. Moreover, it contributes to cultural tourism and promotes African culture worldwide, boosting the creative economy and enhancing cultural exchange.
The MBA For Africa 2023 program is officially sponsored by YoutubeMusic, Trace Naija, Aux, Vazy Music, Kasana, and others. MBA For Africa is in partnership with Creative Industries Initiative for Africa & Music Ally.
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