SA Music Market Access Guide to launch at SA Music Week

The guide is an invaluable tool for foreigners and locals alike, looking to understand the South African music landscape and engage with it, as well as providing a platform for the potential export of South African musicians to other parts of the world. The SA Music Access Guide 2020/2021 edition is a timely publication, given the recent interest in the South African music scene, thanks to the likes of artists such as Black Coffee as well as Master KG, the originator of the huge global hit, “Jerusalema”.

Music in the age of the fourth industrial revolution 

The first South African Music Week, with the theme, ‘Music in the 4IR’, will take place online from 26 to 28 January 2021. The focus will be on Canada, following the successful visits the event's founder along with the government undertook to Canadian Music Weeks in 2019 and 2020. The event is free and is billed as an essential opportunity to network, connect and learn from local and international experts in their fields. The three days of livestreamed conference will also be interspersed with performances by up and coming South African artists, who have an opportunity to connect with local and international music industry insiders.

The SA Music Market Access Guide (the Guide) provides an overview of successful South African artists and features interviews with prominent SA music businesses in music publishing, recorded music and the live music sector. The Guide also explores an analysis of South Africa’s history along with colloquial industry jargon, which will allow those looking to work with South African suppliers, artists etc., a better grasp of the local business landscape.

Jonathan G Shaw, the current editor of the 2020/2021 guide and long-time music industry author, researcher, educator and music producer, says: "The SA Music Market Access Guide is revolutionary as it begins to merge two worlds, which have for a long time been unreachable, except for a select few. Many South African artists and music business people still see the world as too far to market to, and the guide and South African Music Week now makes it easier to explore global opportunities."

Similarly, the well-established Canadian Market Access Guide will also be launched at the inaugural SAMW. The goal here is to promote two-way trade with the Canadian music industry to bridge the cultural and artistic divide between the two countries. The Canadian version is also a vital resource for anyone in the music industry looking to export or ply their trade to Canada and for Canadians looking for collaborations and opportunities in South Africa.

Founder of SAMW and the SA Music Market Access Guide, Michael Moeti, stated:

The launch of both Guides (and the music week), come at a time when our global music industry is facing a seismic shift in how it operates and how artists earn from their craft, especially here in South Africa. These digital publications provide a comprehensive resource for operators – locals and internationals - looking to work with professionals in the South African music industry and vice versa.

“We created our version, as a tool to assist in building a sustainable sector in South Africa – events come and go, but the people behind the scenes, all experts in their field, remain and their expertise can be used for a multitude of other occasions. The SA Guide is a showcase for our talent throughout the value chain – a qualified directory.”

Moeti also notes that this is the second edition, with the first having been launched at Canadian Music Week and distributed to several thousand attendees.

The SA Music Market Access Guide, its Canadian counterpart and the South African Music Week event, are free to access for all those registered to the event – registration can be accessed via www.samw.co.za. The Guides are published as digital flip files.