Impact of the digital revolution on artists

DJ Spinall at the MTN TIDAL Artist Collaboration Conference in Uganda.

Content Connect Africa (CCA), in collaboration with MTN Uganda and Tidal, hosted over 250 Ugandans in the music industry music in the exclusive, first of its kind Artists Collaboration Conference held at The Square in Kampala, Uganda.

According to Munyaradzi Chanetsa, head of operations at CCA, the conference aimed at empowering participants on the latest trends in the digital space that can be used to advance careers and commercial success of musicians and artists alike.

“The advancement of technology has positively impacted the global music industry. Musicians are now able to produce their music faster, cheaper and at better quality. At the Artists Collaboration Conference, we have seen Ugandan musicians eager to turn their talent into long term commercial success using digital channels,” said Chanetsa.

CCA is an independently owned media and content business based in Johannesburg with extensive experience in the African entertainment industry. The core of CCA’s offering is digital distribution of audio and visual content and through a seamless and specialised technical process, music and videos are submitted, digitised and ingested to platforms that deliver content products to millions of consumers across the World.

Jason Kpana, senior vice president artist and label relations, explained how Tidal came back to Uganda hot on the heels of their recent partnership launch with MTN: “Our arrival in Uganda was met with so much excitement from consumers and artists alike. Tidal will continue connecting with local musicians, producers, engineers and other players in the music industry to share all the tools necessary to take advantage of all we have to offer!”

For their part, MTN Uganda has been at the fore front of empowering musicians and advancing the music industry in Uganda, said chief marketing officer Olivier Prentout.

“Our 20-year strong existence in Uganda has seen us support musicians in various ways. With the Artists Collaboration Conference we have moved from just sponsoring their shows and launches to giving them the tools and expertise to earn money even when they are not on the stage performing” said Prentout.

Throughout the day-long conference, musicians learned about the evolution of music, the impact of the digital revolution in the music industry, how to choose the right digital business partner, rights management and how to take advantage of digital marketing to advance their careers among many other topics.

Sodamola Oluseye Desmond, aka DJ SPINALL, and Kemar Donaldson, popularly known as Kranium, made an appearance at the conference where they addressed the participants and networked freely with them.

Speakers at the conference included Aly Allibhai, CEO Talent Africa; Manny Teixeira, general manager Digital Media and Services MTN Group; Susan Kayemba, senior manager digital services, MTN Uganda; Tom Mbalu, business unit director and head of digital, TBWA Uganda; and Warrick Perce, head of licensing, CAPASSO SA.