The highlight this year is the keynote address by Charles Goldstuck. The CEO of Touchtunes and former COO of Sony Music will be flying out from New York City for a day to share his knowledge of the evolving music arena from a global point of view. Other speakers and panellists include Jake Larson, the head of music for MEA for Nokia Music, Peter Lacey, MD of Musketeer Records, Yoel Kennan founder of Keevision and South African music legend Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, who is on board as a partner in the Music Exchange entity.
“South Africa has some of the best talent in the world, but we have to up our game with strong business acumen from everyone involved in putting a record out there,” said Martin Myers, founder of Music Exchange. “The aim of the conference is to empower people in the industry with the tools and knowledge to assist in making a success of their creative efforts and our long-term vision is to put South African music on the global map.”
Topics of discussion this year include an overview of the changing revenue landscape and a specific look at needle time; the physical side of digital that will focus on all the different media available and how one should approach a web marketing strategy; and an intimate look at how some of South Africa's most successful bands interact with their fan bases through traditional and digital methods.
There is an optional third day to the conference, on which delegates will be able to attend half-day workshops. These will cover more in-depth topics on the contract by top industry lawyer Nick Matzuckis and the digital arena by digital marketing expert Brian Currin.
This year, delegates are encouraged to bring demo copies of their work to hand out to the bouquet of industry movers and shakers who will make themselves available to offer strategic insights and advice. There will be a showcase evening on the second night and delegates are requested to submit their demos for consideration and five performing artists will be given the opportunity to perform in front of some of the biggest names in the South African music industry.
