The Moshito Conference – which forms the central focus of Africa’s only annual music market – features a massive 52 topics and over 100 speakers.
Participants are drawn from across the country, as well as several African countries, the USA, Spain, Canada, and Colombia.
The keynote address at this year’s conference will be given by Jimmy Griffin who has been described as “One of the sharpest minds in digital music” by CNN Money.
Griffin will address the conference at 10am on its opening day on August 31 following its official opening by Sibusiso Xaba, Director General at the DAC. Griffin’s topic is titled: ”Marshall McLuhan was right: The Medium is the Message’, and it focuses on the professor of media studies’ legacy of accurate predictions and warnings about the future media and what can be learnt from them.
Griffin is Managing Director of OneHouse LLC, which is dedicated to the future of music and entertainment delivery, and works as a consultant to absorb uncertainty about the digital delivery of art.
Griffin is also working on accelerating the pace of scholarly research, especially through collaborative tools, sharing and open access to knowledge working with Mendeley, a UK company that is changing the world of research.
The keynote address sets the scene for three days of intense discussion, debating and presentations aimed at stimulating the South African music industry and empowering participants in it to operate at capacity, both domestically and abroad.
With digital music such an increasingly important part of the global, and South African, broader music industry, it’s no surprise to find several sessions devoted to the topic. These include ‘Understanding The Digital Ecosystem’ at 14h00 on Day One of Moshito, featuring a panel of experts including Marc Herson (partner at Hasso Plattner Ventures Africa), Antos Stella (Content Connect), Xolani Zulu (SAMRO) and Steven Ambrose (WWWStrategy).
Also not-to-be-missed is a session titled ‘The Future of Digital Music in Africa’ (August 31 at 15h15) with Nomadic Wax-founder, Ben Herson, Praekelt Consulting, CEO Gustav Praekelt, MD of World Wide Worx, Arthur Goldstuck, and ODA Africa Independent Online Distribution Alliance’s Karen Liebenberg.
Those looking for inspiration will want to catch a session titled ‘South Africans Who Changed The World of Music” where music industry veteran Ivor Haarburger will be joined by Sheldon Leal, Director of Music at Southdowns College to talk about individuals who have made an impact on the global music industry over the decades.
Although located in Joburg, several regions of the country will be under the spotlight at Moshito 2011. From a paper titled ‘Local is Lekker? The perceptions of South African music among Durban Adolescents’ being presented on Day One to ‘A Critical Look at the effectiveness and success of the Music Commission Model’ (Day two – September 1st) where both Cape Town and Durban will be under examination, Moshito 2011 is set to give delegates a broad view of the music industry landscape.
Indeed, this bigger perspective is also served by several outward-looking topics, including ‘A look at Colombia’s Cultural Policy and the importance of African Descent in Colombia’ on September 1. Providing practical insight into taking a music career overseas is the subject of a session on September 2 titled ‘Touring North America – touring the US and Canada’, that is presented by Daniel Brooks, founder of the Canada-based The International Tour and Tech Academy.
Delegates wanting to plug directly into current trends in the global music industry have plenty to choose from at Moshito 2011 – among them a session titled ‘Global Copyright trends – The future relevance of collective administration’ on September 1 at 16h00. The discussion will be led by a panel of experts including Clive van der Mescht of the Digital Asset Management Network, SAMRO CEO, Nick Motsatse and Rob Hooijer, Director of African Affairs for CISAC.
Established in 2004, Moshito Music Conference and Exhibition takes place from August 31 to September 2 at the Sci Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown, Johannesburg.
For a full programme of events go to www.moshito.co.za
Moshito 2011 is supported by Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation; France Volontaires Echanges et Solidarite Internationale; Accor; Fonds Europeen de Developpment Regional; Embassy of Colombia; African Synergy Book Café; SABC; Business and Arts South Africa; SAMRO; Sci Bono Discovery Centre; National Arts Council; Department of Arts and Culture; Joburg Arts Alive International Festival; Gauteng Provincial Government; Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie; Embassy of Spain and Indian Ocean Music Network.
For media interviews, media registration to MOSHITO 2011 and all Live Events within Moshito please contact Vanessa Perumal / Ayob Vania on 011 788 7631 or media@jtcomms.co.za
