BLOEMFONTEIN – It is all systems go for this year’s Free State International Music Conference. The conference will be held in Bloemfontein tomorrow, Friday 14 November. This is the third edition of the event. It aims to address issues impacting performing artists. The event also seeks to find solutions to ensure their sustainability.
This one-day event is organised by the Free State Music Association (FSMA). They are working in partnership with the National Youth Development Agency (Nyda). Role players are expected to give input. They will discuss the future of the industry and make far-reaching decisions about technology’s influence over it. This includes artists from within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Countries include Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho and Tanzania as well as Namibia.
The discussions will focus on four aspects:
• Role of collecting societies and intellectual property.
• Music business and governance.
• Radio, TV and digital marketing.
• Music contracts and recording company operations.
Music piracy is one of the grave concerns impacting performing artists globally. It has resulted in significant revenue losses from recorded music sales. Royalties are also affected, which harms less popular and emerging artists. The most direct impact is the loss of income from illegal downloads and streams that bypass legitimate payment systems.
Ayanda Roda, spokesperson of FSMA, said that overall, artists continue to suffer from piracy’s impact. It erodes the financial sustainability and creativity within the industry. He said representatives from the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) are expected to attend. Representatives from the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA) will also join. RiSA is a trade association that represents the South African music industry. It is estimated that record companies and artists themselves lose more than R500 million yearly to piracy. This is measured with dwindling sales of original records, CDs and DVDs.
Roda said last year, the conference awarded two sound engineering bursaries, and this year, it is providing recording studio equipment.
