Therese Owen
THE Breather Sunshine Engage music conference comes to Johannesburg for the first time this year. It is taking place at the Market Theatre on Friday from 9am – 5pm, with keynote speakers in the form of Gareth Cliff and Terry Weerasinghe.
It is billed as bringing some of the sharpest minds in the industry together.
Artists who will share their knowledge include HHP, Black Coffee, Julian Gomes, Euphonik, DJ Zinhle and Zakes Bantwini.
Bantwini will be there as head of A&R for Sony’s local artists.
Management issues will be addressed by some of the best in the industry. This includes Dreamteam SA’s Refiloe Ramagase who manages Kabelo, Magesh and Khuli Chana, among others. Then there is Raphael Benza’s who’s list of artists, includes AKA. Franie Kotze’s management skills have covered artists like Springbok Nude Girls, Karen Zoid, Dan Patlansky, Elvis Blue and Prime Circle. All three of these men are highly respected in the industry.
They are the people whose roles include creating work for their artists from a corporate level to an international level. There are no text-book rules in the fluctuating South African music industry and there is very little set in stone for artist management. It happens through sheer wit and instinct, but Kotze, Ramagase and Benza have had enough experience and success to impart valuable knowledge at this conference. They will be speaking on the Management Vacuum in Africa panel.
Sipho Sithole, of Native Rhythms, and Moshito also has valuable information to impart, as does Andre le Roux of Samro.
The conference will be streamed live via Sky Room. With such a strong list of speakers, this one-day conference is a must for beginners in the music industry as well as those thirsty to learn more.