The African Music Meetings (REMA) was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from October 22 to 25. It served as a discussion forum for the state of the African music industry, which is booming as streaming services make music more accessible to a younger, more varied audience. This expansion highlights the necessity for an African cultural policy to embrace new technology as well as challenges related to copyright and royalties. Two panel discussions were held as a result:

• Music, Digital, and Local Economies: How to Develop Appropriate Tools
• The Future of the Music Industry in the Digital Age.

Among the speakers were industry experts and cultural professionals such as Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi, Moroccan founder of Visa for Music Brahim El Mazned, Walid Bara, the director general of the Copyright Office of Burkina Faso and many others from France, West Africa and Central Africa.

Other subject areas discussed included the need for artists to have entrepreneurial abilities, in addition to the need for new cultural policy. There was also the issue of the internet connection, which needs to be addressed in order to boost growth. Piracy was also highlighted, as was the necessity for partnerships between music entrepreneurs and telecom companies.