With the advent of the recording industry at the beginning of the 20th century, new professions appeared and new careers in the music sector developed. During this century, music became an object of mass consumption. Today, particularly due to the digital revolution, new upheavals are sweeping through the sector, impacting players, professions and tools.

Beyond music itself, an entire sector and its environment is being modified.

Economically, these modifications are based on a crisis in the phonographic industry where CD sales are almost non-existent and in favor of music on demand. Digital and widespread access to the internet have led to changes in strategy among players but also in consumption habits and has therefore become the current economic field.

Today, more than 500 million smartphones are connected on the continent, which leads to exponential data consumption. It’s the digital boom with the changes it’s bringing to the music industry. As a result, marketing, communication, even music publishing and production have had to accompany these upheavals by sometimes radically changing their practices, or even by adding new professional skills. From the point of view of the actors, even if some remain largely present, they have been joined by a whole new entrepreneurial and creative environment (platforms, SEOs, startups but also webmaster, web designer, community manager, etc.).

Finally, new content has accompanied this upheaval alongside classic content (podcast, web marketing, influencers, etc.).

These revolutionary changes are likely to be further accentuated in the coming years since the sector has become a place of rapid innovation and is at the heart of a significant change in behavior.

This is why it is important that music stakeholders embrace this 2022 REMA theme which concerns: African music, a new ecosystem: Actors, professions, tools