For decades, the Sahel has been a land of music, invention and transmission. From Mali to Nigeria, via Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, this region has witnessed the birth of styles that have left their mark on African music: Afrobeat, Makossa, Mandingo music, Tuareg blues…, and the emblematic musical figures associated with them.

This music has crossed frontiers, nourishing the continent’s imagination and influencing scenes the world over. Produced for a long time with few resources but great creativity, they have told the story of the Sahel in all its diversity.

Today, with the upheaval of digital practices, young artists are appropriating digital tools to innovate, produce and distribute.

REMA 2025 will examine this major change, which is opening up a host of new possibilities for creative and economic activity: what stories, what sounds, what business models are emerging today?

To answer all these questions, we have conducted a mapping survey of the creative music sector. The panels will provide an opportunity to take stock of these questions and open up new perspectives. Showcases will enable us to meet emerging trends. The professional meetings will debate the renewal of the music industry’s business models.

That’s why this year’s theme is “Sahel, a new creative imagination“, as a call to understand, value and support this dynamic where the musical Sahel is asserting itself as a continental cultural driving force.