Earlier this yearPulse Radio had the pleasure of being invited to speak at the Annual Breathe Sunshine African Music Conference which took place on 14-15th February 2015 in Cape Town. Even though the South African Music Industry is growing and welcomes new artists and international acts into its arms on a regular basis, there are still many social and political ills that this young industry needs to contend with.
The Breathe Sunshine African Music Conference is a social enterprise and all profits are channelled back into various empowerment projects in efforts to develop the entertainment industry and curb some of the challengess that it faces. The aim of the conference is to open up dialogues between various stake holders in the industry and work to build a better and sustainable environment for entertainers and the music industry. The Conference featured the likes of 5FM’s Euphonik, Valentino Barrioseta of Bridges For Music, Erefaan Pearce, Dave Mac, Dino Moran, Kavir Magan, Heather Menell and many other important movers and shakers in the scene.
Watch this video for a glimpse of what went down:
The conference’s ending was marked by the Unity Jam which featured German Reggae sensation Gentleman and other local acts. The Unity Jam took place in Langa Township at Gugu S'Thebe centre & Maragana Parkland and was a celebration the cultural diversity in our country. With conferences such as these,things can only get better from here on end for our countries artists and music industry. The dialogues and the information shared at this year's conference were invaluable to those in attandence and will certainly go a long way in ensuring that there is some sustainability in our local markets.
After its 2nd year of inception, the Breathe Sunshine African Music Conference is here to stay. Thanks to Trenton Birch& his team at Black Mango Music for hosting this amazing intitiative. We cannot wait to return in 2015, make sure you are there too!