FAME Week Africa’s boot camp for songwriters

FAME Week Africa, a boot camp for songwriters, will bring musicians together with filmmakers, brands, and agencies in Cape Town from October 25-27. The goal is to increase African-created music in film, television, and advertising, potentially unlocking a new revenue stream for individual licensing deals that could be worth thousands to millions of rand.

The three-day Pressure Cooker Studios Songwriting Camp will flip the usual music-making process, with songwriters creating music to specific briefs submitted by those needing it. Between three and six briefs from various creative professionals will be selected, with teams of South African producers, composers, and musicians creating sync-ready demos based on these briefs.

FAME Week Africa Portfolio Director Martin Hiller said the idea is to connect two parts of the creative industry earlier, as music is a powerful part of storytelling, but filmmakers and music creators often don't meet early enough. Sync licensing, where music is licensed for use with visual content, is a growing opportunity for African musicians due to the increasing demand for African sounds internationally.

However, rights infrastructure, metadata management, and relationships with music supervisors need to improve. African musicians aren't underperforming; they are underrepresented in systems not tailored to their needs. Sync can be more lucrative than musicians may realize, with fees ranging from a few thousand rand to millions for major campaigns.

Rights holders can also receive ongoing broadcast royalties through organizations like SAMRO and CAPASSO when their productions are aired. There's also a growing demand for locally produced music in Africa, but international libraries remain popular, especially when productions face tight deadlines. The main challenge in sync licensing is the gap between local media and the music industry, as African artists still need direct connections with actual projects.