After more than 15 years in the music industry, mainly at Universal Music Group, Alexandre Deniot now heads MIDEM, an international event that brings together all the players in the global music industry every year.
His passion for music and his desire to serve the entire international music community led him to take over the management of this annual event.
Let's take a look back at the latest edition, which took place in Cannes from June 4 to 7, 2019.
How did you choose to represent Africa at this latest edition of MIDEM?
As part of MIDEM in Cannes, we highlighted Africa through the Midem African Forum. A day dedicated to the continent, organized around panels on topics that are currently of interest to players and professionals in the music industry. Artists also took part in this event, such as Afrobeat icon Femi Kuti and Maleek Berry as ambassadors. Femi also gave a keynote speech on "promoting and supporting the new generation of Nigerian artists and producers
."
Ahead of MIDEM, you initiated a pan-African tour in several major cities. Can you tell us more about that?
We also promoted the African continent ahead of MIDEM in Cannes, as we toured three African countries: Senegal, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Each stopover featured a day of conferences, workshops, meetings, and artist showcases with the aim of enabling local music professionals to meet, discuss the market, and create synergies to develop the sector.
These three countries are music countries with excellent artists, so it was important for us to go and meet them in order to exchange ideas.
This pan-African tour is part of a program we launched in 2017 called "Markets with High Potential" and unveiled at Midem. Through this program, we want to help structure and professionalize the music market in Africa and build bridges between the African community and the international community.
How do you view the music market in Africa?
Looking at Africa, we see real potential. Everything is falling into place for the continent to become one of the biggest music markets, even if there are still many challenges to be faced, particularly in terms of copyright, training, and professionalization of the sector. And we want to provide our support in this area to help local artists make a living from their passion and export their music internationally.
Is your ambition to create a MIDEM Africa for 2020? Why create an African edition?
We do indeed have the ambition to create a MIDEM entirely dedicated to Africa in 2020. A pan-African event that will bring together professionals from all over Africa, focusing on the challenges and issues specific to the continent, namely training, talent discovery, and support for professionals. This edition will complement the international MIDEM event held in Cannes, which this year brought together more than 5,000 participants from 90 countries around the world.
What are the main challenges in structuring and professionalizing the African music sector?
There is a real need for training at all levels and in all areas of the music industry. This applies to both record labels and sound engineers. There is a real need to create more suitable structures to enable professionals to receive better training.
Copyright and fair remuneration are also key issues. To address this topic, we have been organizing the Copyright Summit and the Legal Summit for several years at MIDEM. In Africa, there are many challenges in this area, which is why we want to support artists' remuneration and the protection of their rights.
What do you think of recent developments in African music in terms of artists' reputation and visibility?
Today, African music is booming. In a broad sense, it is one of the most influential music genres in the world. We are seeing a real buzz in terms of artistic creation, and this is partly due to the advent of streaming, which promotes the circulation of music around the world. Thanks to this, African music is becoming more international, driven by African artists who have not lost sight of their roots but who add an "international" touch to their music. This mix of genres speaks to people, touches a large number of people, and therefore works!
What is your view on the arrival of labels such as Universal Music and Sony Music in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa?
It's a good thing. If these major labels decide to set up shop in Africa, it's because they have identified that there is real potential on the continent and that the market is indeed taking shape. Their arrival is a very positive sign for the growth of the market, its structuring, and for the artists. Not all artists are suited to working with the major labels. Many independent labels are also very good and can help artists grow.
What are the opportunities and threats associated with digital technology for the music industry in Africa?
Today, I think digital technology is synonymous with opportunity because it allows music to circulate widely around the world, particularly through streaming. It allows African artists to make themselves known in different parts of the world at the same time. Digital technology also generates income for rights holders, artists, songwriters, and others. However, for African artists to benefit from all these opportunities, digital technology must become more widely available on the continent. There are still many challenges to overcome, such as the cost of data, which is still too high. Operators play a key role in the value chain in this regard.