Mamby Diomandé is Director of Live and Brand at Universal Music Africa. A key player in the African music industry, Mamby has had a somewhat "unconventional" career path. Trained as an electrical engineer, he entered the music industry out of passion, like most people in the music industry. In 2015, he founded Team Event, a company specializing in show production and artist management in Côte d'Ivoire. This experience led him to produce Niska in Côte d'Ivoire, Koffi Olomidé, Kaaris, Naza, Burna Boy, and Orquesta Aragon.
In 2019, he was hired by Universal Music Africa as head of events in Côte d'Ivoire. The following year, he was appointed Live and Brand Director of this major label for French-speaking Africa.
In 2022, Mamby Diomandé is organizing the Salon des Industries Musicales d'Afrique Francophone (SIMA) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
What are the outlines of this first edition of SIMA?
SIMA is a personal initiative and was co-founded with Pit Baccardi. It is the first music industry trade show in French-speaking Africa. The first edition will be held on November 17 and 18, 2022, in the Ivorian economic capital, Abidjan. The goal is to create a platform for meetings between players in the music industry ecosystem, as the French-speaking world does not currently have one. The idea is to position itself as a lever for initiating discussions, creating synergies, and highlighting possible solutions to the many issues that still hinder the proper development of this industry. Examples include issues of copyright, publishing, skills development, and career management for those involved in the industry.
Our ambition is to take stock of the current market and promote initiatives and prospects that can contribute to its growth. We need to think together about how to structure and professionalize the African music industries.
What is the format of this first edition of SIMA 2022?
SIMA will be held over two days in Abidjan with a central theme focusing on the challenges of digitization in the African music industry.
Mobile money, new streaming models, regulation, new modes of media consumption, concert production, artist image management: SIMA's content and formats have been designed to respond to the challenges facing the African music industry, which has been greatly impacted by the development of digital technology.
Today, streaming and, more generally, digital technology, with their lack of territorial restrictions, allow music to travel from one continent to another. By 2025, 500 million people are expected to be connected to the internet. These figures allow all players in this industry to plan for the future.
Renowned players have already confirmed their attendance at the event: Olivier Nusse, CEO of Universal Music Africa, Salif Traore (A'Salfo), general commissioner of the Anoumabo Urban Music Festival (FEMUA), Akotchaye Okio of SACEM, Michel Duval, managing director at Because Music… and many others!
This edition is also placed under the high patronage of the Ministry of Culture and Francophonie of Côte d'Ivoire and sponsored by the Prime Minister, Patrick Achi. This highlights the fact that the issues raised by SIMA are global issues, for which the government wishes to provide solutions. The government's vision is to make Côte d'Ivoire the leading hub for the music and creative industries in French-speaking Africa by 2025.
What is your view on the digitization of the music industry in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa?
We welcome these new development opportunities. The indicators we have at our disposal clearly show that "all lights are green" for stakeholders. In 2017, Africa accounted for only 2% of global music industry revenues. Today, we have reached 10%! There has been a real positive trend in revenues generated by the music industry in Africa. The acceleration of digitalization in African countries will enable these figures to take off even further, thanks to the proliferation of hybrid solutions and models that are fully adapted to local consumption habits. This phenomenon will be a lifeline for all players in the African music industry.
The smartphone penetration rate in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa speaks volumes about the potential for digitalization to take hold. In Côte d'Ivoire, for example, it is already over 17%. Consumption habits are directly impacted by this, and this rate offers music, producers, and artists alike a golden opportunity in terms of development, remuneration, and revenue generation. Today, digitization is no longer a pipe dream but a reality for which we must find levers to accelerate and sustain it.
The global pandemic crisis and periods of lockdown, although unfortunate, have played a major role in accelerating this digitization, particularly when we look at developments in the consumption of music and music-related products. Today, shows are consumed partly in digital form. In fact, if we remember correctly, it was during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 that players such as Apple Music were able to launch in our territories…
What are the remaining obstacles to the structuring and successful development of music streaming in French-speaking Africa?
I deliberately do not call these obstacles, but rather levers for improvement. It is essential to identify them and challenge them in order to fully master the African music environment, understand all sources of income for artists, bring new talent to the fore, and contribute to the continent's influence around the world through music.
In the French-speaking world, we need to create a network that is strong enough to enable music to be exported and, ultimately, to allow French-speaking African music, through its diversity, to thrive in the territories where it is represented. The demographics are strong enough for this. Take the example of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is home to a population of over 100 million people and where an artist should be able to make a living from their art. This is not a utopian dream; we just need to structure the industry.
Which countries will be the leaders?
Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal thanks to its diversity, the DRC and Cameroon will be strong countries, spearheading the French-speaking world and asserting themselves against the more advanced English-speaking world.
Apple Music, Boomplay, Spotify… How do you see the arrival of the "big players" in the music streaming industry in French-speaking Africa?
The arrival of major international players is a very good thing, as is the emergence of local players. The WAW Muzik model launched in Ivory Coast is perfectly suited to the consumption habits of the Ivorian population (mobile payment, for example). We are also seeing the impressive rise of the Deedo platform in Senegal… The arrival of the giants does not change anything in the African music streaming landscape. There are places to be taken, it will depend mainly on the offers proposed by the platforms, but the market is mature enough for them to establish themselves.
SIMA will be an opportunity to report on this, to promote African music industries, to strengthen the capacities of stakeholders, and to understand the local business logic of our markets. Our ambition is to build a much stronger music industry, but also a leading French-speaking African music industry.