Senegal: Dakar Music Expo wants to better connect music players

Audio 01:15

Conference on the digitalization of urban cultures at the French Institute in Dakar as part of the Dakar Music Expo (DMX) from June 17 to 21, 2021. © Théa Ollivier / RFI

Text by: RFI Follow

4 min

Cultural events resume, notably with the 2nd edition of the Dakar Music Expo (DMX).

This professional fair dedicated to the musical cultural sector organized for five days concerts, conferences, panels, round tables and master classes.

The construction of new economic models from production to distribution following the crisis linked to the pandemic was at the heart of the discussions.

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With our correspondent in Dakar,

Théa Ollivier

Participants leave in small groups the cinema hall of the French Institute in Dakar where conferences are held throughout the day.

Joseph Massoma, Cameroonian artist, has just attended a debate on the digitization of urban cultures.

“ 

I learned, first of all, how to distribute his music on digital platforms.

The artist's job is not just about producing musical content.

You also have to learn everything that revolves around it.

 " 

A meeting place for music players

Among the panelists is Amadou Fall Ba, cultural actor from Dakar. He finds these moments to create a network are important: “ 

This is the missing link in the chain. We have festivals, we have artistic references, we have studios, we have an audience… But we didn't have this kind of tools that will necessarily open up a market. This is the message that must be sent to many young professionals. We need a network, because this profession is based only on that in reality. 

Doudou Sarr, founder of the Dakar Music Expo, specifies that this networking is also done during the concerts organized every evening.

 There is a group which told me that they had four concerts which were completed following their passage.

And that's why there is DMX, for there to be transactions, for there to be opportunities, for these artists to be able to tour, especially after what we have just experienced during fifteen months with the Covid-19.

 " 

The third edition is already scheduled for February 2022. At the same time, another major cultural event has resumed in Senegal: the International Jazz Festival of Saint-Louis, which was canceled last year.

►Also read: RFI Musique - Overview of the Senegalese music market

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