Midem African Forum makes successful Lagos stopover

The one-day event was moderated by broadcaster Douglas Jekan and featured panel discussions, masterclasses, workshops and a live video call with Wyclef Jean. Attendees included musicians, industry professionals, record labels, copyright practitioners, streaming platform representatives, publishers and the media.

The forum is organised by Midem, an annual music conference that takes place in Cannes, France. Midem, which was first held in 1967, intends to support the music industry by developing creativity and business linkages. It has currently partnered with Trace and Africa’s biggest music streaming platform, Boomplay, whose head of marketing for Africa, Tosin Sorinola, was also at the Lagos forum.

“Nigeria is buzzing right now and it is the buzz of Africa,” Midem CEO Alexandre Deniot told Music In Africa. “Artists such as Wizkid, Davido, Yemi Alade and many others are making it big on the international stage, so it makes sense to be here. Nigeria is one of the biggest markets right now and it is growing fast.”

Midem has been focusing on the African music market for a few years now. At its main event in France, it dedicates a large part of its programming on exploring the potential of the continent’s industry. After the Lagos event, Midem African Forum will for the first time go to Cape Town, South Africa, on 28 February, where it will hold a similar one-day event to delve into the South African music business.

“Three years ago, we launched the High Potential Markets Programme focusing on emerging markets like Africa to have representation in Cannes to discover opportunities and how to improve the structure of the music industry,” Midem head of partnerships for Africa, Javier Lopez, said in Lagos.

Deniot added: “Midem is here to support the community and the challenges we are confronted with together. We want the market to grow and make it sustainable for all music professionals by providing support and the know-how depending on the segment of the business.”

At the Lagos event, Midem presented its flagship offering in Cannes and announced that Nigerian Afrobeat musicians Femi Kuti would perform at the event in early June.