APWW PGM #685

Every day, money changes hands in Ghanaian cedi, South African rand, and Brazilian reals as music is created, traded, performed, purchased, and pirated.

In this episode we look at the business side of African music, through a series of vignettes from around the continent and Diaspora that illuminate the deep connections between musical creation and the economies that sustain it. We start with the story of how cell phones are transforming Africa's music industries. Then, we see how economic competition drove the creation of Colombian champeta music. We take a look at the role of copyright in Jamaican dancehall, and follow the legal struggle over royalties from "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in South Africa.

Producer: Marlon Bishop

Assistant Producers: Briana Duggan, Joe Dobkin, Ryan Kailath