The Point Black Podcast

We are back!! Thank you to everyone who has rode with as we transitioned from The AHHB to Point Black. If you have questions they are explained in the podcast's intro. Join award-winning digital marketing expert Phil Chard as he mentors a group of talented podcasters in the PodQuest 2024 competition in Kenya. Phil shares his insights on building sustainable podcasts, engaging with audiences, and developing strong monetization strategies. Get valuable tips and insights on:

• Building a loyal community

• Leveraging collaboration

• Using digital tools for growth

• Creating a strong value proposition

Phil Chard was invited to be a panellist in an online discussion hosted by the British Council focused on Creative Industries and how best to build a sustainable business online

The conversation was recorded as part of the "Creative Hustles Space" and was hosted by Fungai from Enthuse Afrika.

The panellists were;

• Phil Chard from Point Black Entertainment

• Walter Wanyana from Ngoma Nehosho

• Charlotte Kanter from Morse Code

Key Takeaways:

1. Creative spaces and collaboration are essential

2. Challenges are common in the industry and more so in Zimbabwe

3. Understand the environment you are working in.

Actionable Advice for Artists:

• Create a dedicated creative space: Even if it's a small corner of your home, having a designated space for creative work can help you focus and be more productive.

• Connect with other artists: Join online communities, attend workshops, and network with fellow creatives for support, inspiration, and collaboration.

• Learn basic technical skills: Familiarize yourself with recording equipment, software, and troubleshooting techniques.

• Plan and prepare for your recording sessions: Have a clear objective in mind, choose a quiet recording environment, and ensure your equipment is properly set up.

• Embrace flexibility and adaptability: Challenges and interruptions are part of the creative process. Be prepared to adjust your plans, experiment with new approaches, and find creative solutions.

As part of The Music Industry Incubator workshop series, we invited artist manager Jack Mashala (Mas Musiq) to fly in from South Africa to have a 1 on 1 conversation with Phil Chard on how best to build a brand, what managers should be aware of and what artists can do to work with their management to build a revenue-generating brand.

This week The Music Industry Incubator hosts Aurelia J. Schultz who is an international copyright expert with 15 years of experience in African Copyright.

She earned her BA in Religious Studies from Carroll College and her Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville. She began her legal career at Creative Commons where she was the first Africa Regional Coordinator. Most recently, she served as Counsel for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office. She has trained artists, industry professionals and government officials around the world and enjoys collaborating with others to improve our global creative industries.

What is A Music Copyright?

A copyright is the legal mechanism that gives you a property right indoor creation. It changes you from a creator into an owner and that's important because property rights are alienable, which means that you can buy them and sell them, lease them, and rent them and trade them.

Summary

00:51 Intro to Copyright

2:14 What is mechanical right

8:40 What is WIPO

10:15 Importance of treaties and how they affect you

16:00 As an artist who is collaborating how is copyright ownership determined

19:20 Who owns the sound recordings

24:00 How long does Copyright last

26:55 How to enforce your copyright

29:49 How to enforce your copyright

31:50 Protecting your copyright

35:00 How your copyright works across territories

40:15 How attribution works

45:01 How to protect your work

46:26 What do Public Domain and Fair Use mean

50:50 Copyrighting a sound using sheet music

This week we had artist, event promoter and content creator Game “Zeus” Bantsi to talk to us about his creative journey and how artists can come out of the pandemic with their best foot forward while also putting safeguards in place to ensure their careers are not completely derailed by unforeseen circumstances

“It really breaks my heart that we have all these assets sitting in these institutions [banks] but it is not really accessible to us as creatives and other vulnerable communities”

Notes

1. Understand the business of music

2. Think of your career and yourself as an business

3. Getting business loans as an artist is difficult. Your collateral assets are your Intellectual Property

4. Understand how your brand can generate revenue and refine that process

5. Learn as much across as many skillsets as possible

Summary

* 7:50 How he overcome Botswana’s small population to cross over regionally

* 12:50 How Zeus used his education to further his career

* 16:50 Understanding the business of music

* 22:05 Can an artist access a business loan?

* 28:50 How Zeus kept his career going during the pandemic

* 38:12 Keeping the culture alive

* 50:50 The importance of learning multiple tools for the creative business

The first of The Music Industry Incubator workshops kicked off on June 9 with Zimbabwean-born superstar producer Mr Kamera. In our chat, we covered a lot of topics that would be incredibly helpful to Zimbabwean musicians of all kinds. An edit of the conversation can be played and downloaded below. We also have detailed timestamped notes and resources that cover the issues we discussed that is available here https://www.musicindindustryincubator.com/blog/music-production-with-mr-kamera

Mutsai Musa has been running the creative incubator, Quiet Riot Media for 15 years. Quiet Riot Media has consulted for both international artists and large entertainment companies on intellectual property and copyright management, paying attention to protecting income streams and generating long-term revenue for creative projects. Recent clients include Apple Music Africa, Universal Music Publishing Group Africa, Sony Music Africa, Interscope Records (USA), Platoon Africa, LVRN Records (USA).

In our chat with Mutsai, we discussed the various ways Zimbabwean artists can earn revenue as artists and what they can do to increase their earning potential.

Summary of Earning Channels

1. Mechanical Royalties (Sales) 

2. Publishing Royalties

3. Merchandise

4. Live Show Income

Workshop Summary

4:35 How artists can be considered for Digital Service Provider Playlists

Playlisting is the new radio and is a key part of getting your music discovered

Your distributor plays a key part in getting playlisting

Use UGC social media content platforms to promote your work

Make sure your song is on radio

10:04 How to pitch yourself and your music 

Have an EPK and marketing plan ready before you release a song

That EPK should clearly state your DNA as an artist in 1 page

WHO you are. WHERE you are going. WHAT information and data about you is available.

13:25 How to pitch yourself to festivals 

14:11 The types of revenue available to artists

Maximise show revenue when it is available

Look into publishing as early as possible

23:11 How revenue is generated

26:06 The importance of working with others and building a team

“Working alone is not beneficial. Would you rather have 100% of $10 or 50% of $100”

Learn the fundamentals of the business

34:10 How to approach brand endorsements

To get a brand endorsement you have to add value to the brand in question

Brand endorsements are not a viable source of long-term revenue because brands are in business to sell products and not support artists

37:32 How to prepare your brand to become one that earns revenue

Make yourself and your music easy to find. (Search Engine Optimisation)

Website, Biography and press pics

Market and promote yourself

41:30 The questions you need to ask a potential partner before you work with them

Who have you worked with before?

What do you know about the following;

Distribution

Publishing

Sync Licensing

Marketing

Artist Management

43:40 How to prepare marketing and promotion budgets 

49:50 TikTok presents the biggest opportunity for artists

For reference here is the video from VOX that tracks the importance of TikTok

Munya Chanetsa is a well-known music executive and founder of M.O.T.I with more than 10 years of A&R and licensing experience. He has worked with mobile operators, CAPASSO and Sony Music Publishing amongst others. He has also been a featured presenter on music copyright at leading forums and conferences in South Africa, Angola, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

In this workshop, we cover the basics of publishing, how important it is for all songwriters and what avenues they can use to exploit their publishing to earn revenue.

Summary

Workshop Summary

1:15 The role of a publisher 

Facilitate collaborations

Place/exploit existing songs

Sync mood music to movies, games, apps etc

6:30 What is a music library

8:40 How terms for Sync Licenses are used practically

9:01 Self Publishing versus signing with a publisher 

Pros of self-publishing

You retain 100% of your rights

100% of the revenue

Cons of self-publishing

More administrative work

No help with A&R

Have to sell yourself to collaborators

14:30 The Collective Management Organisations available to Zimbabwean artists and how licensing worst

17:25 What artists need to get a licensing deal

RayDizz is one of Zimbabwe's leading DJs and performers who has graced the stages of The Ministry of Sound, Marquee Las Vegas, Big Brother Africa, Vic Falls Carnival, HIFA and opened up for some of Africa's biggest stars.

In this conversation he shares his advice on how young DJs can get started in the industry, build a brand, what equipment to use and where to legally source music.

4:45 How To prepare for a set

11:40 What are tone and pitch plays when DJ’ing

12:35 What equipment a new DJ needs

Controllers versus CDJs

16:18 Reinvesting in equipment and the need to budget 

21:20 The importance of management and booking agents

23:50 The viability of collaborations 

27:20 RayDizz advice for upcoming DJs

37:05 How to get on a show promoter’s radar

40:40 The importance of YouTube as a teaching and promotional tool

39:55 The use of Record Pools and other legal purchasing platforms

In this episode of the AHHB Podcast we speak to South African DJ, Producer, rapper and accomplished IT Consultant Trompie aka Beatmochini aka Bleksperm. In our chat Beatmochini speaks to us about his career that has spanned almost 2 decades. From starting out in Pretoria to working with Khuli Chana on a SAMA winning album, getting his first gold plaque and travelling the world.

Trompie also gives Phil some professional advice on how to delete porn from his PC and sheds some light on the issues surrounding his collaboration with Fifi Cooper just before her Ambitiouz exit.

The producer also speaks to us about his upcoming March 10 EP which was sparked after he was challenged to make a 6 track collaborative project with only new artists by by Osmic.

"6 joints? I can do that in my sleep" he boasted "In a week I was already done"

Subscribe to the AHHB Podcast on;

Website: https://goo.gl/SBzy1y

iTunes: http://apple.co/29Tl7Rv

Stitcher: http://bit.ly/2b3tgph

Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2b5FR8x

YouTube: https://goo.gl/FmX9bJ

TuneIn: http://goo.gl/p4kR9h

AHHB on Twitter: https://twitter.com/africanhhb