Chris Theko
The 4th instalment of the annual Lesotho Music Conference which seeks to sensitise artists on the business side of their career will take place next week from March 25-26, 2022 at the Alliance Francaise, Maseru.
The founder of the music store, YME tunes and former president of the Lesotho Music Rights Association (LEMRA), Sechaba ‘Sir Schaba’ Mokoqo told Newsday Newspaper that the event is one of the big ones in the calendar of the music industry.
The conference is also meant to bring artistes closer to what the global markets are as far as the business in the music is concerned.
The conference will entail songwriters, composers, producers, authors, publishers, record labels, dancers and performers, while guest speakers will include the likes of Karabo Motijane from Sheer Publishing, Seabelo Modibe from Botswana, Sina Moshito from South Africa and founder of Music Imbizo, Sphe Mbele.
“The conference was initially started with the aim of educating local musos to better appreciate the music business especially in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and beyond.
“Not only does it help with the business side of things but it brings about the cultural exchange program. Our artists get to learn how other countries promote their music to reach masses which is good because we are just under five years old while some of the SADC countries that will be represented have been doing music conferences for a long time so it is good to learn from them,†Sir Schaba said.
Although the conference was not held last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sir Schaba said the initiative has grown significantly with time as the music exhibitions and festival will be taking place for the first time on the last day of the event.
This he said is whereby artists from Lesotho will be performing and showcasing their talents.
He went on to cite that the exhibitions will open doors for local artistes considering that the event will be graced by music market creators from South Africa, eSwatini, and Namibia who will be observing closely what Lesotho can offer that they can take home.
This he noted to be an opportunity to expose local talent to global markets.
