The Culture and Creative Industry Summit in Ethiopia, Music and Film Edition 2024, was held on April 8th and 9th at Addis Ababa University’s Ras Mekonnen Hall, bringing together industry experts, artists, and educators for insightful discussions and presentations.
The summit commenced with a comprehensive analysis of the music and film industry in Ethiopia. Alehegn Moges, Senior Consultant and Operations Manager at MATH Consulting PLC, along with Artist Henock Mehari, Artist Tewodros Aklilu, and Filmmaker Henok Mebratu, discussed evolving trends in the industry, providing valuable insights into market dynamics. In the second session, Dr. Wube Kassaye from AAU, Eyuel Mengistu, Head of Yared Music School, and Habtamu Hailemichael from Turmi Film Academy presented on the ‘New Age of Music and Film Education in Ethiopia.’ This session sparked lively discussions on the current state and future of education in these creative fields. John Henriksson, Project Manager in Music Business at Selam, led a presentation on ‘Navigating the Recorded Music Industry.’ The panel, featuring Artist Desalegn Hailu, Guta Wakuma, Head of Meedo Records, and Samuel Mulugeta, CEO of Muzikawi and Selam Ethiopia’s Country Director, discussed opportunities and challenges for the music and film business in Ethiopia.
On the second day, the summit continued with a session on ‘Copyright in Ethiopia.’ Woldu Yimesel, Director General of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Authority, along with artists Tsedenia Gebremarkos and Haile Roots, explored the challenges and opportunities to ensure the protection of intellectual property rights in Ethiopia. Samuel Sangwa, Regional Director for Africa at the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, emphasized that ‘Copyright is fundamentally an economic right.’ The following session focused on publishing, featuring Pär Almqvist, Co-Founder of Ayo, alongside Artist Giovanni Rico and Teshome Wondimu, Founder of Selam Ethiopia. The discussion highlighted issues such as the lack of proper credit for artists and the difficulties they face in obtaining copies of their work. The final session of the summit delved into the ‘Streaming Landscape in Ethiopia,’ with presentations by Dawit Tesfaye, filmmaker and songwriter, Engineer Habtamu Negash from Sewasew Multimedia, and Seminas Hadera from Gerar – The Creative Hub. They discussed the opportunities and challenges within Ethiopia’s streaming landscape, noting how the evolution of streaming platforms has minimised challenges while creating new opportunities. Engineer Habtamu Negash addressed the issues of piracy and the untapped potential of streaming platforms, while Seminas Hadera emphasized the impact of financial incentives on creators’ choices of platforms for broadcasting their work.
We’re thrilled to share highlights from the Culture and Creative Industry Summit in Ethiopia, Music and Film Edition 2024! All the sessions are now available on Selam Ethiopia’s YouTube channel. Experience the full event by watching the videos in the playlist: Culture and Creative Industry Summit 2024.
