Pioneering and growing the African music industry

This year's event, taking place from 14-16 February 2014, is set to give back even more in the way of empowerment, inspiration and interactive learning, with a brand-new Unity Jam event to be held in the township of Langa in Cape Town on the final day of the event.

Powered by Black Mango, the event brings together a wide range of artists, producers and leaders across the music industry with the aim of building and unifying the industry. International reggae superstar, Gentleman from Germany will be taking part in the conference and will also be performing for the first time in South Africa at the Unity Jam, as part of an African tour schedule organised by the Goethe-Institut.

The multi award-winning artist has been spreading his reggae music across the globe with his shows and is now one of the biggest international reggae headliners in the world.

This year the conference is supported by a sizable German contingent and will include Gentleman's manager, Volker May (Germany) - Vice President of IMMF (International Music Manager Forum Europe), Hannah Kupfer (Minus Records - Ritchie Hawtin's label) as well as Detlef Schwarte, co-founder of Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg and Director Reeperbahn Festival Conference in Hamburg.

Reeperbahn is now the largest event of its kind in Europe and their visit to the conference will further cement the strategic partnership that the two conferences share. As part of the on going relationship, Black Mango will be hosting a South African panel and a live showcase at Reeperbahn at the end of 2014.

Gentleman's and Volker May's trip is being supported by the German cultural body the Goethe-Institut and with Germany now being the biggest music market in Europe, the
German presence at the conference will go a long way to further support an already growing interest in South African music.

This year's conference also sees the addition of Breathe Sunshine Connect, a part of the conference dedicated to the digital space. Headed up by African Dope Records founder Roach Roth, Connect brings together the sharpest minds in the digital media world and music industry to explore the current landscape and how the industry can better leverage the space for success.

International charity Bridges for Music will host a space on electronic music. There will also be live technical demos along with exclusive invite-only Producer Pow-Wow sessions that offer one-on-one networking between township and city producers.

What you can expect

A snap-shot of other highlights to expect from the 2014 Breathe Sunshine African Music Conference includes the following: