The African Festival Circuit with Carol Ndosi
Carol Ndosi is an entrepreneur who runs The Nyama Choma Festival, one of East Africa’s largest festivals. It draws the continent’s most prominent musical talent once a quarter to a one-of-a-kind food and music extravaganza. It has been running for 11 years and remains the main attraction on Dar-es-Salaam’s social calendar. Outside of the festival Carol also runs AltaVista a one-stop-shop events company, and she is also well-known for her work in youth, social justice and gender advocacy in Tanzania and the rest of the continent.
In our discussion, Carol and the team from Unplugged (Ellinah and Chiedza) talk about the challenges Festival organisers encounter, what artists can do to get themselves booked for festivals, the mistakes they make and where they can make functional changes to increase their ability to perform and tour.
Summary Of Important Takeaways
12:40 Festivals that are not directly linked to media platforms (radio and tv etc) cannot guarantee the support a festival organised by a radio station can. It is common practice in Africa for media platforms to organise a festival or event and not offer to pay an artist in cash but instead offer increased placements via advertisements, interviews or music playlisting leading up to the event. This is done on the premise that the increased exposure will lead to more opportunities that are equal to, or even surpass what an artist would be paid normally. When developing your strategy and your budget, this is an important consideration to make as you decide which types of events you would like to perform at and how you will support yourself and your band or DJ.
14:20 Radio is still used as a very big indicator of an artist’s popularity and viability when events are scouting for artists. YouTube trends and social media are also used (18:01)
16:22 Scout for festivals whose customer base matches your fanbase
18:50 Before you get bored make sure your booking information is clearly visible on your social media pages. Make sure you have 1 email address and a booking number (ideally not your personal number). Event organisers need to make sure they are paying the right person.
Ideally, you should have the following documents
Technical Rider
Hospitality Rider
Points for what the contract should include
30:15 If possible record your live performances and upload them to social media so potential bookers get an idea of what you live performance is like.
Understand that any contract you sign is legally binding, so read anything you are sent thoroughly before signing. Do not rely solely on verbal agreements
We will be having discussions like this every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 pm Central African Time on Twitter Spaces. Make sure to follow Unplugged Zimbabwe and Point Black to never miss these chats.
Book your seat for our next discussion here.