The panel discussion, titled Navigating the Recording and Distribution Industries in a
Changing Environment, is part of a partnership between ACCES and Reeperbahn Festival that seeks to ignite lasting business exchange and collaborative opportunities for African and European music professionals, including musicians, composers, producers, distributors, aggregators, event organisers and talent managers.

A leading pan-African trade event for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages, ACCES will take place in Ghana for the first time from 28 to 30 November 2019 at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Alliance Française and The Goal Coast Hub.

The Reeperbahn Festival-presented conference session will look at the most important changes currently occurring in the fast-paced digital revolution in terms of distribution and the value chain, and will feature Chocolate City executive vice-president Aibee Abidoye (Nigeria), Gallo Music Group general manager Rob Cowling (South Africa), Airforce1 Records managing director Joe Chialo (Germany), Paradise Entertainment and Distribution CEO Ralph Boege (Germany) and SJN Agency director Sarah-Jane Nicholson (South Africa/Netherlands).

Reeperbahn Festival will also host a second panel discussion, titled Fostering collaboration between African and European music markets, on 30 November. Both sessions will take place at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in front of an audience comprising delegates from more than 50 countries in Africa and beyond.

In addition, Reeperbahn Festival is taking three diaspora acts – Gato Preto
(Germany/Ghana/Mozambique), Songhoy Blues (UK/Mali) and Lúcia de Carvalho
(France/Angola) – to perform at ACCES 2019. The three will join an exciting
line-up of showcasing artists that will also feature Mokoomba (Zimbabwe),  Arka'n (Togo), Sibusile Xaba (South Africa) and Bholoja (eSwatini), as well as Ghanaians Yaa Yaa, Santrofi, Kyekyeku & Ghanalogue Highlife, FOKN Bois, Cina Soul and FRA!

The ACCES 2019 showcases will be held at Alliance Française on 28 November, The Gold Coast Hub on 29 November and again at Alliance Française on 30 November.

Attendance is free for all Africans upon registration: https://www.musicinafrica.net/acces

About Reeperbahn Festival International
This year ACCES has a partnership with Reeperbahn Festival – Germany’s largest music platform based in Hamburg. The partnership creates a framework for the festival to collaborate with ACCES in facilitating sustainable business engagements and exchange between European and African music businesses and professionals, as well as the provision of performance opportunities to musicians in both territories. The Reeperbahn Festival International Programme is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. In 2020, the next Reeperbahn Festival International spin-offs take place in Los Angeles (22-25 March), Beijing (24-26 April), Nashville (11-14 May) and New York (15-18 June). For more information visit the official website: https://international.reeperbahnfestival.com/en/index/

About ACCES
ACCES is a pan-African trade event for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages. ACCES is held in a different African city every year, attracting active music industry players from across the globe.

ACCES is organised by the Music In Africa Foundation, a non-profit and pan-African organisation, in partnership and with the support of Siemens Stiftung,  Goethe-Institut, Reeperbahn Festival International, Alliance Française, BMG, MediaSound Hamburg, the Multimedia Group, Africa Art Lines, Afrikayna, the Gold Coast Hub, the Year of Return, the Prince Claus Fund and the ANT Mobility Grant from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

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