SXSWORLD

SXSW Music Conference Speakers (con't) industry by current economic realities have penetrated areas of the business that previously seemed untouchable. That situation is acknowl- edged by Ed Hunt, Senior Vice President, Publisher Services and Distributions, of the venerable Harry Fox Agency, long established as the United States' largest agency for col- lecting and distributing mechanical license fees on behalf of music publishers. According to Hunt, the current economic The changes wrought upon the music solely issuing mechanical licenses to providing a diverse array of administration services to labels, publishers and online distributors such as Napster, Rhapsody and Microsoft. With these relationships, we have positioned our- selves as leaders in rights administration by providing our clients with opportunities to explore potential revenue streams that they may not have known to be viable options." It almost goes without saying that many of Ed Hunt Senior VP, Publisher Services and Distributions Harry Fox Agency climate has influenced his company to adapt by diversifying the services it offers to clients: "The changing music business landscape has allowed us to supplement our offering to deliver a focused suite of services, custom- ized for each client's needs, including not only the basics—copyright, licensing and royalty distribution—but also data management, roy- alty processing and technology and consulting services. Further, we provide collection and monitoring services for music distributed and sold in over 100 territories around the world." "Our industry has transformed, dramati- cally," Hunt notes. "We have expanded from to Africa than those images." So says Ngozi Odita, founder of Society HAE, an online media site centered on fashion, music, art and culture. "A lot of great things are coming out of Africa, and music is one of them." Odita grew up hearing her Nigerian father's those potential revenue streams are digital. "I think it's fair to say that everyone in the busi- ness has felt the financial pressures resulting from lower than expected sales," Hunt states. "But it is these challenges that drive our new focus on the digital frontier. By aligning with the new media leaders in music distribution, we have positioned HFA to be at the forefront of what will be a continually growing sector of the business. Despite industry challenges, it really is an exciting time for us." - Scott Schinder Ed Hunt will moderate the "Music Publishing: Making Money in Your Sleep" panel on Thursday, March 18. record collection, but it wasn't until she vis- ited Nigeria in early 2008 that she was able to connect her passion for music with her family heritage. Scanning the local African music video channel and scouring markets for CDs, she discovered a world of African music "that was not the traditional music I grew up on; it was the music of the present. It was hip-hop and soul, yet it was still undeniably African." The current mainstream success of Fela, Ngozi Odita Founder of Society HAE tends to be about AIDS, poverty, civil unrest and corruption. Yet there is so much more "When people think of Africa, the story 58 SXSW ORLD / F EBRUAR Y 2010 the Broadway musical adaptation of the life and music of Nigerian music legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti, is arguably raising American awareness of African music to a new peak. But for Odita, celebrating veteran artists like Fela, to the exclusion of everyone else, has "locked folks into an idea of what African music is, and what it looks like." Rattling off some of her current favorites: reggae and hip-hop from Sierra Leone (Bajah and The Dry Eye Crew), soul mixed with hip-hop from Nigeria by way of Germany (Nneka) and pop-rock from South Africa by way of London (Mpho), she asserts that, "African music is as diverse as the hundreds of millions of people who inhabit the continent." The international community is slowly rec- ognizing that empowering individuals and communities is the best way to combat pov- erty and corruption in Africa. Similarly, Odita sees increasing access to technology to facili- tate exchanges and collaborations as having an empowering effect on African musicians. One recent collaboration saw American DJ J. Period remixing Jay-Z's American Gangster album with Fela's music, resulting in a mix- tape dubbed Nigerian Gangster. This past November, J. Period released a new mixtape featuring Nneka. Odita's hope is that "as more and more people become aware of African music, they are able to more easily identify with Africa, and this will undoubtedly change many people's perceptions. I think it's time we start talking about the successes of Africa and not just its perceived failures." - Allen Thayer Ngozi Odita will moderate the "Marketing 21st African Music" panel on Friday, March 19.

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