Two of South Africa’s finest musicians, Johnny Mekoa and Ray Phiri, died recently. The permeable terrain between genres their careers negotiated, is being replaced by rigid marketing categories.
Musicians who learned how to play through a state-funded program called El Sistema are taking their instruments to the streets to protest the government.
Nirvana’s Nevermind was emblematic of the 1990s. But in today’s fragmented digital age, can anyone nominate an album that defines the first or second decade of the 21st century?
In Australia, musicians’ total income actually went up last year. While the music industry still faces many challenges, there is now a world-wide push to boost artists’ royalties paid by streaming services such as Spotify.
Female popular musicians die younger – and from more unnatural causes like suicide, homicide and accidents – than women in the general population. What’s going wrong?
Why are women still marginalised in the rock industry? There are many reasons - from a male dominated music canon to belittling attitudes - but women are speaking up and lobbying for change.
The Congolese album ‘Nangadeef’ remains largely unexplored, despite its genius. As a rich repository of Afrofuturistic data, it deserves to be delved into by lovers of African art.