August 9^th will see the launch of the South African chapter of Women in Music (WIM), the world’s leading non-profit working to educate, empower and advance women in the music industry. It will be followed by a series of online panel discussions where women in the South African music industry can discover more about WIM membership and connect to the already growing community.

The launch marks a significant step forward in the homegrown music industry with the founding members choosing Women’s Day for its historical significance in the empowerment of women to advance their own political, social and economic position.

“There is a real need for women in the industry to connect, uplift, support, support and create opportunities for women,” says founding member and chair ​Tumi Mogapi. “It is crucial to have a space for conversations about levelling the playing field for all, with the mission to educate and grow the South African music industry. We are creating a space for us to pause, reflect and ask questions to address representation and belonging.”

“There are minimal spaces solely for women in music within the midst of the highly male-dominated South African music industry,” adds founding member and vice-chair, Manaileng Maphike. “WIM South Africa is that space – a space where South African women can create networks with likeminded women from across the globe to propel their careers beyond the borders of South Africa.”

To give effect to this, membership of WIM provides many benefits including access to educational and networking events around the world, educational seminars, panels and workshops with top-notch professionals, up close and personal evenings with acclaimed performers, producers and other industry professionals, roundtable discussions on current topics relevant to the industry, and special mixers and speed networking events.

Members also get access to online networking groups, directories, newsletters, forums and more, all to enhance networking with the SA chapter of WIM and the larger WIM worldwide community. This includes access to an exclusive WIM Google Group as well as useful resources and information from mentors and peers and answers to pertinent questions from the WIM community.

Prospective members will be able to learn more about WIM’s mission, values and work in the first of a six-part online panel series, presented in collaboration with Africa Rising Music Conference. Hosted by the South African chapter founders, the first in the series will take place on 31^st August.

To register interest in the SA chapter of WIM go to xxx. There is also a chance to get a complimentary 12-month membership by completing this form.

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact Lulama Mali at wimsouthafrica@womeninmusic.org

For more information on WIM go to https://www.womeninmusic.org/

Follow Women In Music on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/WomenInMusicSA

Follow ARMC on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/AfricaRisingMusic

About Women in Music

Women in Music is the industry’s leading non-profit working to advance the awareness, equality, diversity, heritage, opportunities, and cultural aspects of women in the musical arts through education, support, empowerment, and recognition. Founded in 1985, WIM is now fueled by 100+ volunteers working daily to serve thousands worldwide, with chapters from LA to India.

Women in Music South Africa Founding members:

Lulama Mali (Platoon SA): Lulama Mali has been documenting hip hop since her teens in the late 90s, which progressed to her being an artist manager, booking agent as well as an activist for (especially) women in hip hop. Her interests have primarily been to collect information and disseminate it to those who didn’t have access. Currently, she works at Platoon as an Artist Liaison and Distribution assistant for the African region.

Manaileng Maphike (YLT Services): Manaileng Maphike is an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa. She has had an illustrious career having represented heads of State, politicians, world renowned businessmen and women, multi-national companies, government, state owned entities, entertainers (musicians, actors, producers and content creators) and the creative industry. She has worked in both private practice and corporate, including at Africa’s largest collective management organisation, which has significantly diversified her skill set making her a well-rounded and experienced attorney. She currently runs a legal consultancy, YLT Services, which specialises in Commercial Law, Entertainment Law, Information Technology Law and Intellectual Property Law.

Tumi Mogapi (Publisher Services Manager: SAMRO): Tumi Mogapi is a Publisher Services Manager at the South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and has extensive experience within the music rights discipline. She worked for NORM (National Organisation for Reproduction Rights in Music) as a Financial Administrator, Gallo Music Publishers as a Royalties Manager and Sheer Music Publishing as a Junior Manager in Finance and a Senior Creative Liaison. She also served on the Production Music South Africa Board and an observer on the Music Publisher Association (South Africa) board. She had the pleasure of serving both major publishers and independent writers and publishers for more than a decade with a passion to provide the music rights awareness in Africa.

Sarah Jane Nicholson: Over the past decade, Sarah Jane Nicholson has become an important presence in the international music industry through her expertise and success in connecting Africa to the global market across a multiplicity of platforms. Since founding SJN Agency in 2010, SJ has played a significant role in the development of South African talent offshore, working with a range of artists to grow their careers through live exposure, creative collaboration and licensing. In 2019, Nicholson broadened SJN Agency’s footprint to Amsterdam and has contributed her expertise to several key events including a collaboration with global music industry marketing agency, Moon Jelly during ADE 2019. Fuelled by a deeply-felt passion for Africa taking its place on the global music scene, Nicholson is currently working with several partners to bring a range of innovative initiatives to market over the coming year, under SJN Agency’s Africa Rising Music (ARM) brand. She is currently based in Berlin where she heads up Paradise Africa Distribution PTY Ltd.

Mpumi Phillips (Creative Manager, SHEER Publishing): Mpumi Phillips manages the creative department at Sheer Publishing where she handles music clearances for film, television and commercials, and works with a wide range of clients, including artists, composers, production houses, advertising agencies and post production companies.  Her music supervision work includes on Rhythm City, Beyond the River, Blood and Water, Angus Buchan’s Ordinary People, Babalas, iNumber Number, Nothing for Mahala and Inside Story. Mpumi’s career started at Los Angeles-based NPO “Artist for a New South Africa (ANSA)” founded by Denzel Washington, Alfre Woodard, Ted Danson and Blair Underwood. Mpumi also worked as Label Manager for Ghetto Ruff (Zola, Ishmael, DJ Cleo and DJ Sbu) and has served as a member of the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) steering committee responsible for the South African Music Awards (SAMA).

Morgan Ross (GM UMG Live Africa): Morgan Ross heads up the booking agency division at UMG Live: Africa’s biggest booking agency boasts an impressive roster of talent from corporate acts, to indie artists and, of course, artists signed to parent label, Universal Music Africa. Morgan has experience as a label manager, production manager, in brands and partnerships and as a booking agent.

Diane Coetzer. For the past 25 years Diane Coetzer has been writing about the South African and African music industry, through her work for Billboard magazine, Rolling Stone South Africa, Songlines, Daily Maverick, Sunday Times and many other international and South African print and online publications. With journalistic roots in the Anti-Apartheid struggle, she has also written about identity, gender and social justice for three decades. Diane was named Arts and Culture Journalist of the Year at the 2006 Nedbank Arts and Culture Trust Awards and was the closing speaker at TEDx Johannesburg Women 2012.