At a conference on “Promoting African Musical Heritage”, held as part of the 10th edition of the Visa For Music festival, speakers highlighted the importance of IP registration to protect the musical tradition unique to each African country.
In a speech at the opening of the conference, the festival’s founding director, Brahim El Mazned, indicated that three forms of traditional African music are represented by artists and experts present at this meeting, namely Congolese Rumba, Morna from Cape Verde and Moutya from Seychelles.
The panelists unanimously stressed the importance of protecting the different forms of musical expressions, considered as “an integral part of African identity that requires transmission and preservation”, noting that the program of this 10th edition of Visa For Music is characterized by its great diversity, since it brings together modern musical groups with other traditional ones.
The female gender was represented by Solange Cesarovna, Cape Verdean artist and composer, director of the company “Sol Music for copyright”. In a statement to MAP, the musician said she was happy to take part in this debate on the musical heritage of Africa and the preservation of its traditional forms, including the Morna.
“Morna is an emblematic genre of music from Cape Verde, combining song and dance with poetry,” explained Ms. Cesarovna. “We are here to discuss the relationship between this intangible cultural heritage and intellectual property, with the aim of protecting copyright and ensuring income for these artists who raise the flag of their countries and their continent,” she added.
In a similar statement, Galen Bresson, IP director at the Seychelles Institute of Culture, said the musical tradition unique to each African country “must be protected at all costs, including through IP registration.”
“Like the example of the famous African song used in the film ‘Lion King’ and which in fact belongs to South Africa, we often find ourselves in the difficulty of attributing these musical titles to their country of origin,” he observed.
“African music artists and professionals have the mission of protecting IP and involving in this fight young musicians who pleasantly merge modernity and tradition, particularly on digital music platforms,” insisted Mr. Bresson.
An authentic musical expression, the Cape Verdean Morna was inscribed in 2019 on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, followed by the Moutya of the Seychelles Islands, inscribed in 2021.
The 10th edition of the Visa For Music festival, organized from November 22 to 25 under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, offers a program rich in activities, including concerts, conferences and workshops in which more than 80 countries are represented.
The Visa For Music festival aims to be a space for exchange and dialogue between artists and professionals in the music industry, including production companies, artistic agents, artistic directors, cultural institutions, the media and trainers.
2024-08-07 18:12:36