Dj Boogie Sid recently returned home from Miami, Florida where he participated in the Miami Winter Conference (MWC) to learn about the music industry, international trends, how to break and sell music beyond borders .The local spinner also had a chance to perform at the Afro Takes Miami gig where he was alongside other spinners from UK, Thailand, Greece, New York and South Africa.
“The conference was incredible. A real eye opener; I learnt from a lot of experts and industry veterans who brought their wealth of knowledge and wisdom to the conference. It was very engaging and insightful,” he said.
Dj Boogie Sid said he had a lot to share in terms of what he learnt during the conference and that his aim was to impart the knowledge gained in seminars and workshops to be organized yearly.
“I learned about the current state and future of the music industry worldwide, the influences on the trends, how proper branding and imaging of an artist is important and how the market and overall public perceives an artist. Other topics discussed were of electronic music downloads and management as a new form of revenue stream as opposed to the traditional way of selling hard copy cds, other new forms of revenue generation such licensing music for tv and radio ads, movie soundtracks etc, staying relevant as an artist by sticking to your own sound as opposed to general trends, public relations and effective campaigns,” he explained, further stating that some of the topics also covered tips on how one can build proper media presence and strategies that can help amplify their reach, about managers, and agents, how to pick the right one and when its necessary to do so, radio, what it takes for listeners to stay tuned to their favourite radio station and what it takes for one to get their music heard .
Commenting on the difference between local DJ’s and their technology as opposed to international DJ’s and any ideas he has learnt to apply to our local industry he said, “Overseas DJ’s have an edge over us because technology is easily accessible to them at cheaper prices. Skill wise, they are not too far from us. In fact technology aside, we can match them. I have also acquired a lot of ideas! A truckload. It will be work in progress. You will have to follow closely to see the application.”
DJ Boogie Sid’s trip to Miami was made possible by the Department of Arts and Culture, Dialogue Saatchi and Saatchi, Empire Synergy and Studio 24 Film and design.