Gallo Music Investments (GMI), the oldest and largest independent record in South Africa has bought a 45% stake in, Content Connect Africa (CCA), the continent’s largest independent content aggregator.
According to a media release, the CCA and GMI partnership kicks off with the two entities partnering with artists on brand work, providing backend services for independent labels, in addition to developing and launching continental artists.
Black Coffee, a South African DJ, bought a stake in GMI from Lebashe Investment Group through FlightMode Digital (his investment holding company).
Black Coffee said: “We’ve had the same 10 or 15 artists dominate the last decade, this partnership provides us the capacity to develop faster by leveraging technology and the CCA relationships.”
Simukayi Mukuna GMI Managing Director said: “We would like to see artists far more involved in the process and not be tied to the one size fits all deal structures.
“We want to develop solutions that are born from Africa, for Africa, to export to the world. Our approach is underpinned by an emphasis on the use of scalable digital tools that support the creative process.”
CCA CEO Antos Stella said: “We’re at the beginning of an industrial revolution where African artists participate in structures to encourage new ways to monetise content.
“CCA has a footprint across the continent as an aggregator to the continent’s major Telco’s as well as a pipeline of established and emerging artists that will benefit from Gallo and its shareholder Black Coffee’s experience and guidance towards an equitable transformation.”
