We have the great pleasure and privilege of presenting the speakers and topics for the Music Exchange 2022 (#MEX22) conference.
The emphasis is on Exchange – Arrive to engage and ask questions of all the speakers and meet fellow creatives. You never know who is in the room. You have read about our keynote speakers over several weeks, Marc Marot and Dr Trevor Jones, and now we are pleased to share the balance of our Cape Town programme.
Special Celebration with Sipho Mabuse 11 Nov 2022 at Leano Restaurant
An extraordinary gathering, down memory lane as we celebrate the LEGEND’s birthday with Sipho Mabuse.
Sipho is regarded as a multi-instrumentalist with a charismatic presence, for more than 50 years … Come honour the man for his pioneering contribution to the music industry.
Venue: Leano Restaurant & Live Music – 81 De korte Street Johannesburg
South Africa’s premier music, film and entertainment programme returns to Cape Town between Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th of November 2022, at the Academy of Sound Engineering (ASE) – with one of the world’s most respected names in the business, Marc Marot.
One week later, the conference moves to Johannesburg on Saturday, the 12th and Sunday, the 13th of November, at ASE JHB to further amplify its broader intent to connect and covert conversations into commercial success for all in attendance.
Celebrating its 12th-anniversary MUSIC EXCHANGE 2022 (#MEX22), is proud to announce no less than two multi-disciplined masters, all highly sought-after and hugely respected entertainment industry moguls and speakers, who will be jetting in as special guests of South Africa’s definitive entertainment economy indaba.
Delivering this year’s keynote address, along with Dr Trevor Jones, is Marc Marot.
Marc Marot
Marc began his professional career in 1982 as the ‘Professional Manager’ of UK Independent music publisher, Eaton Music ltd, working with film composers George Fenton, Carl Davis and Henry Mancini and pop groups including Status Quo.
He was appointed Managing Director of Chris Blackwell’s Blue Mountain Music in 1984, working with U2 and the reggae catalogue, amongst others.
He had his first international #1 single with “Pump Up the Volume”.
Marc’s publishing signings include, amongst many others, Massive Attack, De La Soul, Julia Fordham, and Shakespeare’s Sister (Marcy Levy).
He headed every division of Island until Marc was appointed MD of Island Records in 1990, the youngest MD in the UK music industry at the time.
Amongst the Artists signed and developed by his team while at Island Records were:
Pulp
PJ Harvey
The Stereo MCs
P.M. Dawn
The Cranberries
Elbow
Chaka Demus and Pliers
NWA
The Orb
Ice Cube
Talvin Singh
Tricky
Nine Inch Nails
During his tenure as Island Records MD, Island artists won the prestigious Mercury Music Record of the Year prize three times, and ten Island albums were short-listed. Artists signed during the period have subsequently gone on to win 25% of all the prizes awarded in the 20-year history of the competition.
He guided U2’s career throughout the 1990s, from the release of Achtung Baby to just before the release of All You Can’t Leave Behind, selling close to 60 million albums in the process.
In 1998 he introduced Bono to the concept of Third World debt relief via his involvement in the ‘Jubilee 2000’ campaign and oversaw the ‘drop the debt’ initiative from within the music industry. Bono has subsequently thanked him on both the stage of the MTV awards and whilst addressing the UN council chamber in New York.
To date, acts discovered or managed by him have notched up 38 Top 10 singles, including 18 #1 singles in the UK charts. He has been responsible for more than a million album sales in one form, including his 10 years of direct international responsibility for U2’s marketing and sales.
Upon leaving Island records in 2000, he produced and oversaw the design and implementation of the multi-award winningU2.com, following a successful $5M fundraise.
U2.com remains one of the most successful music sites on the web, with over 1.4 million registered users and 140 000 subscription-paying customers.
Since setting up his first management company Terra Firma Ltd, his clients have included:
Richard Ashcroft
Lemon Jelly
Audio Bullys
Paul Oakenfold
Yusuf Islam (formally known as Cat Stevens). Islam’s comeback album, Another Cup, sold 850,000 copies worldwide under his supervision.
Marc acted as music supervisor and (music) producer on many film soundtracks, from Angel Heart, Mississippi Burning, and In the Name of the Father (client Trevor Jones and Bono), to the soundtrack for Notting Hill, which sold over four million copies.
He also signed a soundtrack deal for Guy Richie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which sold over a million copies worldwide.
In 2007, he was appointed as the exclusive music supervisor of the Isle of Man government’s film fund’s commercial arm, CinemaNX.
Recent credits have included the award-winning films Heartless, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Me, and Orson Welles and the 2011 box-office record-breaker, TT3D Closer to The Edge, one of the UK’s highest-grossing cinema documentaries to date.
While managing Paul Oakenfold, he worked on eight #1 USA box office movies, including The Matrix, Swordfish and Collateral.
In 2008 he sold his management company to Dutch-based ‘Sports Entertainment Group (SEG), accepting the position of CEO.
The company managed over 400 athletes, including former UK premier division football superstars Robin Van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen and 25 entertainers, including The Noisettes, Leftfield, William Orbit, Gabriella Cilmi, and Billy Ocean, as well as emerging UK talents ShyFX, and Breakage.
In January 2012, he resigned from SEG and accepted the position of Executive Chairman of The Crown Talent and Media Group Ltd.
The company exclusively managed the careers of several highly influential artists and athletes, as well as interests in artist management, music publishing, touring, event management, TV and film production and a model agency.
Marc had around 100 personalities under management, including Ella Henderson, Union J, Luke Friend, Becky Hill, Tamera Foster, TV presenters Susy Perry (BBC) and Hayley McQueen (SKY), as well as former Formula One™ Driver Max Chilton. His football management wing had 49 players under management.
All of which guarantees an opening address delegates will relish while setting the tone and celebrating the gravitas of MEX22’s promise to deliver content and conversation beyond compare.
With more names to be revealed in the build-up to #MEX22, this year’s conference looks to be its most significant and engaging one yet.
With thought leaders and activators from the worlds of art, radio, poetry, production, streaming services, record companies and live eventing, #MEX22 has all the bases covered to deliver, share, and empower everyone who takes up a ticket to attend.
Stay tuned to our website to get the latest updates.
Tickets sales are now open and available from Ticketmaster
In the build-up to #MEX22 this November, Music Exchange (MEX) is proud to reveal the first of what will be no less than 12 keynote addresses from some of the world’s most respected creatives and captains of industry.
Now in its 12th year, #MEX22 will also be heading out on tour to deliver masterclasses from some of the biggest names in the business in Cape Town (5 and 6 November) and Johannesburg (12 and 13 November), both hosted by the Academy of Sound Engineering (ASE).
Perfectly composed
Dr Trevor Jones
Dr Trevor Jones, one of the Top 5 film composers in the world, returns home from the UK to open #MEX22 for a second time. Having recently received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cape Town, Jones will deliver invaluable insights into his rich catalogue of award-winning compositions while unpacking music for film, television, gaming and spoken word.
He has worked on numerous well-known and acclaimed films, including Notting Hill, Excalibur, Runaway Train, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Mississippi Burning, The Last of the Mohicans, and In the Name of the Father, collaborating with filmmakers like John Boorman, Andrei Konchalovsky, Jim Henson, and Michael Mann. Record breaker
Record breaker
Marc Marot, ex-Island Records Managing Director, is the second of #MEX22’s highly esteemed international keynote speakers.
Marc Marot
Marc will take #MEX22 delegates on a journey that saw him promoted as the youngest Managing Director of a major record label at 29. Amongst the artists signed and developed by his team, while at Island Records were Pulp, PJ Harvey, The Stereo MCs, P.M. Dawn, The Cranberries, Elbow, Chakka Demus and Pliers, NWA, The Orb, Ice Cube, Talvin Singh, Tricky and Nine Inch Nails.
Marc also guided U2’s career throughout the 1990s, from the release of Achtung Baby to just before the release of All You Can’t Leave Behind, selling close to 60 million albums in the process.
To date, acts discovered or managed by him have notched up 38 Top Ten singles, including 18 Number One singles in the UK charts.
In one form or another, Marc has been responsible for more than 100,000,000 album sales, including his ten years of direct international responsibility for U2’s marketing and sales.
With more names to be revealed in the build-up to #MEX22, this year’s conference looks to be its most significant and engaging yet.
With thought leaders and activators from the worlds of art, radio, poetry, production, streaming services, record companies and live eventing, #MEX22 has all the bases covered to deliver, share, and empower everyone who takes up a ticket to attend.
Stay tuned to our website to get the latest updates.
What better way to spend listening to and letting Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse and The Hotband take you on a musical journey of the hits and songs that have shaped the lexicon that is South African music?
At 70, Sipho is more vital than ever. His music has featured in the December 2021 summer campaign for MTN. He also made the cover, including a 16-page feature in the Jan/Feb issue GQ Magazine, and was awarded a GQ Lifetime Achievement Award the month before.
Why Sipho at 70? Well, Sipho turned 70 in November 2021, hence the Sipho at 70 tour, along with his sensational six-piece,
The Hotband, consisting of :
Thembeka Khumalo (SAMA nominated) on vocals,
Siphiwe Kubheka on drums,
David Mabaso on bass,
Lloyd “toto” Mbele on keys
and the man of the moment, Sipho Mabuse on vocals and saxophone.
Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse performing at Yvonne Chaka Chaka’s benefit concert called The Mother Tour: A journey of an African Woman. Picture: Neil Baynes
Joburg – On August 12, the Turquoise Harmony Institute (THI) is expected to bring hope, awareness and advocacy to South Africa and the African continent’s refugees in its third award winning concert.
The THI said the concert aimed to raise awareness of the plight of the numerous people on the African continent and around the world who have been chased from their homes, forgotten and misplaced by others. The concert also aims to celebrate those who overcame the challenges of being forced to be a stranger in other countries.
The concert will feature leading artists including Msaki, one of South Africa’s most legendary musical talents Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, PJ Powers, Thandi Ntuli, Pops Mohamed, Neill Solomon, Rocksteady Dub, Bienvenue Nseka and Lebo Mashile.
“Having come from a Struggle past and having been associated with many of my colleagues who were refugees in other countries and understanding the pain of being in exile, I felt that we have to be conscious about how we relate to refugees as the people of South Africa,” Mabuse told The Star on Wednesday.
The legendary musician said it was very important to consider how South Africans view themselves vis-à-vis the refugee status of others.
“I have always believed that we are quite generous people and it’s very important that we take that position of opening ourselves up. If you haven’t had the experience of what a refugee has lived like then you cannot be in the position to make judgement of how we should deal with that,” Mabuse said.
“We cannot turn a blind eye on the status of refugees in this country.”
The executive director of THI, Ayhan Cetin said the institute wanted people to think “what if I was in their shoes, what would life look like? Could I face the sometimes insurmountable challenges and daily struggles they face?”.
“With these concerts our aim is to reframe the refugee experience, shifting the debate away from refugee statistics and refocusing on the attitudes of those who may not be sure who refugees even are, creating connections through common experiences and increased understanding,” said Cetin.
Mabuse said people should not only come to the concert to celebrate with the artists and be entertained.
“People must also come because they will be making a statement about their position vis-à-vis the refugees. While they pay the money for tickets and enjoy the music, their consciousness must be above the money and the music,” the icon said.
The concerts which include South Africa’s top acts both live and live streamed online will take place from 7pm to 9:30pm at the Linder Auditorium in Parktown on Friday, August 12.
Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse 