Celtel Moves to Save Salone's Music Industry

Celtel, Sierra Leone's leading mobile company, is sponsoring the largest musical conference ever to be organized in the country in order to save Sierra Leone's ailing music industry from collapse.

The confab, which is slated for 26-28th June 2007 at the Miatta conference hall, Youyi Building is themed: 'Way forward for the Music Industry in Sierra Leone.' Premier Media, which is organizing the conference, is collaborating with a number of stakeholders in the country's music industry to brainstorm on the way forward for music after years of war and political instability.

The meeting will bring together musicians, record labels, producers, promoters and marketers with the aim of charting the course for the future development of the industry.

The United States Embassy and British Council are providing consultants to provide some guidelines to the forum.

Lots of popular names in the music industry say they are happy that at last Celtel is sponsoring a forum for them to discuss and plan their future.

The traditional crowd-puller, Steady Bongo stated that it is difficult to find even five Sierra Leone musicians who can tell you how many copies of their works have been sold. "Some of us just release albums and you hear it being played all over the place but with no money coming in. With Celtel now sponsoring this conference, we will be able to talk freely and find ways of solving the problems in the industry," he said.

Executive Producer of Kallboxx Records, DJ Boxx (real name Abu Bakarr Konteh), said he wholeheartedly welcomes the Celtel/Premier Media initiative.

Boxx maintained that the conference will enable them to come up with solutions to remedy the problems.

He lauded Celtel for trying to make life better for the music industry while the President of Cassette Sellers Association (CSA), Abubakarr Kamara alias DD Abu, stated that for Celtel to sponsor the event is a very big initiative.

President of All Stars, Abu Bakka Elba aka Base Aphonix opined that the conference was long overdue, but since no one came forward to help sponsor it, everybody was just doing things without control, which led to a lot of losses to local artists.

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