MTN Foundation, the CSR vehicle of MTN Nigeria has collaborated with the Musical Society of Nigeria, (MUSON) School of Music to host students and alumni of MTN-Muson Scholars to a workshop titled MTN Business of the Arts. The event was facilitated by industry veterans such as Oye Akindeinde; CEO, Music Time, Simfy Africa, Tee-Y Mix, multi-talented keyboardist and CEO, Vivace Records and Tade Adekunle, Past National President, National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioner (NANTAP) and CEO, KesKese Limited. Topics discussed ranged from Intellectual Property to Content Partners, carving and maintaining a niche, Platforms, Legal Representation, collaboration among others.
Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Abasi-Ekong, Senior Manager, Programme Implementation, MTN Foundation said the Business of the Arts Workshop is meant to improve the understanding of the students on the business and relationship aspect of music. He told the scholars that they are aware of the challenges they face while carving a niche for themselves, he assured them that MTN was prepared to support them. The MTN Foundation launched the initiative tagged Business of the Arts Series in February 2019 where alumni of the MTN-Muson Scholars are trained on the business of their craft. The initiative was developed to prepare the scholars for life outside the school, especially while venturing into the creative market and securing a paying audience. The first workshop in the series was held in February 2019, with a focus on Copyright & Intellectual Property Protection.
