There’s a question that haunts the South African music industry, one that doesn’t get asked loudly enough: what happens to the talented ones? The ones who can play, who can write, who can hold a room — but who have no idea what a royalty split is, have never read a contract, and don’t know the difference between owning a master recording and owning the publishing rights to a song?

Too often, the answer is quietly devastating. Talent without knowledge is an open door to exploitation.

And the industry, for all its brilliance, has never been particularly invested in changing that.

Jazz Wise wants to change it.

Built for high school students, university students, and young professionals who are serious about music and serious about building something lasting from it. The day at Jazz Wise Youth Music Business Workshop is structured around three sharp, honest panel conversations, facilitated by SAMA award-winning artist, TV presenter, and creative entrepreneur Pilani Bubu — someone who brings hard-won experience in brand-building, budgeting, grant applications, deal-making, and producing other artists to the room.

“Empowerment is access,” says Mantwa Chinoamadi, CEO and curator of the Joy of Jazz festival. “When young musicians and students step into spaces like Jazz Wise, they must leave with more than inspiration — they must leave with industry knowledge, real networks, and the confidence to turn talent into enterprise. Our job is to open the doors, bring the right people into the room, and ensure the next generation doesn’t just watch the industry — they lead it.”

That ambition didn’t come from nowhere.  She adds, “There is a huge lack of business knowledge in the arts,” Chinoamadi says directly. “We started initiatives like Jazz Wise and Jazz for Young People for practitioners to teach and share knowledge with young people about issues such as owning their publishing, understanding contracts, and registering with organisations like SAMRO, SAMPRA, and CAPASSO. One pressing issue is always funding — relationships and networks for young, disadvantaged artists.”

The first panel of the day, Risk Capital for Culture, asks a question young artists spend years wrestling with: who funds what? The honest answer, according to Chinoamadi, isn’t a comfortable one. “The arts ecosystem is fragmented and oversubscribed. Most funding grants are competitive and pay late, whilst artists are self-funded.” What’s needed, she argues, isn’t just more money — it’s smarter distribution. “We need staggered micro-funding, plus training on how to become fundable — compliance, a business account, a pitch.”

The panellists bringing clarity to this conversation represent some of the most active funding pipelines available to South African musicians. Violet Maila of the Music in Africa Foundation connects African artists with touring opportunities across borders. Dorine Lebreton, Deputy Director at IFAS, oversees the French Institute’s music programmes and funding streams, including artist residencies and Franco-African collaborations. Caroline Christgau from Goethe-Institut Johannesburg designs programmes supporting collaborations and touring for African artists. Between them, they can explain not just what funding exists, but how to actually reach it.

The second panel, From Classrooms to the Global Stage, cuts to the heart of what music education is currently getting wrong. Talent, Chinoamadi suggests, can only carry an artist so far. “Talent can hold down at least 30%,” she says. “Artists need financial, legal, and business skills — how to invoice, read a contract, understand royalty splits. Music schools teach performance, not entrepreneurship. Jazz Wise fills that gap.”

Joining this conversation are jazz pianist and musicologist Dr Phuti Sepuru; composer, arranger, and lecturer Chantal-Willie Petersen; Zagreb-born vocalist and composer Ziza Muftic; and guitarist Vuma Levin, a Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner. Their collective experience spans performance, academia, and the realities of building international careers from South African soil — and what separates the musicians who sustain those careers from those who don’t.

The day’s third panel, Purpose Value Versus Industry Value, is perhaps the most personal — asking whether an artist can stay true to their creative identity and still make money. In an era of algorithms and audience metrics, it’s a question with real stakes. Chinoamadi’s answer is clear: “Artists should not chase algorithms. Your authentic South African story is your commercial value internationally. Use commercial tracks as a funnel to your deeper work — not as a sell-out.”

The panel also unpacks the financial architecture young artists rarely understand until it’s too late. Streaming income compounds over time — the more streams, the more sustainable the revenue. Publishing depends on needle time, visual exploitation, and synchronisation. Performance rights, collected every time a song plays on radio, TV, or live, function as a kind of day-to-day salary. And intellectual property, Chinoamadi notes, is “the only thing that appreciates while you age.”

Joy of Jazz marks 27 years



Hosting this conversation is drummer, author, and academic Tumi Mogorosi, joined by independent singer-songwriter Internet Athi — who has crossed a million streams without a label — Ndumiso Manana, the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music, and Nontando Mokoena, Project Manager for the SAMPRA Development Fund.

Beyond the panels, the day also serves as an intake platform for internship opportunities. But Standard Bank and the Joy of Jazz aren’t measuring success by attendance alone. “Beyond the workshop, we track alumni for twelve months,” says Chinoamadi, “monitoring their business registrations, collection society memberships, gigs secured, funded projects, and jobs created through the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz programme. This reflects our commitment to long-term engagement and development.”

Standard Bank Group Head of Sponsorship, Bonga Sebesho, echoes that long view: “Jazz Wise reflects Standard Bank’s commitment to driving Africa’s growth by investing in the next generation of creative talent. The workshop empowers young people with the knowledge, networks, and entrepreneurial skills needed to navigate the music industry, grow sustainable careers from their craft, and contribute meaningfully to the future of South Africa’s creative economy.”

That’s the real ambition here. Not just a good day in a theatre. Not just inspiration. A generation of musicians who own their work, understand their rights, know how to pitch for funding, and are building real businesses from their art — on their own terms.

The room will be open on 17 September. The question is whether the ones who need it most will walk through the door.

Jazz Wise Youth Music Business Workshop takes place on Wednesday 17 September 2026, 09:00 to 16:30, at the Joburg Theatre, Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Part of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival.