The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival will hold the Jazz Wise Youth Music Business Workshop on 17 September 2026 at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa. The one-day programme is aimed at high school and university students and young professionals seeking to build careers in the music industry.
Running from 9am to 4.30pm, the workshop will bring together musicians, educators, cultural practitioners and music industry professionals to discuss the business and professional skills needed for sustainable careers. Topics will include songwriting, A&R (artists and repertoire), recording, publishing, marketing, investment, knowledge acquisition and sustainability. Participants will also have opportunities to network with industry professionals and learn about different parts of the music business.
Facilitation#
The workshop will be facilitated by Pilani Bubu, a singer, television presenter and creative entrepreneur. Bubu is a South African Music Awards (SAMA) award-winning artist and producer of the Folklore Festival. Her experience covers brand development, budgeting, grant applications, deal-making and artist production.
Panel discussions#
- Risk Capital for Culture will examine who funds cultural projects and how artists can access financial support. Panellists are Violet Maila, a creative industry expert who has worked on projects across the African continent; Dorine Lebreton, deputy director at the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS); and Caroline Christgau, project coordinator for Music and Creative Economy at the Goethe-Institut Johannesburg.
- From Classrooms to the Global Stage will consider whether talent alone is enough to sustain a music career. Panellists include jazz pianist, educator and musicologist Dr Phuti Sepuru; composer, arranger, bassist, vocalist, arts researcher and lecturer Chantal-Willie Petersen; Croatian-born jazz vocalist and composer Ziza Muftic; and guitarist and composer Vuma Levin, a former Standard Bank Young Artist Award recipient for jazz.
- Purpose Value Versus Industry Value will explore whether artists can remain true to their creative purpose while generating income from their work. It will be moderated by drummer, author and academic Tumi Mogorosi. Panellists include independent singer-songwriter Internet Athi, whose music has accumulated more than one million streams without a record label; musician, producer and founder of Manana Music, Ndumiso Manana, the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music; and Nontando Mokoena, Project Manager for the South African Music Performance Rights Association (SAMPRA) Development Fund.
The workshop will also be used as a platform for recruiting interns for the year.
“Empowerment is access,” Joy of Jazz festival CEO and curator Mantwa Chinoamadi said. “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.”
