SAUTI ZA BUSARA

2014
www.busaramusic.org
FESTIVAL NARRATIVE REPORT


2



REST IN PEACE BI KIDUDE
(d. 17 April 2013)
Sauti za Busara 2014 was the first edition of the festival to be held since the passing on 17
th
April
2013 of this well-loved doyenne of Zanzibar music and culture. To honour her memory, the
Board of Trustees of Busara Promotions, and senior management, took to the stage. Chairman of
the Board, Simai Mohamed Said, spoke briefly and lovingly of our Bibi, with whom the
organisation had a long and close relationship. Journalist, writer and new board member, Ally
Saleh, read a poem that hed written in memoriam. A short tribute video was played on screens
in the venue.
Bi Kidude was well loved and is sorely missed.
We dedicate these pages to her memory.


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C O N T E N T S
1. INTRODUCTION 4

2. ARTISTS, EVENTS & PROGRAMMING 5
a. Main Stage 7
b. Carnival Parade 9
c. African Music Film Programme 10
d. Busara Xtra 10
e. Movers & Shakers Networking Forum 11
f. Santuri Safari 12

3. THE CREW 13
a. Festival Crew 13
b. Technical Training & Skills Building 13
c. Venue, Infrastructure & Security 14

4. THE AUDIENCE 14
a. Audience Demographics 14
b. Audience Perceptions of the Festival 16

5. PARTNERSHIPS 17
a. Festival Recycling 17
b. African Music Festivals Network 17
c. Vis A Vis & Casa frica 18
d. Hivos & Santuri Safari 18
e. Oslo World Music Festival 19
f. African Music Development Programme 19

6. PRESS & MEDIA 20
a. Advance Publicity & Promotion 20
b. Busara Website 21
c. Newsletters & Press Releases 21
d. Press Conferences 21
e. Press & the Festival 22
f. Festival Coverage 22

7. FUNDRAISING & INCOME GENERATION 23

8. THANK YOU! 24




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1. INTRODUCTION

THE FESTIVAL IN NUMBERS
4 nights
32 bands
18+ countries
5 continents
270 musicians
36 hours of live music
100 carnival parade participants
23 Busara Xtra fringe events
15 bands from East Africa
7 bands led by women
4 days professional networking forum
18 stalls of traders
150+ crew employed
90% Tanzanian crew members
59 media houses represented
67,420 newsletter subscribers
1,563,266 hits on busaramusic.org (Jan)
18,354 visitors to Zanzibar (Feb)*

* According to entry statistics from Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors (ZATI)


An Overview of the Festival
The 11
th
edition of Sauti za Busara
took place over a four-day period,
from the 13
th
16
th
of February
2014, at Ngome Kongwe (Old Fort)
in Stone Town, Zanzibar.

As it has successfully done for an
entire decade, Sauti za Busara
brought together people from all
over the continent and, indeed, the
globe, with the united aim of
celebrating the wealth and
diversity of African music. The
range of music on offer in this
edition was the largest in its
history, with bands representing 18
countries not including The Nile
Project, whose members come
from more than 7 African
countries!

This year, in addition to the ever-
popular Movers and Shakers
networking forum and the African
Music Film Programme, Sauti za
Busara, also incorporated a DJ-
centred project, Santuri Safari, and
ended the festival with an after-
party.

The 11
th
edition saw Sauti za Busara
launch into its second decade with
many accolades, including being
listed by Songlines magazine as one
of 25 of the best international
festivals of 2014, and CNN naming
it one of 7 African music festivals
you really have to see.

Busara Promotions
Busara Promotions, the NGO
behind the festival, exists in order
to promote African music and
empower the people who create
and sustain it, from the musicians
and audiences, to the technical
team, to the cultural practitioners
who work in the music sector.
Busara Promotions works year-
round to contribute to the
development and
professionalization of the East
African music industry, building
networks and strengthening the
arts infrastructure.

One of the organisations goals is to
celebrate cultural diversity so that
it can serve as a catalyst for
positive social change. Busara
Promotions strongly believes that
live music and festivals have a
transformational effect on society
by bringing diverse people together
to share in the universal language
of music.

This Report
The feedback received from
audience surveys, artists, media,
donors and sponsors, partners,
vendors, suppliers and crew, was
largely positive. Challenges were
addressed as they arose.

This narrative report details the
major achievements of Sauti za
Busara 2014, addresses some of
the challenges faced, and evaluates
the impact of the festival, based on
feedback surveys, and written
reports and input from various
stakeholders and participants.
Based on the feedback received,
Busara Promotions will continue to
provide quality African music while
creating a hub of activity and
innovation, and maintaining a top-
quality international festival that
has proven to be vital for East
African music and a thriving
cultural scene.



5

2. ARTISTS, EVENTS & PROGRAMMING

About the Festival
Busara Promotions governing
vision of A vibrant East African
music industry prominent on the
world stage comes to fruition
on the Sauti za Busara stage
every year. It has been a
platform for artists from the
country and region to showcase
their talents to a local and
international audience. The
festival also helps local
musicians learn, gain inspiration
and expand their horizons when
they see and hear artists from
other parts of the Continent.








Bringing Together Diverse
Audiences
People have commented that
one of the highlights of Sauti za
Busara is the diversity of
humanity that is represented.
It is a charming feature of the
festival that children take over
the earlier part of the event,
making it a family festival, while
the latter part of the night is a
mish-mash of ages and
nationalities.

People from all over the world
descend on Zanzibar, making it a
hotbed of activity in East Africa
over the long weekend. Expat
communities from all over the
continent make it a pilgrimage of
sorts, as do African citizens from
far and wide. People come from
everywhere, including from far-
flung places like Australia, Japan,
the Caribbean and Brazil
one Norwegian journalist
had come directly from a
festival near the North Pole!

Festival Accessibility
Sauti za Busara has gained a
solid position amongst the
worlds leading festivals, which
has allowed the festival to
charge competitive admission
prices more on par with other
international festivals of similar
reputation. Prices have risen
steadily to keep up with rising
costs of inflation and ambitious
goals for first-class production
standards and artistic
programming.

Higher ticket prices for
international visitors greatly
subsidises admission costs for
the local population. General
admission tickets were 125 USD
for a four-day pass, with a 50%
discount on full price for African
citizens and residents, and a 90%
discount for Zanzibar and
Tanzanian citizens, with early
bird prices further discounted
by 10 20% depending on when
they were booked. Ticket prices
for locals remained at just 5,000
TZS (~$3 USD) for a full day pass,
despite increases in ticket prices
for international visitors, and
access was free for locals before
5pm.


Sauti za Busara is a special
festival because we dont have
something like this in Tanzania,
so its a unique thing for
Tanzanians to have the
platform that the whole world
could see us. Compared to
other countries where you find
many, many festivals festivals
are not a big deal here its
very special and Im very
pleased to be one of the acts in
this festival.
Jhikoman, well-loved
Tanzanian reggae artist, at
Sauti za Busara, where he
launched his 2014 2015
world tour.

I really enjoyed Sauti za Busara.
Mind you I've been wanting to go to
Busara for years and I'm just a music
festival junkie. Having said that what
impressed me most about Busara
were: The festival site, the
atmosphere, the ease to get around,
the line-up and sound quality. The
program was good and probably fairly
ambitious given that there was only
one stage. I also enjoyed networking
opportunity through movers &
shakers sessions. Overall, it was an
amazing experience. I'm already
planning to return next year.
Stani Goma, Presenter/Producer of
Flight 1067 to Africa,
PBS-FM Melbourne



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Swahili Encounters was a
truly unique experience for
Tarabband. We felt a chemistry with
the Taarab musicians from Zanzibar
from the very first day. The music
and instruments blended very well
but most of all there was such a good
vibe and atmosphere between the
musicians. It was a very good choice
of the Busara festival to bring
together taarab musicians from
Zanzibar and Sweden not all
workshops turn out this successful.
As musicians in Tarabband we are
thankful to have experienced this
meeting.
Gabriel Hermansson, Tarabband
Embracing African Music
This year we received in excess of 560 artists
applications, and the selection committee had the
enviable task of listening to all of them! We selected a
wide range of artists and genres while still keeping
local favourites, such as taarab and ngoma, in the mix.
The selection represented a taste of the wide diversity
of music of the continent while refusing common
stereotypes of what African music is or should be. The
bands chosen proved both popular with audiences and
inspiring to other artists.

Swahili Encounters
The popular artistic collaboration, called Swahili
Encounters, made a comeback this year. For three
days, musicians from Zanzibars Tausi Womens Taarab
group, students and teachers from the Dhow Countries
Music Academy (DCMA), and Tarabband (an Egyptian-
led, Sweden-based group), rehearsed together in
workshops and produced a performance that
showcased their new interpretations of popular
Zanzibar songs. This collaboration made up the 33
rd

group in the line-up. Their performance was well
received by the audience.



7


a . MA I N S TA G E

Diverse 4-day programme
This year Sauti za Busara had a very full 4-day
programme comprising 32 bands with more than 270
musicians on the main stage. African artists came
from all over the continent, as well as from various
locations in European cities where some of the
musicians are based. One band travelled all the way
from Puerto Rico.

True to its vision of being an international platform
for East African music, artists from East Africa made
up nearly half of the 2014 programme 15 out of 32
bands. Five of these were from Zanzibar, seven from
Tanzania mainland, and one each from Kenya,
Uganda and Rwanda. The rest hailed from Ethiopia,
Egypt, Malawi, Angola, DRC, South Africa, The
Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, Mauritius and Madagascar.
The all-star line-up of The Nile Project alone
comprised members from Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia,
Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya.

According to audience feedback surveys, highlights
for most people, were OY (Ghana/Switzerland),
HajaMadagascar (Madagascar/ Austria), The Nile
Project (Nile Basin countries), Sona Jobarteh
(Gambia/UK), Tarabband (Egypt/Sweden), Wunmi
(Nigeria/USA), Hoko Roro (Tanzania), Joe Driscoll &
Sekou Kouyate (USA/Guinea), Jupiter and Okwess
International (DRC), Tritonik (Mauritius), Dizu
Plaatjies (South Africa) and Kara Sylla Ka (Senegal).

This year we had a higher success rate than usual in
recruiting and inviting artists. Most years, at least 6-8
groups who are initially invited do not end up coming
to the festival because they are unable to find travel
sponsorship, or they do not accept the offered
performance fee.
However, this year nearly all of the groups accepted
the invitation and were able to secure travel
sponsorship, leading to a fuller programme than
would be ideal. Therefore, the stage crew were
forced to attempt faster change-over times
between acts, leading to delays in the programme.



Unexpected rain and bad weather also caused delays,
and even caused two bands to have to be
rescheduled, impacting on the programme and
running time of two other days.

Selection & Programming
The Selection Committee sat for a week, listening to
music and discussing the suitability of over 560
applicants. Various criteria were used:
Creativity and originality of music
Are local audiences likely to enjoy it?
Does it add to a diversity of styles?
Balanced representation of groups from
Zanzibar, mainland Tanzania, East Africa and the
rest of the continent
A good mix of emerging and established groups
Sounds of wisdom does the music carry a
positive message?

Once selected artists were invited, lengthy
negotiations began to book and contract bands. Some
were not able to source travel sponsorship and
eventually did not come. However, all bands that
were advertised on posters and in the programme
arrived in Zanzibar and performed on stage. There
was something for everyone, from Taarab which
came to the stage from Zanzibar and also from
Sweden via Egypt, to Ghanaian highlife, to
storytelling-infused electronica to ngoma, and funk to
reggae.


8







MA I N S TA G E c o n t i n u e d


This festival is important because it is an annual event built upon its continuity
and offering a fascinating selection of music. Audience member

Up-and-coming and
Emerging Artists
37% of artists in this years
programme were
emerging bands.
These included the
upcoming young
Tanzanian band, Hoko
Roro, which is becoming
increasingly popular with
each performance, a
traditional spirit dance
group from the north of
Unguja, Pungwa, a young
Rwandan singer/guitarist,
Moyize, the Kenyan jazz
outfit, Ricky na Marafiki,
and others.

Additional Shows secured for Artists
Sauti za Busara presents visiting artists with a springboard into the
East Africa region, presenting opportunities for regional touring
and extra shows. This brings additional benefits to artists ensuring
a wider audience reach. This year, the Goethe-Institut facilitated
an additional show for Ebo Taylor in Dar es Salaam (and sponsored
his travel), and Joe Driscoll and Sekou Kouyate performed at a
function at the US Embassy, who had supported their travel.
Sponsored and facilitated by the Swiss Agency for Development
and Cooperation, OY conducted a workshop at the Music Mayday
School, where participants included students, teachers and artists
from Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo. OY also did a public
performance at Triniti Bar, before travelling to Zanzibar.

Furthermore, via Busaras partnership with Casa frica (see
section 5b), two bands will have the opportunity to perform at 9
festivals in Spain during the summer of 2014. OY was selected, as
were Jagwa Music, who were seen on the Busara stage as
Kazimoto, a collaborative project between Jagwa Music and The
Teichmann Brothers (Germany) on electronics & live remixing.
Casa frica also began negotiations with The Nile Project with a
view to having them tour Spanish festivals in 2015.

There were other festival organisers present, including those from
MTN Bushfire (Swaziland), the City of Windhoek, which hosts a
jazz festival, Kenyas Sawa Sawa Festival, Bayimba Festival
(Uganda), Ibo Festival (Mozambique), and nine festival directors
from festivals in Spain (see Vis a Vis below), and it is very possible
that within the next few months other artists will be booked, after
being seen at Sauti za Busara.



9
Women Artists
Two out of four headline artists were bands led by
women Wunmi and Sona Jobarteh. In total, 22% of
the bands were female led, including the fabulous
Iraqi-born leader of Tarabband, Nadin al Khalidi, and
the dynamic Ghanaian leader of OY, Joy Frempong.
There was a large representation of female
musicians and vocalists in The Nile Project, as well as
in the Puerto Rican bomba group, Majestad Negra.

The standout band as far as this demographic is
concerned was the all-women Zanzibari group, Tausi
Womens Taarab, led by Mariam Hamdani, who
talked courageously on-stage about various issues,
including taboos like child abuse. Their presence on
stage this year was notable for the absence of Bi
Kidude, with whom they had always performed.
The percentage of female representation fell short
of the goal that we were aiming for, however we did
not feel comfortable programming women artists
just to make up numbers the quality and integrity
of the festivals programming was of paramount
importance. However, it was a triumph having two
leading women as headline artists. Incidentally, both
artists stand out due to the rarity of women
performers in their domains; Sona Jobarteh for
being a rare female kora maestro and Wunmi
because there are almost no women in Afrobeat.




The festival was very keen to ensure the female artists booked were able to come, and so supported Wunmis
travel when she failed to secure her bands travel sponsorship at the last minute. Her value was
immeasurable as she was a key component of the Santuri Safari she contributed to most of the 5 tracks that
were produced during the co-creation workshops. She was also a headline artist on the main stage, drawing
the audience to her and keeping them riveted; as an artist with a social conscience, she spent time on the
streets of Stone Town, talking with and inspiring young people.




b. CARNIVAL PARADE

The parade is an entertaining way of
attracting people to the Old Fort at the
start of the Festival. Due to political
tensions there had not been one in
2013. It started with an hour of
performances outside of Africa House;
there were capoeiristas, stiltwalkers,
clowns and acrobats, Mwanandege
(umbrella ladies), Kilua dancers, Reki
warriors and many children and adults
watching the entertainment.

The procession made its way along the
street in front of the Serena Hotel and
continued onto the Old Fort. Along the
way many bystanders joined the
parade which brought lots of people
into the venue.


10

b. African Music Film Programme


events to draw audiences or
participants. It is a means of
encouraging regional artists not
featured on the main stage to still
have opportunities to perform and
participate.
This year members of the public
could sit in on rehearsals of one of
the oldest Taarab groups, Culture
Musical Club, at their clubhouse, as
well as those of Tausi Womens
Taarab as they prepared for their
on-stage festival performance. The
ever popular Maulidi ya Homu did a
show in the Palace Museum
gardens. There were various classes
of different drumming styles and
dance classes of belly dance &
Bollywood. There were Taarab
concerts at the Serena Hotel, jazz
shows in restaurants around town, a
henna art exhibition and a
printmaking workshop. The well-
loved acrobatic troupe, Safi Theatre,
did a surprise performance with a
group of German performers, Circus
Bombastico. Their impromptu show
took place at the Michenzani
roundabout, which is slightly out of
town, at a major traffic hub, and in
an area densely populated by
Zanzibari citizens.

Busara supported these events with
advertising on its website, as well as
in dedicated pages of the printed
programme.




c. AFRICAN MUSIC FILM PROGRAMME

Complementing the live music on stage, the Amphitheatre was the site
for the ever-popular African Music Film Programme. The selection was
curated with diversity and novelty in mind, and featured two of the
artists who were appearing on the main stage, Friday nights headliner,
Jupiter Bokondji (of Jupiter and Okwess International) and famed
Ethiopian dancer, Melaku Belay, who was a guest during Addis Acoustic
Projects set.

The films selected this year showcased a wide array of music and
origins.
They were:
Jupiters Dance (DRC), a good promo for the headline performance
the next night of Jupiter & Okwess International.
Rikki & Jagari: The Zamrock Survivors (Zambia), about the
exploding Zambian rock scene of the 60s & 70s.
HomeGrown: HipLife in Ghana (Ghana), a documentary about a
groups rise over a period of a decade as they merge hip hop with
high-life.
Melaku Belay, Ahun and Samuel Yirga (Ethiopia), three short films
made in Addis Ababa, one about a young pianist, Samuel Yirga,
while the other two focused on acclaimed dancer, Melaku Belay.
Mama Goema: The Cape Town Beat in Five Movements (South
Africa), the story about a sound unique to Cape Town
As Old As My Tongue (Zanzibar), the life and myth of Bi Kidude

The films were well attended. Many films were so popular that the
audience asked for them to be rescreened. It was only feasible to show
the short films again.

Busara Promotions is grateful for the support of the Goethe-Institut for
once again providing their film projector and screen from Dar es
Salaam.

d. BUSARA XTRA
For a week, before, during and after the festival, Busara Xtra events
were taking place all over the town, and even outside it. The whole of
Stone Town and, indeed, the whole island, truly comes alive during
festival time. Many venues and artists have the opportunity of
capitalising on this huge influx of music-loving people, and so create



11



e. MOVERS & SHAKERS NETWORKING FORUM
In its sixth year, the Movers and Shakers Networking Forum was lauded by all who attended. Taking place in
the afternoon of each festival day, it was a gathering that brought together industry professionals, media,
festival organisers, donors and sponsors, promoters, artist managers, and musicians from diverse backgrounds
and countries. This years facilitator, Anitah Mbugua, was invited to the crew after having participated as an
intern during last years festival as a part of the African Music Festivals Network. Her presence at the festival
was itself testament to the value of festivals for building capacities and creative infrastructure in the arts.

The forum encouraged people to connect with those allied to their work, to share ideas, to problem-solve and
to forge new relationships and rekindle old ones. As in past years, the sessions included introductions, a few
formal presentations (lasting approximately 5 10 minutes), led by a facilitator and followed by open
discussions. These always ended with informal networking.

The first day included discussion on the state of African music today. One of the general feelings was that there
should be more festivals, especially free ones that took to the streets. This would afford musicians who were
hiding their talents to have the opportunity to show their skills. It was also felt that Sauti za Busara should
involve local artists more on the wider East African scene. The presenters were Silja Fischer (International
Music Council, lead partner in the African Music Development Programme) and Juan Martinez (Casa frica).

The second day tackled the subject of Freedom of Speech, Censorship and Music, with a focus on the Media,
presented by Annemette Kirkegaard of the NGO Freemuse, which is dedicated to promoting and protecting
artists freedom of expression.

The importance of forging partnerships was the subject of Day three, with presentations from Mina Girgis
(Executive Director of The Nile Project), Gregg Mwendwa (Program Officer at the Hivos Regional Office for East
Africa) and Moritz Kasper (Ten Cities Project, Goethe-Institut in Nairobi). The three guests all had partnerships
at the root of their respective projects, and the subsequent discussions illustrated how very vital it was for
cultural practitioners and organizations to partner with others in order to create win-win benefits for all.

The last day was for meeting artists. Those who were still in town, and available for discussions, were
Tanzanian guitarist/singer, Samuel Hokororo, and Wunmi, from Nigeria, who was one of the most inspiring
contributors. The general consensus was that the Movers & Shakers is a wonderful forum and an invaluable
part of Sauti za Busara, from which everyone learns and benefits.


Movers & Shakers
is a unique opportunity
to connect with other
African music
professionals and
meditate on the state
of our industry.
Mina Girgis
Executive Director
The Nile Project


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f. SANTURI SAFARI
This year, Busara Promotions
premiered the Santuri Safari, a new
project that focuses on the
innovative role of the DJ in
promoting and sharing music in
East Africa.

In partnership with HIVOS, The
Santuri Project brought together
DJs, producers, and other music
industry professionals to kickstart a
new movement in electronic music
with a strong cultural identity that
is rooted in the East Africa region,
and tapped into the wealth of
musicians brought into Zanzibar by
Sauti za Busara. The project
incorporated workshops, an after-
party and sunset DJ sessions
around Stone Town.

A co-creation session took place
involving DJs producers, musicians
(including festival performers OY,
Wunmi, HAJAmadagascar, and the






Teichmann Brothers), and sound
engineers. Participants had three
days to learn how to record live
instrumentation and create DJ-
friendly tracks from them, using a
variety of technologies and
approaches

A business-planning / design
thinking session took place in
parallel, involving arts curators,
managers, festival organisers and
other industry professionals,
attempting to highlight the issues
facing the East African music
industry, and provide a framework
for a future plan to support and
promote it. Feedback from the
consultants suggest the material
they gathered will be useful in
developing a fuller business plan,
both for the Santuri Safari and the
East African music industry as a
whole.

Three DJ sunset sessions took place
at venues around town, just before
the main stage kicked off. These
proved to be hugely popular and
were raved about by all who
attended them. Ultimately, the

combination of ocean views,
stunning sunsets, great music and
funky people made for a winning
recipe. One of the best aspects was
they were streamed live, which
received positive responses from
viewers online.

There were two after-parties
scheduled for the main stage, to
take over after the festival
programme was over. However,
due to the schedule running late,
the first one was cancelled. Venue
curfews did not allow the music to
continue past 3 a.m.

Many people were thrilled that the
festival ended with an after-party
the Santuri Safari DJs took to the
main stage and rocked the house
until the venue curfew closed down
the party.


Having a closing party with DJs and together with the public was a great innovation!
Audience member



13


a. FESTIVAL CREW: BUILDING CAPACITY

3. THE CREW

The festival crew is made up of many sections, including Artists, Office,
Press, Technical, Tickets and Merchandise, and Security. Busara
Promotions is proud to retain many crew members from year to year,
with a special focus on employing locals, women and youth.

This year we attained a 26.4% employment of female crew, higher than
any previous year. Furthermore, most of the organization and festivals
top leadership positions were filled by women, including the Sauti za
Busara 2014 Festival Manager, Busara Promotions Managing Director,
the Interim MD (while MD was on maternity leave), the Chief Sound
Engineer, the Press Coordinator, and the Ticket & Merchandise team
leader.

Though many international festivals on a par with Sauti za Busara are
staffed by unpaid volunteers, Busara Promotions believes that
providing paying work opportunities to locals with a focus on training
and skills-building will create sustainability for the festival and
organization and lead to better employment opportunities for the
respective crew members. For a full list of Sauti za Busara 2014 crew,
see Appendix B.

The crew this year showed tremendous levels of dedication and hard-
work, while being on-call for long hours each day of the festival. Team
leaders demonstrated great commitment and team-building ability,
motivating their teams, problem-solving, and contributing to the
smooth running of the operations of the festival. After the festival, all
crew members received graded certificates.

b. TECHNICAL TRAINING & SKILLS BUILDING
For the past seven years, the Sauti za Busara festival has provided technical training to regional professionals,
working each year to develop existing knowledge through continued training and build capacities for the region.
Each year, Busara becomes more sustainable and efficient as the technical crew implements lessons they learned
from previous years. Furthermore, the international trainers are often given the opportunity to return so they too
become more familiar and comfortable with the trainees and working environment.

Training and skills building were boosted this year, with dedicated funds being provided exclusively for training.
New partnerships were also forged with training as the primary focus (See AMDP below).

Training in sound production and lighting design was coordinated by Busaras Education and Training Coordinator,
a position made possible through funding from the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam.

For her fourth consecutive year, Gurjit Dhinsa from UK, who works at Londons Southbank Centre, worked with
the festival, and conducted several training sessions for the audio team. Through funding from Oslo World Music
Festival, Sjur Brinck-Johnsen came to his first Sauti za Busara experience. He held several days of intensive
workshops with the lighting team. Unfortunately lights that were purchased did not arrive in time for the festival
for him to finish the training that had begun. Regardless, he felt the crew did an admirable job of creating
ambience on stage with Busaras existing lighting system.


For her fourth consecutive year, Gurjit Dhinsa from UK,
who works at Londons Southbank Centre, worked with
the festival, and conducted several training sessions for
the audio team.

Through funding from Oslo World Music Festival, Sjur
Brinck-Johnsen came to his first Sauti za Busara
experience. He held several days of intensive workshops
with the lighting team. Unfortunately lights that were
purchased did not arrive in time for the festival for him
to finish the training that had begun. Regardless, he felt
the crew did an admirable job of creating ambience on
stage with Busaras existing lighting system.
CREW NATIONALITIES
95.4% African:
89.5% Zanzibar and Tanzania
4% from other parts of East Africa
1.9% from South Africa & Congo
4.6% came from Europe and USA



14



4. THE AUDIENCE



Sauti za Busara 2014 recorded its highest ticket sales and ticket revenue
ever, demonstrating the continued popularity of the festival as East
Africas biggest and most popular music festival.

Nearly 5,000 tickets were sold directly to audiences, with advance sales
online contributing to a large percentage of tickets sold. Approximately
500 more tickets were distributed to festival guests, donors and
sponsors, volunteers, radio-giveaways, stall holders and accredited
media. With crew members and artists and managers included, this
brings the estimated festival attendance each day of the festival to
around 6,000 people.

More than 60% of the audience were Tanzanian, Zanzibari or East
African, reflecting increased support for live and local music among East
African residents.

Since the first edition of the festival in 2004, the number of visitors
coming to Zanzibar in February has increased steadily, year on year
despite the global recession. The Zanzibar Association of Tourism
Investors, which tracks visitors to the island by both air and sea port,
reported that close to 18,500 visitors came to the island during February
2014, showing a relative stability in tourism numbers, despite a concern
in the sector since the previous year.

a. AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS
This year an audience survey was conducted by several Kiswahili-
speaking crew members, and by a group of five German students, on an
internship at Sauti za Busara through the African Music Development
Programme. Together they collected a wealth of valuable data on
audience demographics and perceptions of the festival, the festivals
impact, as well as audience satisfaction.

c. VENUE, INFRASTRUCTURE
& SECURITY
The venue production team worked
hard to ensure the festival grounds
were safe, clean, and welcoming for
the audience. Thanks to the support
of SMOLE II project and the Zanzibar
Water Authority (ZAWA), generators
were made available to the festival
ensuring a stable power supply for
most areas of the venue, including
the main stage, press centre,
backstage, sound and lighting,
vendor stalls, and restaurant.

With further funding from US
Embassy, the festival was able to
ensure extra security, first aid and
fire safety services on-site, and a fire
truck hired by Busara outside of the
venue. Also, signage was made for
the Old Forts entrance, exits, and
passage-ways. No major injuries or
sicknesses were reported.



15


AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS continued

Both language teams used the
same audience survey tool to
collect information from a
sample of around 600
attendees. The results are
summarized below:

The audience demographic
was approximately 45%
female and 50% male (nearly
5% declined to fill whether
they were male or female).
One of the aims of the festival
is to have a higher female
attendance rate.

26.02%
18.53%
25.85%
24.65%
4.93%
Fig. 1 Attendees by Gender
Male Zanzibar
Residents
Female Zanzibar
Residents
Male Non Residents
Female Non residents
Null

1.02%
8.50%
29.08%
34.01%
11.90%
5.78%
4.76%
1.36%
3.57%
Fig. 2 Attendees by Age
Under 16
16-18
19-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
Nearly 72% of festival-goers are aged 16 to 35 years, which
means that many younger people are interested in African music.
It is part of Busaras mission to share with local audiences the
wealth and scope of music from the continent.

Figure 3 shows the residency status of
the survey respondents. Over 66% are
from Zanzibar, Tanzania and from
other East African countries. It
illustrates the important place that
Sauti za Busara has in the hearts and
minds of East African music lovers,
and is an event that is a vital part of
the calendar of the region perhaps
because it is one of the few
opportunities people have to access
such high quality live music.


44.55%
21.76%
28.74%
4.93%
Fig. 3 Audience (Residency)
Zanzibar Residents
Other East Africans
Foreigners
Null



16
-

0
200
L

Fig. 6 Audience
Appreciation
AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS continued

As Fig. 4 shows, almost two thirds of respondents were
returning festival attendees, demonstrating a dedicated
Busara fan base and loyalty to the vision of the festival.
The high percentage of returning audiences is also a
great indicator of the sustainability of the event and the
role it has for people living in Zanzibar and Tanzania
(and the region) as an event not to be missed every year
for many people. At the same time, fully a third of the
audience were new to the festival also a great
achievement of marketing.

64.79%
34.52%
0.68%
Fig. 4 Festival Prior
Attendance
Yes
No
b. AUDIENCE PERCEPTION OF THE FESTIVAL


AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS continued

Sauti za Busara is gratified that more than
80% of the respondents felt that the
festival was excellent or good, and that less
than 5% said it was poor (see Fig. 5). That
such a high percentage of attendees
appreciated the quality of the festival was
testament to the standard of excellence
that Busara prides itself on.

Fig. 6 shows clearly that the most
appreciated things about Sauti za Busara
are the line-up and the music. The people
and location are also instrumental in the
festivals popularity. Some things audiences
liked which fell under the heading of
others included the variety of music on
offer, the venue and stage, the multi-kulti
of countries of musicians and audience, the
number of tourists the festival brought to
Zanzibar, the parade and the tribute to Bi
Kidude.

Most people felt that the festival is
important for the following reasons:
Increase in tourism and the benefits for
local businesses
Promotion of African music and cultures
Networking and socialising
Hearing new and different artists
Entertainment
That it brings people together

Fig. 7 shows the sources of where
respondents received their information
about the festival. It appears social media
does not yet play as large a role in
marketing Sauti za Busara as it might for
other festivals. A dedicated social media
strategy is required to raise the profile of
the festival online.



0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
Fig. 5 Audience Satisfaction
Sauti za Busara
Festival 2014
Audience Feedback
(Satisfaction)

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Fig. 6 Audience Appreciation
Sauti za Busara
Festival 2014
Audience
(Appreciation)

0 50 100 150 200
Online
Social Media
Friends/Family/
TV
Fig. 7 Audience Information
Source
Sauti za Busara
2014 Festival
Audience
Information Source


17


5. PARTNERSHIPS

Sauti za Busara strives to always be more than just a festival. It prides itself on being a premium East African
meeting space and networking point, a time on the calendar when people know they can be together with
others eager to participate and celebrate in cultural exchange and dialogue. The following sections report on
various community outreach and partnership projects that the festival supported this year.
a. FESTIVAL RECYCLING

For the second year running, Sauti za Busara 2014
provided recycling services and education in and
around the venue by partnering with Sustainable
East Africa (SEA), a Zanzibari NGO supporting local
organisations to develop sustainable initiatives and
raise environmental awareness, under the motto
Sharing Sustainable Solutions.

Together with its partners Manispaa Jamii
Vikokotoni, The Cultural Arts Centre Zanzibar, The
Prospective Learning and Charitable Institution, SEA
worked to keep the festival site clean, with all



recyclable waste separated by providing well
positioned recycling trolleys in the venue. At their
stall were showcased examples of up-cycled arts and
crafts made from recycled waste by creative local
partners, and the project team demonstrated how
the products are made.

They also provided festival-goers with information on
sustainable agriculture, community clean-up
activities, environmental education and outreach
campaigns, and information on how to make
sustainable choices in Zanzibar. A few informative
slides were inserted during the Film Programme in
the Amphitheatre, to share messages relevant to
local people, for example, that plastic kills fish.



b. AFRICAN MUSIC FESTIVALS NETWORK
Thanks to a grant in partnership with the African Music
Festivals Networks (AMFN), through the Music on the Move
programme, Busara was able to better foster relations with
artists from the neighbouring EAC countries. The partner
festivals, Bayimba (Uganda), Sawa Sawa (Kenya) and Kigali Up!
(Rwanda) assisted Busara by suggesting possible groups,
providing contact details and helping to contract the specific
artists. The grant provided for logistical support for Ricky na
Marafiki (Kenya), Joel Sebunjo (Uganda) and Moyise
(Rwanda), and their bands to participate at the festival.

We've had a busy week making use of the material which MJV collected during Busara. It's
awesome what we've managed to do with some of the plastic we collected at the festival. 400 of
the water bottles were packed with dry soil by hand and used to build the outer structure of a
Keyhole Garden which the Prospective Learning and Charitable Institution in Melitano, Fuoni, will
be using to feed their pupils and grow some extra crops to sell at market.
Will Roberts, SEA staff member



18









c. VIS A VIS & CASA FRICA
Vis a Vis is a professional meeting organised by Casa frica (a public consortium that serves Spains foreign policy)
to bring African music to Spanish audiences. They would select an African city (past ones have included Dakar,
Addis Ababa and Johannesburg), take applications, host a concert or two-day mini-festival, and from those select
2 bands that would tour the major festivals in Spain in the summer. Due to budgetary constraints they were not
able to do it this year in the same way and proposed that they host it within the framework of Sauti za Busara.

This was a great opportunity for Sauti za Busara as it brought 9 Spanish festival directors and 3 major Spanish
media to Sauti za Busara 2014, including journalists from El Pais, the largest newspaper in Spain. The subsequent
media exposure and visibility of Sauti za Busara in Spain is invaluable. They requested professional meetings with
many artists, and Busara facilitated these interactions.

At the end they selected two bands (out of a short list of 15): OY, an innovative genre-busting duo, who were
loved by Busara audiences for their storytelling and live electronica; and the foremost exponent of mchiriku,

Tanzanian band, Jagwa Music, who had
been performing in a different
constellation with the Teichmann
Brothers called Kazimoto. These two
bands will perform at nine Spanish
festivals in the summer of 2014.

Furthermore, an unprecedented third
band was selected to play the Spanish
festival circuit in 2015. Due to the size
and complexity of The Nile Project, it will
take a lot more coordination and logistics
to get them to tour. Also, separate
negotiations are taking place to book Joe
Driscoll and Sekou Kouyate.

d. HIVOS & SANTURI SAFARI
Hivos is a long-standing sponsor and partner of Busara
Promotions. We were all excited when Hivos proposed a
new project, which eventually came to be known as the
Santuri Project. The Santuri Safari that was held during
Sauti za Busara 2014 was the first phase of this project.
To achieve the best results for the stated aims around
the innovative role of the DJ in promoting and sharing
music in East Africa, the project will tour to other
festivals in the region during the course of the year.
Already in its short incarnation, it was highly popular and
has achieved near-legendary status. The formula worked
so well that Hivos duplicated it at Doadoa at Jinja,
Uganda. There are also plans to take it to Bayimba in
Kampala in September.




19


e. OSLO WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL
Busara Promotions has been developing a
partnership with the Oslo World Music Festival for
the past two years. This year the partnership was
realised in a few ways. Firstly, a 3-way partnership
between Sauti za Busara, Oslo World Music Festival,
and Beirut and Beyond International Music Festival
(BBIMF), was developed in order to strengthen
North-South-South collaborations and networking. In
keeping with one of Busara Promotions key result
areas, Busara facilitated the participation of Jagwa
Music, a Tanzanian band to perform in Lebanon, a


ground-breaking performance which festival organisers posit was one of the first times an East African group
had performed in a music festival in Beirut in recent times.

Another way that the partnership was strengthened was by a sponsorship related specifically to improving
lighting infrastructure of Sauti za Busara. It made provision for the Lighting Designer of OWMF to further
professionalise the lighting team of Sauti za Busara. It also included the purchase of new lights (and necessary
peripherals) and a lighting mixer. Busara is currently the owner of a professional-class lighting rig which,
together with crew, will be rented out as a new stream of income generation.


The AMDP also brought 5 German
students who were studying music-related
subjects. They were present for a week,
which was not long enough for them to
properly integrate into the workings of the
festival preparations.

Also, they all had thesis topics that they
were focusing on, which meant that their
own needs came first, instead of the tasks
assigned them for the festival. However,
they did conduct the English version of the
audience surveys.

f. AFRICAN MUSIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
A new partnership this year came through the African Music Development Programme (AMDP), a project of
the International Music Council supported by funding from the European Union. Its aim is to foster training
and skills transfer amongst festival workers. A sponsorship put in place the infrastructure necessary for
bringing two professionals from other African festivals. It also brought two students from African universities
who were studying music-related subjects.

These four trainees came to Zanzibar for a 6-week training placement. One trainee was an artist assistant
from Feux de Brazza in Brazzaville; one was a founder of Summer Sundaze from South Africa, and there was
one student each from the Technical University of Kenya and Makerere University in Uganda. Three of the
four trainees were female.

All were based at the Busara office and contributed to different aspects of festival planning. They rotated
amongst different departments to get a fuller understanding of how the festival works. Twice weekly
meetings were conducted by the management trainer and Training Coordinator, to keep trainees updated,
give them tasks for the new week and to gauge how they were feeling and what challenges they might be
experiencing something they all found very valuable. They also got to choose which festival departments
they would work in.




20


6. PRESS & MEDIA

a. ADVANCE PUBLICITY &
PROMOTION
In the months leading up to Sauti
za Busara 2014, Busara
Promotions put into motion a
marketing strategy that combined
traditional media such as
newspapers, radio, and TV, with
innovative social media strategies
and distribution of a variety of
internally-designed promotional
materials. Busara also hired a full-
time Press Coordinator in
November to manage all aspects
of press and promotions for the
2014 festival.


Also, a regional event, Sauti Zetu, was held in Nungwi, and
local bands were invited to perform one band, Pungwa,
was selected and performed on the main stage during the
festival. Taking the festival to Nungwi, so to speak,
increased its visibility and presence in the north of the
island.

Busara secured in-kind media partnerships with Times
Radio FM (Dar es Salaam), Radio France International-
Swahili (Dar es Salaam), and Pride FM Radio (Mtwara),
continuing relationships from the 10
th
edition of the
festival in 2013. First time partnerships were secured with
Hits FM Radio (Zanzibar) and Zanzibar Cable Television,
giving Sauti za Busara advance TV and Radio ads for a full
month running up to the festival. The radio promo also
included interviews with artists and organizers.




The promotional materials produced were:
50,000 postcards distributed locally, regionally and internationally at many events, partner festivals,
conferences, hotels, restaurants, curio shops, etc.
4,000 line-up posters distributed in East Africa, with the highest concentration in Zanzibar and mainland
Tanzania
3,000 line-up flyers were distributed at venues and events in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Nairobi
3,000 festival souvenir programmes sold during the festival and also distributed at other festivals, events
and locations throughout the year, including industry markets like Womex

To take advance publicity of the festival a notch up, for the first time in its history, Sauti za Busara held a
preview event in Dar es Salaam (at Triniti Bar). The main motivation was to increase Sauti za Busaras profile on
the mainland, and entice people to come to Zanzibar in February. More than 300 members of the public bought
tickets to the event. Many of Busara Promotions partners based on the mainland supported the event,
including the Swiss Ambassador, the Cultural Attach of the US Embassy, the Director of the Goethe-Institut,
the Director of Alliance Francaise, and a representative of the German Embassy.

The line-up featured two bands that were scheduled to perform at the 2014 festival, the young, up-and-coming
band, Hoko Roro, and mchiriku band, Seven Survivor. The third band, Msafiri Zawose, though not on the bill for
the 2014 festival, was a Busara favourite from two previous festival editions, and was there launching his new
album, Mbotela. The line-up was rounded off by DJ Davey, a Dar-based DJ who specializes in Afro-funk and
house beats.




21

b. BUSARA WEBSITE
The Busara website
www.busaramusic.org receives
millions of hits throughout the
year, including more than 1.5
million visitors to the website in
January and more than 1.1m in
February 2014.

The website contains a wealth of
information for festival audiences,
and is a valuable resource for
African music lovers worldwide,
who can access data throughout
the year on more than 380 African
artists who have performed on the
Busara stage over the years.

The festival programme was
available for download, as well as
listings for Busara Xtra events
taking place around town.
Members of the media could find
information packs on the website.

c. NEWSLETTERS & PRESS
RELEASES
Six e-newsletters were circulated
globally in English, Kiswahili, and
French to over 67,000 subscribers.
All of the newsletters can be
viewed here.

Three press releases were issued to
local and international media via
Busaras database. These
introduced the festival line-up,
gave biographical information on
headline artists, the Santuri Safari
project, and partnerships with
AMDP and Vis a Vis. You can read
all of the press releases here.

d. PRESS CONFERENCES
Two festival press conferences
were held before Sauti za Busara,
the first was held on the 27
th
of
January 2014 at the Southern Sun
in Dar es Salaam, and the other on
the 12
th
of February the day
before the start of the festival at
the Chavda Hotel in Stone Town,
Zanzibar. Approximately 120
journalists from television, radio,
print, and online media houses
attended these events.

The press conferences gave the
organisers a chance to announce
the line-up for the festival, answer
questions from journalists, and
share festival materials and
resources with the press. The press
kits given to journalists included CD
and DVD compilations of festival
artists, electronic copies of press
releases, festival artists photos and
biographies, logos and graphics,
donors and sponsors information,
and more. A Festival Press
Resource Pack with photos and
information was also available on
the website here.

Both press conferences ended with
performances by festival artists. In
Dar es Salaam, three Tanzanian
artists took turns singing and
playing guitar. The media lapped up
the impromptu performances by
Jhikoman, Ashimba and Hoko Roro.
In Zanzibar, HajaMadagascar sang
while playing a traditional
instrument from his homeland.



22



e. PRESS AND THE FESTIVAL
During the festival, accredited members of the press
were provided with the following:
Access to the Press Pit for AV journalists to
photograph and shoot from prime vantage
points in front of the stage
Press liaison and facilitation of artist
interviews
Access to Movers and Shakers networking
forum
Access to Press Center with work stations,
wifi, and interview setup.

There were a good number of international
journalists from different countries including Norway,
UAE, Ireland, Austria, Finland and Australia.
Journalists from the continent came from Kenya,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe, for example, Mashariki Mix
(Kenya), BBC Service (Dar es Salaam), The Fest Gurus
(Zimbabwe and Zambia), and a blogger from Kenya.

f. FESTIVAL COVERAGE
The coverage of the festival has been steadily coming
in. CNN named it in a list of 7 African festivals that
must be seen. And once again it made Songlines list
of 25 best international festivals. Dar es Salaam-based
newspapers, The Citizen and the Daily News also
covered the festival. For a full list of media coverage,
go to http://www.busaramusic.org/press/2014/





As a Radio presenter I was impressed by how well
the Media Centre worked. As a regular festivalgoer,
it's the best that I have seen in terms of ease of
access to artists.
Stani Goma, Presenter/ Producer of
Flight 1067 to Africa, PBS-FM Melbourne


23


7. FUNDRAISING AND INCOME GENERATION

From being wholly reliant on donor money when the festival was founded, Busara has managed to
diversify its income sources in order to increase its sustainability. Now, the festival is supported in
nearly equal parts by international donors like embassies and foundations, commercial sponsors, in-
kind support from many local Zanzibari businesses, and self-generated income through ticket and
merchandise sales and stall rentals within the festival venue.

Every donor and sponsor of Sauti za Busara is acknowledged with visibility in thanks for their
contributions to making the festival possible. The fundraising and marketing team has developed
sponsorship materials to help potential donors and sponsors understand Busaras mission and vision
and the benefits of supporting the event. However, fundraising proves to be a challenge every year,
and this year was no different. There was little support from major corporates, despite great benefits
for relatively small investment.

Busara addressed the shortfall in corporate sponsorship by developing self-generated revenue
activities. This year, a record number of advance ticket sales were made online via 3G Pay, a website
that offers various payment and currency options. Door ticket sales also remained strong, and
contributed to the 46.5% increase on income from tickets sold in 2013.

A new and exciting range of merchandise was also available from Busaras offices and the Festival
Shop, including locally-sourced and ethically-made Tanzanian cotton T-shirts in a variety of styles and
colours, caps, programmes, books, DVDs, CDs, and canvas bags. Income was also generated by selling
stall space to vendors, filming permits to media houses, and advertising space in festival programmes
and online.

Another unexpected means of income generation turned out to be The Dar Special preview event,
which was executed without any sponsorship whatsoever, and still managed to generate some
income. It proved conclusively that Busara could take its sounds of wisdom and programming savvy
to the mainland, run events throughout the year, and ultimately become self-sustainable.





24




8. THANK YOU


We look forward to seeing you again next year





























































We look forward to seeing you again next year


25





THANK YOU

Report written & designed by Rhoda Isaacs, Sauti za Busara 2014 Festival Manager