Ghanaian Music Groups In RFI Discovery Of The Year Contest

THE ALLIANCE Française in Accra is inviting Ghanaian music groups to participate in the 2010 edition of Radio France International’s annual competition, which is dubbed ‘RFI Discovery of the Year’.

It is an annual competition for young music talents, and aims at promoting career development of artists and professional bands in Africa, the Caribbean Islands and islands of the Indian Ocean.

The goal of the competition, which has been ongoing since 1981, is to promote new talent, artists and groups, while rewarding the winner with promotional activities, concerts and tours, including television and radio interviews and wide exposure in the media.

Participating groups must have a maximum of seven members and all artistes must be 18 years or more and should be active on the music scene of their respective countries.

African countries participating in the contest include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Eritrea, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Chad, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Senegal, Cape Verde, Togo and Zimbabwe.

A cash award of 7,000.00 Euro and a grant of 11,000.00 Euro will be awarded to the winning group.

The winner will also benefit from a huge promotional package that would include concerts in the French capital, Paris and one other African country.

Participation in various cultural and music festivals in France and a performance tour of Africa are also up for grabs by the overall winner.

This would help expose them to other countries and help them market and develop their music career.

Previous winners of the RFI Discovery of the Year awards include, Tiken Jah Fakoly (Ivory Coast), Rokia Traore (Mali), Didier Awadi (Senegal), Sally Nyolo (Cameroon), Rajery (Madagascar), Habib Koite (Mali), Beethova Obas (Haiti), Regis Gizavo (Madagascar), Idrissa Soumaoro (Mali), Cheka (Cape Verde) and Bela (Haiti).

Early this year, Senegalese sensation Naby, the winner for 2009, echanted live music fans at the Allaince Francasie in Accra, during a magnetic concert that also featured groups from Ghana. RFI Discovery of the Year is organized in partnership with the Intergovernmental Organization of the Francophonie, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Culturesfrance, SACEM and MONDOMIX.