Nashville, Tennessee

Ghana: Unchaining country's melodies

IPN Opinion article

Author: Mark Schultz

Ghana's untapped source of wealth lies in the creative talents of songwriters, composers, and bands.

Music, money and growth

IPN Opinion article

Author: Mark Schultz

African music is loved all over the world but African musicians live in poverty: the few stars record and publish abroad. These authors explain how Africans can develop that talent into commercial success as the impoverished city of Nashville did in the 1920s, becoming a musical and economic dynamo.

Nashville in Africa

What lessons does Nashville have for Africa's creative industries?

Music's own rags-to-riches story has roots in law, enforcement

IPN Opinion article

Author: Alec van Gelder

Millions loved Slumdog Millionaire's rags-to-riches story. But the story behind the story ó the huge success of India's Bollywood movie industry ó is even better. Creative industries can create economic growth, and one of the best examples is Nashville's country music.

Unchain Africa's Melodies

IPN Opinion article

Author: Alec van Gelder

Many kinds of African music are loved the world over yet most African musicians remain bitterly poor: a few remarkable individuals have found success abroad but only South Africa offers the kind of legal protection for property rights that Western creative talents take for granted. These authors describe how copyright underpinned the investments and the creative rights that launched Nashville, a story that can be imitated anywhere. Zambia shows how failure can be turned around quickly. See the full report Nashville in Africa here.