Entertainment· The Business of Culture
The Nairobi Producers Who Decided to Own the Sound
A new class of Kenyan beatmakers is trading session fees for publishing splits — and quietly rewriting the economics of East African music.
Connecting the Dots
Inside the Lagos Atelier Turning Heritage Cloth Into a Global Brand
How one designer built an export business without leaving her neighbourhood.
Business· The Big Picture
Is Nairobi Becoming Africa's Creative Capital — or Just Its Most Expensive?
Rising rents, new funds and a talent boom: the numbers behind the city's cultural ascent.
People· The Dots Interview
“Talent Was Never the Problem. Infrastructure Was.”
Akosua Mensah on building the agency she wished existed when she started.
“The next great African exports will be rights, not raw materials.”
Episode 1 · Video · 58 min
Who Really Owns African Music?
Two industry insiders on masters, publishing and the deals artists regret.
Watch the conversation
business
See all →Business· The Big Picture
Is Nairobi Becoming Africa's Creative Capital — or Just Its Most Expensive?
Rising rents, new funds and a talent boom: the numbers behind the city's cultural ascent.
culture
See all →Inside the Lagos Atelier Turning Heritage Cloth Into a Global Brand
How one designer built an export business without leaving her neighbourhood.
Entertainment· The Business of Culture
The Nairobi Producers Who Decided to Own the Sound
People· The Dots Interview
“Talent Was Never the Problem. Infrastructure Was.”
ideas
See all →The Case Against the ‘Africa Rising’ Story
Optimism sold well. It also flattened a continent of fifty-four countries into a single headline.
The Dots Dispatch