Hanoraea ;udture is eudti^acete\ T h ere is also a vib rant lit erary scene, mu sic st ores in Africa) leave Africans w h o an\ enerqo`ere especially in N igeria. T h e Associat ion of are k een t o acq u ire cu lt u ral goods w it h N igerian Au t h ors ( AN A) h as b een at t h e lit t le ch oice b u t t o do so informally or T h ou gh oft en mat erially poor, many forefront in promot ing N igerian lit erat u re illegally . African societ ies cont ain cu lt u ral and t h e int erest s of N igerian w rit ers. rich es t h at are b u b b ling u p t o emb race T h ese inclu de Ch inu a Ach eb e and h is 9ni\ au\iences crane t h e opport u nit ies offered b y new b ook Things Fall Apart$ one of t`e firkt in^oreation t ech nologies and commercial mark et s. African novels in E nglish t o receive glob al M u sic t h at h as evolved in N ort h and crit ical acclaim, and W ole S oy ink a, w h o R adio is t h e most accessib le w ay t o sh are S ou t h Africa w on ex port su ccess Zecaee t`e firkt 9frican to Ze aoarded informat ion and cu lt u re w it h u rb an and w orldw ide. In recent decades, ch oral t h e N ob el P riz e in Lit erat u re in 1 9 8 6 . ru ral au diences across Africa and t h e singers from S ou t h ern and W est Africa L`e in^oread econoeq2 M iddle E ast . P eople every w h ere list en t o and t h e R ai singers of N ort h Africa h ave b roadcast s in local langu ages. African w oven link s w it h peers elsew h ere on no risk ^or citirens$ no cou nt ries t y pically h ave 1 0 0 - 1 5 0 radio t h e cont inent , and recording st u dios in reoar\ ^or aut`ors st at ions, and commu nit y radio st at ions London and P aris, t o develop new memes are especially common. S mall, local and of t radit ional mu sic t h at appeal t o b ot h T h e informal economy , a sy st em of t rade deeply root ed in t h eir commu nit ies, t h ey African and E u ropean consu mers. or economic ex ch ange t h at circu mvent s h elp st rengt h en and develop t h e African S pu rred b y lingu ist ic diversit y and poor st at e- cont rolled or even money - b ased cu lt u ral mosaic. commu nicat ions, cu lt u re is every w h ere, t ransact ions, is an int egral part of t h e Lelevikion alko epertk `m_e inÖmence and oft en cent ers u pon live performances cu lt u ral scene in Africa and t h e M iddle in Africa and t h e M iddle E ast , oft en of mu sic, w orsh ip and st ory t elling. E ast . Cu lt u ral goods and services are reach ing 9 0 % of it s pot ent ial au dience Craft smen and w omen serve local largely provided t h ou gh t h e informal across S ou t h ern Africa. T V is t h e fast est mark et s, and dance grou ps, mu sicians economy , w h ich is est imat ed t o employ grow ing mediu m in Africa and t h e M iddle and singers perform at gat h erings, arou nd 3 5 0 , 0 0 0 people and generat e E ast . T h is h as b een made possib le at w eddings and fest ivals. U S $ 4 . 2 b revenu es in 2 0 1 3 . last b y t h e ex t ension and reinforcement T h e rich ness of t radit ional African art , T h e w ay people u nderst and cu lt u re in of elect ricit y su pplies, and t h e rollou t of scu lpt u re and mu sic are celeb rat ed in Africa and t h e M iddle E ast reinforces digit al t errest rial T V in 2 0 1 5 , w h ich h as b ot h Africa and E u rope. M u sic fest ivals informal dist rib u t ion ch annels. T h e opened u p t h e au diovisu al landscape. in Africa, inclu ding M AS A in Ab idj an, not ion of “ cu lt u re” is oft en disconnect ed P ay -T V is gaining grou nd, especially in Cô t e d’ Ivoire and F E S P AM in B raz z aville, from t h e economic dimension: in Komt` 9frica& L`e continentÌk firkt hay%LN at t ract large au diences, w h ile E u ropean F rancoph one Africa, people are u sed t o mark et is ex pect ed t o grow b y 7 . 4 % a concert s and fest ivals, inclu ding at t ending fest ivals and performances year Zetoeen *()+ and *()0$ reÖectin_ “ L’ Afriq u e dans t ou s les sens” in P aris and pract icing t h eat re for free. Art ist s t h e gradu al emergence of an African also celeb rat e African mu sical diversit y . rely mhon ot`er financial revenmek$ kmc` middle class. ak khonkork`ih$ to finance t`eir lifektyle& N ew spapers and magaz ines are pu b lish ed É Oe nee\ to brin_ back T h is African at t it u de t o cu lt u re fost ers w idely in Africa and t h e M iddle E ast . free — and illegal — reprodu ct ion of T h ey oft en serve very local au diences t`e aut`enticitq o^ mu sic, video recordings and ot h er art , w it h sh ort print ru ns, and in W est Africa 9^rican cudture bq and IP righ t s are w idely ignored. at leakt Zenefit froe ktate kmZkidiek& :mt P oor access t o cu lt u ral life also fu els t h e t h e appet it e for informat ion is st rong suhhortin_ artistsÌ informal cu lt u ral economy . A low level and reading h ab it s deeply ingrained: e\ucation in 9^rica& of eq u ipment ( int ernet penet rat ion in on average, each copy is read b y S u b - S ah aran Africa is at 1 6 . 9 % , among 8 t o 1 0 people. Oe oere influence\ t h e low est levels in t h e w orld) , a lack In addit ion, African cou nt ries are too euc` bq t`e of cu lt u ral infrast ru ct u re ( most African leahfro__in_ to eoZile%firkt tec`nolo_y$ cinemas closed more t h an t w o decades offering many opport u nit ies for CCI in t h e Oest$ esheciaddq bq ago) as w ell as poor legal dist rib u t ion video, gaming and mu sic indu st ry . 9eerican artists&Ê net w ork s ( t h ere are h ardly any legal E j emen O j eabulu Founder, AUCA | Cultural times L`e Õrst _dobad eah o^ cudturad an\ creatine in\ustries /)