African musicians debate future of AI at music festival in Côte d'Ivoire

China

African musicians debate future of AI at music festival in Côte d'Ivoire

2026-05-08 20:39 Last Updated At：22:27

The 18th edition of the Anoumabo Urban Music Festival, also known as FEMUA, has wrapped up in Cote d'Ivoire's commercial capital, Abidjan, leaving behind not only a fever for African music and culture but also a spirited debate over the expanding role of AI in the music industry.

While music, dance and packed crowds remain at the heart of FEMUA, one of West Africa's largest urban music gatherings, organizers this year went a step further, hosting workshops and panel discussions that explored how AI is reshaping music production, promotion, and creativity across the continent.

"We are truly in the digital age, and AI can be an opportunity for our artists, especially for our African artists, to promote their music in Europe, for example," said Able Guy Michel, Director of Communications for FEMUA.

Some artists see AI as a tool to support production and spark innovation. Others worry it could strip music of its emotional core and human connection.

"I am an artist of the soul -- and especially of the mind -- and my inspiration comes from above. So if we were to use AI, it would probably be in terms of how I handle it," said Dena Mwana, a Congolese gospel singer and songwriter.

Festival-goers were equally split on the technology's place in music.

"As for music, they say we would not even need artists anymore; they say artists would not even have a role to play. They would not be performing any longer. It will all be AI," said attendee Sandrine Gokou.

"AI is not cheating. Let us just say it can be a tool to help artists develop, because there are so many artists in the world today, especially in Côte d'Ivoire. And it can be a way to help music evolve, because artists often run out of ideas," said another attendee Toure Samba.

The debate comes as the African music industry wrestles with broader concerns over copyright protection, digital piracy and cultural ownership. Despite the sharp differences of opinion, FEMUA organizers say the conversation around AI is essential as the technology becomes increasingly woven into the future of global music.

Chinese mainland shares retreat as Middle East tensions overshadow earlier gains

Chinese mainland equity markets closed slightly lower on Friday, giving back some of the momentum from earlier multi-year highs as renewed geopolitical concerns in the Middle East weighed heavily on investor sentiment, according to a market analyst.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended the session flat at 4,179.95 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index slipped 0.5 percent to 15,563.80 points.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.96 percent to close at 3,796.13 points.

Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN), attributed the pullback to renewed tensions between Iran and the U.S.

"We had the Chinese mainland markets hitting all sorts of multi-year highs, particularly small-cap tech stocks, on Wednesday. But the war in the Middle East was back to dominate sentiment on Friday. The word that keeps being used to describe the current U.S.-Iran ceasefire is 'fragile', and despite strikes from both sides on Thursday, they insist it's holding. But the market's hopes for that one-page peace deal that the White House had been touting earlier in the week, they really have been dealt a serious blow. The Shanghai Composite Index ended the session pretty much flat. The Shenzhen Component lost about half of one percent, and the small-cap ChiNext board was off by almost 1 percent," said Pope.

He noted that chip stocks led the decline as investors locked in profits following strong midweek rallies.

"Chip stocks were the biggest decliners this session. Investors were really taking profits there. But they had very strong sessions, particularly as I said on Wednesday, and they were ripe for a bit of profit-taking. An index tracking semiconductor stocks managed to regain a little bit of ground by the end of the session, but it was still down more than 2.5 percent at the close. Energy stocks were also down, with any resolution of the U.S.-Iran war looking like a more and more distant prospect," said the analyst.