Christine Mosha aka Seven's journey to Sony Africa’s top job

Mid-this week, Sony Music Africa announced that it had appointed Christine Mosha - a.k.a. ‘Seven’ - “to lead Marketing and Artiste Development in the East African region.”

She will now be tasked with the global entertainment conglomerate’s interests in some 14 countries in the Eastern African region.

With her base in Tanzania, Seven - who becomes one of the first top female music executives in the region - will also be in charge of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Other countries are DRC, Burundi, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The news reverberated across the region and was one of the most trending issues especially the fact that Sony had chosen Tanzania as the new hub for East Africa’s music with specific emphasis on developing the company’s roaster of local talents.

Her appointment comes barely days after one of her charges, Ommy Dimpoz, signed a deal with Sony Music Africa - and immediately went on to release his first single off his upcoming album

“My family, my friends .... the support, love and good wishes don’t go unnoticed . Truly excited and honored for my new role at @SonyMusicAfrica. East African Music will have the global stage,” an elated Seven posted on her twitter handle.

She added that “Sony Music has such a great history in the entertainment industry globally, so to be part of this company at this point in my career feels like such a great fit whereby I can bring my experience and business acumen to the organization as a whole.”

Seven further said that she is very excited about joining Sony Music Africa, and that she looks forward to continue making a positive impact in the entertainment industry, not just in East Africa but across the continent.

According to Sony Music Africa managing director Sean Watson, she will also be charged with amplifying the company’s international repertoire and existing catalogue.

To some, this was a shock, while and for others it was something that was long overdue - given her role in artistes development in Tanzania and beyond that spans over a decade - which didn’t go unnoticed by the big guns.

“Seven has spent most of her life contributing to the African entertainment industry. She is a passionate advocate for everything East Africa has to offer the world,” said Watson.

He added: “for a number of years, she has been a key partner to us, providing unique insight into the nuanced ways of working in East Africa, which is such a strong and vibrant hub for music in the continent.”

According to Watson, she was perhaps the missing piece in the puzzle - and Sony is delighted to have her on board because she will help expand their East African roster of artistes, while exhibiting the label’s international repertoire to new audiences, thereby making it continue to grow.

Where did it all begin?

Many know the soft-spoken Seven for her management role of singer Ali Kiba which started almost a decade ago when she was instrumental in the signing of the artiste on the One8 project that featured RnB artiste R. Kelly.

The artistes that formed this project were in many’s views the A-list of Africa’s young talent then.

The project included Nigerian R&B singer 2Face, Tanzanian crooner Ali Kiba, DR Congo’s Fally Ipupa, hip-hop trio 4×4 from Ghana, rapper Movazhaleine of Gabon, Zambian singer JK, Ugandan rapper Navio and R&B singer Amani from Kenya.

Though recorded and produced in the US, the project brought together a unique and modern sound that was distinctly African ‘Hands Across the World’, which was produced by US hip hop artist R. Kelly.

The song was to be used as one of the theme songs for the Fifa World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

However, it probably takes to be with the best to become the best, Mosha kicked off her career in the entertainment industry at the turn of the millennium as a radio presenter at Clouds FM.

This was around the time when the nascent Bongo Flava was trying to find its balance in Tanzania with new FM radio stations cropping up to support the new genre.

Then only a high school student, alongside Jimmy Kabwe the duo presented a breakfast show titled ‘Rise and Shine.’ But she would soon leave to pursue other interests.

She just as soon moved to MTV in 2005, where she headed the A&R and Commercial in Africa, launching MTV base in Tanzania.

The new path would see her in 2010 head Rockstar 4000 Music Entertainment, the first independent pan-African music company and content, digital and events production network.

There, she oversaw music publishing, record deals and content licensing in partnership with Sony Music Africa, including working on the campaign for the Fifa World Cup 2010 that took place in South Africa.

Artiste management

Talent management is not something new to Christine Mosha because she has probably managed some of the cream of Tanzania’s talents.

This is perhaps where many people will say they know Seven’s prowess after she oversaw the commercial success of many artistes in Tanzania, most notably Ali Kiba’s return in 2014.

But, apart from Ali Kiba she has been part of other local artistes’ success, including Lady Jaydee, Ray C, TID, Rose Muhando, Xtatic, Baraka da Prince and Ommy Dimpoz.

Though some have since parted ways with her, it remains in the records that she was a turning point in their careers.

With over 15 years’ experience of working closely with Sony Music, in 2013 she founded her own independent record label and talent management company, Rockstar Africa.