Musicians and Symbolic Value in the Senegalese Digital Economy[Musicien·nes et valorisation symbolique dans l’économie numérique sénégalaise]

This article assesses the changes at play in the Senegalese music sector, and considers the development of a digital music ecosystem mainly driven by the mobile phone industries. The research compares the industrial strategies of digital actors in light of the distinct socio-economic and cultural features of Senegalese music world, and questions the interdependence of actors and their specific arrangements in the valorization of music. Following two popular musical genres, mbalax and hip hop, and their integration into a third genre in the making, jolofbeats, I consider the different ways music is valued in a digital regime, and the symbolic trajectories they imply for the musicians. The results highlight the growing interweaving of a "griotic economy" and an industry patronage model, led by the valorization mechanisms of content platforms and social networks. The methodology is based on an ethnography of the popular music industry undertaken since 2016 in Dakar, supplemented by a series of free or semi-structured interviews conducted with music and digital actors in Senegal (collectives, labels, media, digital services), and Senegalese artists.