Writing the song's the easy part. How do you get it out there? Should you just give it away since most people are going to steal it anyway? Why won’t the radio stations play it? Can a record company really help, or will they just screw you? Is your image more important than the message? Is writing about music, like Elvis Costello said, actually like dancing about architecture? And, with the industry going to hell, is it really a good time to quit the day job?

Plenty of questions and all were addressed at the inaugural Music Exchange conference held in Cape Town on 19 and 20 March. Over 50 delegates ranging from successful South African musicians past and present to an insurance salesman wanting to break into the industry, heard from an equally diverse assembly of speakers and panellists.

It's not just about making music, fashion designer Gavin Rajah suggested in his opening welcome speech — it's about being creative in finding opportunities for your music.

But ultimately, without good songs you're not going to get anywhere, emphasised Stuart Rubin, former International Marketing head at SonyBMG. It's all about the music, he repeated as he tackled the challenges facing musicians today — from piracy to listeners' shortening attention spans. Looking ahead, "there are no rules", he stated boldly.

It was a sentiment echoed by surprise speaker, former SonyBMG COO, Charles Goldstuck who briefly spoke about the gaming phenomenon of 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band'.

"Suddenly they created a new distribution opportunity for intellectual property owners," he explained. "And I think this is a glimpse into the opportunities for music in the future."

Some things are more certain: the demand for South African music is growing steadily, Neil Darroch of local music publishers IRIS emphasised; it's vital to read the (fine) print of any contracts you sign, hammered music lawyer Nick Matzukis; you're probably not going to earn enough money off your album to buy five Ferraris, reminded Musketeer Records boss and event co-organiser Peter Lacey; and there is help out there from various organisations that love acronyms almost as much as they love music.

Equally clear is the need for a strong, unique message in getting your music out there — be it on TV, radio, online, or in print — as revealed by a panel including Yoel Kenan, former marketing director of Universal France, Heart FM boss Gavin Meiring, marketing guru Kaz Henderson, online marketer Brian Currin and music journalist Jason Curtis.

The importance of marketing continued in panels on alternative strategies to promote your music (can giving away a song for free be like handing out a business card? asked respected journo Miles Keylock) and the role of the media in your quest for world domination.

Thanks to the internet, it's a shrinking world, David Vodicka, owner of Rubber Records in Australia, elaborated in a talk about the end of the CD store and growth of downloads — a picture brought into even sharper local focus by technology boffin Arthur Goldstuck looking ahead to South Africa in 2018.

Also looking ahead are the Music Exchange organisers.

"We'd actually like to have the conference broadened next year to have more topics that pull in a wider audience, from journo's through radio/TV programmers to syncher's like ad agencies," said Lacey, who put the event together with local music industry legend Martin Myers.

"So onwards and upwards."