# Beatlab and Soul Candi Are Building a Bigger Classroom for Africa’s Music Makers
A new partnership will give Beatlab members discounted access to six Soul Candi Institute of Music courses, connecting production skills, music theory, business knowledge and performance training within one creator-focused ecosystem.
African music does not have a shortage of talent.
Across bedrooms, home studios, campuses and clubs, young creators are already producing the sounds that move communities and travel far beyond the continent.
The more difficult question begins after that first spark.
Where does an emerging producer learn to finish a professional record?
Where does a DJ move from instinct into technique?
Where does an artist learn what happens to the music once it becomes intellectual property, income and potentially a career?
Beatlab and the Soul Candi Institute of Music are attempting to bring more of those answers into the same ecosystem.
The two South African music platforms have announced a partnership designed to expand access to professional education for DJs, producers and music creators. Through the collaboration, Beatlab members receive discounted access to six SCIM courses across online and in-person learning.
And the partnership is already moving beyond announcement language.
Beatlab’s Learning catalogue currently carries Soul Candi programmes across both categories, giving members a direct route from the community platform into formal training.
That matters because Beatlab has positioned itself around more than discovery.
Its larger model brings community, equipment, opportunities and learning into one creator-focused environment.
Formal education now becomes a stronger part of that promise.
Six Pathways Into the Music Industry
The online side of the partnership includes Digital Music Production with Ableton, Music Business & Entertainment Management and Music Theory Fundamentals for Electronic Musicians.
They address three different parts of an artist’s development.
Production training helps creators turn musical ideas into finished records.
Music theory gives them a stronger language for melody, harmony, rhythm and composition.
Music-business education deals with what happens once the music exists: copyright, intellectual property, royalties, distribution, agreements, marketing and the commercial structures surrounding a career.
For creators looking for a more practical learning environment, Beatlab’s in-person course catalogue includes the Higher Certificate in Music Technology, Music Production Fundamentals and DJ & Live Performance.
SCIM’s Higher Certificate goes considerably further than simply teaching somebody how to operate production software.
Its curriculum stretches through music theory, songwriting, beat programming, sound design, recording, audio processing, mixing and mastering, with applications extending into film, games and other multimedia work.
The institute’s DJ programme, meanwhile, focuses on the practical mechanics of modern performance, from beatmatching and mixing to performing on professional equipment.
Together, the six programmes recognise something the mythology surrounding music can sometimes obscure:
Talent may begin a career.
It rarely sustains one on its own.
A producer can have a remarkable ear and still struggle to structure a track.
A DJ can command a dance floor without understanding the contracts governing their work.
An artist can attract attention online while lacking the technical and commercial foundation required to convert that moment into a profession.
By putting production, theory, performance and business inside the same partnership, Beatlab and SCIM are treating music creation as both art and working discipline.
Experience Meeting Community
Soul Candi brings considerable history into that equation.
Its story begins in 2001, when the company grew from a small Johannesburg record store importing vinyl for South Africa’s house-music community.
As house music expanded across the country, Soul Candi moved into compilations, recorded music, artist development, live events and eventually education.
The Soul Candi Institute of Music became part of that wider ecosystem.
Today, SCIM says it has more than two decades of experience in music-production, composition and entrepreneurship education and has trained thousands of graduates.
Ryan Murgatroyd sits at the centre of its academic structure.
SCIM lists him as Academic Director, while multiple course pages identify him as an instructor across its production and music-business offering. The institute also lists working artists including NaakMusiQ and Kasango among its instructors.
That distinction is important.
The value of an industry-focused school should not only be that it explains how music works theoretically.
It should understand the environment students are preparing to enter.
Beatlab brings a newer, digitally focused community model to that history.
The platform describes itself as a space for Africa’s next generation of DJs and producers, bringing community, gear and learning together.
For Cito, Beatlab’s founding director, musician and producer, Soul Candi’s history in South African dance music makes the collaboration a natural fit.
“I believe Soul Candi, being the original in the development of the South African house music scene, are the perfect partners,” he said. “They share Beatlab’s vision of creating and nurturing Africa’s biggest online music community. With our combined resources, we can scale opportunities for people who want to learn, grow and connect.”
The important word is connect.
Education Cannot Sit Outside the Industry
Music education can easily become isolated from the industry it is meant to prepare people for.
Students learn production techniques in one space.
They search for collaborators somewhere else.
They hunt for equipment elsewhere.
Then they enter the professional world and discover that creativity is only one part of the machinery.
Who owns the composition?
Who owns the master?
How are collaborators credited?
How do royalties move?
What does a distribution agreement actually mean?
How should a DJ prepare technically for a professional performance?
How does an artist turn a body of work into a sustainable business?
These are not separate questions from making music.
They are part of making music professionally.
That is where Beatlab’s community structure gives the partnership additional potential.
A creator can encounter education inside the same broader ecosystem where they discover other musicians, equipment, events and opportunities.
The classroom becomes less isolated from the culture it is preparing somebody to participate in.
Building Careers Behind the Sound
The partnership also arrives at a moment when African music has extraordinary international visibility.
But visibility cannot carry an industry on its own.
For every artist whose name reaches a global audience, there are producers, composers, engineers, DJs, managers and technically skilled professionals whose knowledge determines what can be built around that success.
The strength of a music economy is not measured only by its stars.
It is measured by the infrastructure underneath them.
That is why music-business education matters just as much as production training.
Making compelling music and building a sustainable career from it are separate skills.
Creators need to understand the value of their work.
They need to know which rights attach to it.
They need to understand how money moves.
They need enough knowledge to recognise when an agreement serves them — and when it does not.
The same is true technically.
Software is increasingly accessible.
Professional understanding is not automatically included with the download.
Beatlab and SCIM are therefore not promising a shortcut into the industry.
They are offering something more useful:
A clearer pathway through it.
A Bigger Classroom
According to partnership material supplied to Viranova, the collaboration will be formally celebrated at a media launch at Artistry in Sandton in September 2026.
The event is expected to bring together artists, DJs, producers, media representatives and figures from the Beatlab and Soul Candi communities, with further details to be announced closer to the launch.
Additional benefits are also expected as the partnership develops beyond its first phase.
For now, its significance sits in a straightforward idea.
Africa’s next generation of music creators should not have to rely on talent, instinct and fragmented online advice alone.
The continent’s music is already being heard.
The next challenge is ensuring that the people making it have the production skills, business knowledge, professional networks and technical foundations required to take greater ownership of where it goes next.
A bigger music industry requires a bigger classroom.
Reporting basis: Based on partnership material supplied directly to Viranova, Beatlab’s official partnership announcement and Learning catalogue, Soul Candi Institute of Music’s official course and instructor information, Soul Candi’s published history, and Viranova editorial analysis of music education, creator development and industry infrastructure
Story index Key points, people & topics
Key points & topics
- A new partnership gives Beatlab members discounted access to six Soul Candi Institute of Music courses, connecting production, theory, music business and performance training inside one creator-focused ecosystem.
- # Beatlab and Soul Candi Are Building a Bigger Classroom for Africa’s Music Makers
Frequently asked Answers from the desk
What is the Beatlab and Soul Candi partnership?
Beatlab has partnered with the Soul Candi Institute of Music to give its members discounted access to professional music education for DJs, producers and music creators.
How many SCIM courses are included in the partnership?
Six Soul Candi Institute of Music courses are included across online and in-person learning.
Which online courses are included?
The online selection includes Digital Music Production with Ableton, Music Business & Entertainment Management and Music Theory Fundamentals for Electronic Musicians.
Which in-person courses are included?
The in-person selection includes the Higher Certificate in Music Technology, Music Production Fundamentals and DJ & Live Performance.
Where is Soul Candi Institute of Music based?
SCIM's current campus is at 9 Keyes Avenue in Rosebank, Johannesburg.
Who is Ryan Murgatroyd?
Ryan Murgatroyd is listed by Soul Candi Institute of Music as its Academic Director and is identified as an instructor on several of its music-production and music-business courses.
What does the Higher Certificate in Music Technology cover?
The programme covers areas including music theory, beat programming, songwriting, sound design, recording, mixing, mastering and music for film, games and other media.
What is Beatlab?
Beatlab describes itself as an African platform for the next generation of DJs and producers, bringing community, gear and learning together in one place.
When will the Beatlab and Soul Candi partnership be formally launched?
Partnership material supplied to Viranova says a media launch is planned for September 2026 at Artistry in Sandton, with further details to be announced.
Why does the partnership matter?
It connects creative, technical and music-business education with a wider creator community, helping emerging music professionals develop skills beyond talent alone.
Credibility & transparency How this story is reported
- Content type
- News
- Verification
- Official source
- Reporting basis
- Based on partnership material supplied directly to Viranova, Beatlab’s official partnership announcement and Learning catalogue, Soul Candi Institute of Music’s official course and instructor information, Soul Candi’s published history, and Viranova editorial analysis of music education, creator development and industry infrastructure
- Sources & context
- This story draws on Beatlab and Soul Candi’s partnership announcement supplied to Viranova; Beatlab’s live catalogue of Soul Candi learning programmes; SCIM’s official course, campus and instructor information; and Soul Candi’s first-party history of its development from a Johannesburg record store into a wider house-music and education ecosystem
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- instagram.com
Edited under our Editorial Standards and How We Report process. Spotted an error? Open the correction form below, or email corrections@viranova.co.za.
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Filed by Viranova Music Desk for the Music desk · Johannesburg, South Africa. Published 15 Aug 2026.
Sources
Primary material
Viranova obtained, attended or witnessed this directly.
- Beatlab and Soul Candi Institute of Music announced a partnership expanding access to industry-led music education Beatlab accessed 15 August 2026
- Beatlab's Learning catalogue lists Soul Candi courses across online and in-person learning categories Beatlab accessed 15 August 2026
- SCIM offers physical and online programmes covering music production, music business and DJ performance from its Johannesburg education ecosystem Soul Candi Institute of Music accessed 15 August 2026
- SCIM lists Ryan Murgatroyd as Academic Director and states that it has more than 20 years of experience and has trained thousands of graduates Soul Candi Institute of Music accessed 15 August 2026
- Soul Candi traces its history to a Johannesburg record store established in 2001 and later expansion into music education Soul Candi accessed 15 August 2026
- SCIM's Higher Certificate in Music Technology covers music theory, production, sound design, recording, mixing, mastering and music for film, games and multimedia Soul Candi Institute of Music accessed 15 August 2026
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