Ethiopian Golden Age of music

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ethiopian Golden Age of music" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Ethiopian Golden Age of Music was an era of Ethiopian music that began around the 1960s to 1970s, until the Derg regime progressively diminished its presence through politically motivated persecutions and retributions against musicians and companies, which left many to self-imposed exile to North America and Europe. Several artists and musical companies, as well as recording groups, emerged to produce their own singles and albums; the first being Amha Records, and Philips Records, Ethiopia Records and Kaifa Records, which is primarily based in Addis Ababa.

The musical era involved a blend of traditional and folk genres as well as western ones.^{[citation needed]} Central innovation was the "Ethio-jazz" music and musicians Alemayehu Eshete, Tilahun Gessesse, Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke and others were prominent in this era.

After the downfall of the Derg, the music industry revitalized; in 1998, Éthiopiques reestablished with collaboration to Mahmoud Ahmed, Tilahun Gessesse and Mulatu Astatke.