Over the past decade, Afrobeats music has won fans far beyond Nigeria’s shores. Afrobeats stars are steadily selling out concert venues in New York, Paris and London, and are performing at major music festivals.
For an enthusiastic Nigerian diaspora with disposable income keen on maintaining cultural ties with home, Afrobeats is a way to stay connected.
Its not to be confused with the politically charged, big-band Afrobeat style of the legendary Fela Kuti.
Due to its increasing popularity, international music stars have identified with Afrobeats. Drake notably featured Wizkid on the song, “One Dance”, a huge 2016 summer hit that topped Billboard’s Hot 100 for ten weeks. The world’s most prominent music labels have not been left behind. In the past two years, Sony and Universal Music have signed up several Afrobeats stars to publishing and distribution deals.
The diaspora communities act as trendsetters, listening to Nigerian music in such high numbers that other demographic groups and music markets are catching on. They spend money on, stream, share, support, and promote the genre. A global reach is also provided by the internet and innovations in music streaming.
Tiwa Savage, the Queen of Afrobeats, has performed concerts in Australia and Malaysia. During a media interview, she stated, “It was my dream to be internationally successful, but did I have a specific plan for it? Absolutely not.”
Aside from the fame, the artists themselves are not entirely benefitting from the attention. Piracy remains rampant, making it near impossible for artists to make money from actually selling their music by relying on live shows and endorsements as major revenue streams.
Recent efforts by the authorities to fight piracy led to police raids of Alaba and other markets in the country, resulting in the seizure of pirated items worth $40 million. Despite such raids, the business of pirated music continues unabated, turning the enforcement into a game of Whack-A-Mole.
With minimal returns from CD sales, Nigerian artists rely on ringtone sales, corporate sponsorship contracts and paid performances to make ends meet. Most Nigerian artists now prefer online releases of their songs. Even with the online releases, the music is illegally downloaded. Next time you listen to a Nigerian artist’s song remember it’s a different ball game in Nigeria compared to U.S or U.K.
*** Thanks for taking the time to read this article… Do you have any friends or relatives interested in visiting Nigeria in the near future? Do you know of a travel agency we can partner with, or are you interested in being compensated for your referral? Look no further; check out www.africhellatourz.com or contact 1-866-4CHELLA. Don’t forget to tell a friend to sign up for our weekly newsletter exploring various topics about Nigeria.
REFERENCES:
- https://qz.com/africa/1411996/the-global-rise-of-nigerias-afrobeats-music-could-help-fix-the-local-industrys-problems/
- https://www.ft.com/content/60084cef-9c34-4d12-8407-ea7007f0054e
- https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2018-july-2018/music-nigeria%E2%80%99s-new-export
