‘There’s never been a greater time to be a Nigerian artist’: but have the new giants of African music shut the door behind them?
West African musicians have become stars in recent years as the fusions from the Afrobeats movement made for big label signings. But the surge of interest has made it tougher for aspiring artists to break through
When I’m on stage, it’s a fucking Rema party – make some noise!” The crowd obliged as the Nigerian singer strode across the Wireless festival stage. Midway through his set, Rema brought on two of his compatriots, Shallipopi and Zerry DL, to perform their hit, Benin Boys. Over the annual two-day extravaganza, held last month in London’s Finsbury Park, five Nigerian artists thrilled the audience.
Across Europe and the US, Nigeria’s Afrobeats stars have featured prominently on the 2024 summer tour circuit, from Burna Boy celebrating the fifth anniversary of his African Giant album at Koko in Camden, London, to Tems in the lineup at the Montreux jazz festival in Switzerland and BNXN appearing at the Gramercy Theatre in New York.
Fuelling these successes, far removed from the razzmatazz of the big stages, is the recent entry of the world’s biggest music companies into Nigeria. Since 2017, Lagos has become a global music powerhouse, as Sony Music, Warner Music, Universal Music Group and others compete for talent, market share and profits.
The prices can only go up. There’s no going down for this
Lucas Jay Emodi, promoter
With help from TikTok and a rapidly growing global appetite, Nigerian stars including Wizkid, Davido, Rema, Burna Boy, Ayra Starr and CKay, have achieved international acclaim, scoring hits and a slew of cross-cultural collaborations with their western counterparts.
Every artist with leverage – which translates these days as a hit record or a big social media following – has signed contracts with the foreign labels, drawn in by the allure of lump-sum cash advances, and a chance to expand their audience base.
And why not? According to the most recent Global Music Report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), sub-Saharan Africa was the fastest-growing recorded music region in 2023 – for the second consecutive year.
It was also the only region globally to surpass 20% growth, with revenues up 24.7% year on year, primarily driven by paid streaming revenues, which grew 24.5% year on year. Rema joined the “Billions Club” on Spotify in September 2023 with his song Calm Down, which featured Selena Gomez. It was the first time an African artist-led track had recorded 1bn streams on the platform.