Afrobeats has become one of the world’s most influential musical forces. Nigerian artists sell out global arenas, dominate streaming charts, and shape global pop culture. Yet beneath the success lies a fundamental problem: Africa captures only a small fraction of the wealth generated by the Afrobeats boom. Emerging research—including a new report out of Harvard Law School’s Center for the Study of African Economies and Societies (CSASE)—reveals a troubling pattern of structural income loss that threatens the future of the industry.
In 2023, Afrobeats generated around $100 million globally, but only a tiny fraction of that income reaches African creators. Despite being one of the fastest-growing music markets, Africa remains the lowest royalty-earning region worldwide. The report from Harvard points out that the gap is not accidental, but structural.
Harvard alumna Professor Olufunmilayo Arewa, who authored the report, points out that Afrobeats rose to global prominence during a period when the music industry was undergoing major changes. Streaming reshaped revenue models, shifting power to three major global labels, namely Universal, Sony, and Warner. Digital platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok also increased in their leverage over musicians and artists. These players collectively control distribution, data, royalties, metadata, and intellectual property norms. African artists enter this system from a position of disadvantage: weaker bargaining power, limited legal resources, and little control over downstream monetisation.
The acquisition of African labels by global majors—most notably Universal’s majority stake in Mavin Records—shows the industry recognises Afrobeats as its new growth engine. But without policy safeguards, these acquisitions risk recreating old extractive patterns: Africa produces the cultural value, while others capture the profit.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s highly informal economy complicates revenue collection. Up to two-thirds of the economy operates outside formal systems. For years, informal circulation boosted artist visibility, but it also weakened data systems, copyright protection, and revenue tracking. Even massive cultural events like Detty December, drawing more than a million visitors in 2024, remain undermeasured.
A strategic session hosted by the Harvard Law School CSASE and Lagos-based Rise Interactive Studios will be taking place in Lagos tomorrow. The exclusive event will examine strategic responses that industry, policymakers, and creatives themselves can take to help turn the tide of royalty loss. Leaders in Artificial Intelligence, such as Dr. Toyosi Akinrele-Ogunsiji, Founder and CEO of Rise Interactive Studios, top artists, senior policymakers, and academics will join the Harvard-trained author of the CSASE Report, Professor Olufunmilayo Arewa, to discuss the Report’s recommendations.
Afrobeats sits at a strategic turning point. Its cultural influence is secure. The economic question is what Africa will choose to do next. The CSASE Report, which is the first one written by an African for African creatives, is an important instrument to help guide our way forward.
The world is already dancing to African music. The question is whether Africa will build the systems to profit from it.
