Seth Onyango, Bird Story Agency…
Music revenue across Africa surged over 22% in 2024, surpassing the $100 million threshold, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
Earnings were fuelled by subscription streaming, making Africa one of the fastest-growing music markets globally.
The report's Africa figures exclude North Africa, the addition of which would have boosted the continent’s reported total revenues well beyond the US$110 million highlighted in the IFPI's Global Music Report 2025.
Global Music Report 2025 numbers show that Africa’s revenue growth considerably outpaced the global average of 4.8%.
Streaming accounted for most of the continent’s revenue growth as mobile internet penetration expanded.
Platforms like Boomplay and Spotify, partnered with telecom giants MTN and Airtel, leveraged low-cost data bundles to drive subscriptions.
IFPI data indicate that Africa’s digital revenue now mirrors global trends, with streaming comprising 67.3% of total earnings.
Global music revenue rose 4.8% to $29.6 billion in 2024, marking a decade of consecutive growth. Mature markets lagged: the U.S. and Canada inched up 2.1%, while Europe grew 8.3%, bolstered by vinyl sales in Germany and France. Asia’s growth slowed as physical sales—still 45% of its revenue — dropped 4.9%.
In Africa, affordable smartphones, broader internet access, and tailored subscription models have unlocked digital platforms for millions of users.
Flexible pricing structures geared toward mobile consumers have given streaming services a decisive edge in capturing revenue.
Record labels have intensified investments in Africa, focusing on artist development and forging partnerships with international platforms to amplify visibility.
Genres such as Afrobeats and Amapiano have surged beyond local audiences, reaching global markets and further boosting earnings. Strategic moves by labels to connect African artists with global streaming giants have accelerated adoption and amplified revenues.
Continued growth “is a clear testament to the strategic actions the record companies undertake to create opportunities in the region not only for artists but also for fans of recorded music” said IFPI Africa director Angela Ndambuki.
“The region has over the past few years registered significant growth in digital revenues, especially subscription streaming.”
She further urged governments to modernise copyright frameworks to attract long-term capital to the wider sector.
Still, the gap between Africa and larger markets such as Europe and North America highlighted opportunities to scale infrastructure, expand licensing agreements, and deepen artist development.
“One of the key issues we’ve looked at in this report is the role of AI in music,” said Victoria Oakley, IFPI CEO, noting that “record companies have embraced its potential to enhance artist creativity and develop new and exciting fan experiences.”
Labels are increasingly deploying AI for mixing, hyper-targeted ads, and royalty tracking.
However, IFPI flagged concerns over AI firms using copyrighted tracks to train models without licensing.
Oakley asserted that “it is very clear that the developers of generative AI systems’ ‘ingesting’ copyright-protected music to train their models without authorization from the rightsholders poses a very real and present threat to human artistry.
Africa’s fragmented enforcement systems make it vulnerable to exploitation, though Nigeria recently criminalized unlicensed AI music “scraping”.
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