Why African Music Finally Has The World’s Ear
We are consuming more music than ever before, and from a wider range of sources.
Global music sales rose by 3.2% in 2015, and income from streaming now accounts for 43% of digital revenue, according to a new IFPI report.
Emerging markets in Africa, in particular, are becoming more profitable. UK-based record company Beggars Group, for example, reports that 20% of its revenue comes from emerging markets. It is now licensing music for the first time in Nigeria, Uganda and Angola, according to the IFPI report.
“Bits of the world that you don’t see regularly as record markets are much bigger for us in the streaming world than the download or physical world,” says Beggars Group founder and chairman, Martin Mills in the report.
South Africa, for example, saw overall digital revenue in music double in 2013, according to IFPI’s 2014 report.
How streaming has widened exposure
Streaming is becoming more popular globally — it rose 93% in 2015, according to IFPI.
As smartphone penetration in Africa increases — it went from 2% in 2010 to 11% in 2013 — streaming services are gaining ground, giving the music made on the African continent more opportunity to find a global audience.
