Afrobeats made over $100m in 2023 as CSASE laments Africa’s losses

Afrobeats produced more than $100 million in global value in 2023, yet only a negligible percentage of that revenue reached African creators. This is the central finding of a new report by Harvard’s...

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Published 9 Dec 2025

By Adamu Abuh

Afrobeats produced more than $100 million in global value in 2023, yet only a negligible percentage of that revenue reached African creators.

This is the central finding of a new report by Harvard’s Centre for the Study of African Economies and Societies (CSASE), sparking urgent economic concerns about the future of Africa’s most powerful cultural export.

Authored by Professor Olufunmilayo Arewa, the report concludes that Africa is losing the vast majority of Afrobeats-generated wealth due to structural flaws in the global music economy. While the genre continues to dominate global streaming charts and headline stadium shows, the financial benefits overwhelmingly flow offshore.

The core driver of this revenue leakage is the control foreign corporations exert over the monetisation pipeline. The industry’s “Big Three” — Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music — alongside digital platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok, dominate distribution, royalty systems, data ownership, advertising revenue, algorithmic visibility, and licensing deals. These are the pillars through which modern music earns money — and Africa controls almost none of them.

Because African artists and labels typically lack bargaining power, legal infrastructure, and regulatory protections, they often sign contracts that transfer long-term profits abroad. Harvard’s report warns that this imbalance will drain Africa of value not only now but for decades, as Afrobeats catalogues appreciate globally.

The economic risk is heightened by recent acquisitions of African labels by global corporations. Universal Music Group’s majority stake in Mavin Records signals strong belief in Afrobeats’ profitability — yet, without strong local policies, such investments may reinforce extractive revenue patterns where Africa creates cultural value while foreign markets capture the returns.

Nigeria’s informal economy compounds the losses. With nearly two-thirds of activity occurring outside formal structures, billions in music-related income escape documentation yearly.

Poor metadata systems, weak copyright enforcement, undervalued live performances, and undermeasured cultural events — including Detty December, which attracted over one million people in 2024 — create enormous financial blind spots.

In response, CSASE and Lagos-based Rise Interactive Studios will hold a closed-door economic strategy session on Thursday, December 11. Led by Professor Arewa and Dr. Toyosi Akinrele-Ogunsiji, the meeting will explore reforms in royalties, data systems, bargaining strength, and policy frameworks to curb revenue loss.

The report is unequivocal: Afrobeats is enriching the world, but Africa is not capturing its rightful economic share. Without decisive action, the continent risks losing billions from its most globally influential cultural asset.

Guardian Life