Def Jam Claims Afrobeats is Worth $80 billion. How will this Affect Afrobeats Events? | Sounds D'Afrique

Are you For long-time fans of Afrobeats, it's not too much of a surprise that the world is finally discovering the music we've known and loved. It was bound to happen because, let's face it, wherever we go, we bring our culture with us - our languages, our food, and definitely our music. Recently, Goldman Sachs estimated that music revenue will more than double to around $131 billion by 2030. Def Jam Records has positioned itself to take over the recorded music portion of that growth, which is valued at an estimated $80 billion, by investing in Afrobeats and launching Def Jam Africa. 

Already known as the powerhouse for delivering quality hip-hop music in the U.S., we can only forecast that Def Jam Africa will showcase nothing but the best our continent has to offer. So expect that this genre will only continue to increase in popularity and net worth, especially with Tunji Balogun serving as the CEO. Not only does he have 17 years of experience in the music industry, but also, perhaps most importantly, he's a son of the soil. He understands the genre on a personal level.

How does this Affect Afrobeats Events?

You may think Afrobeats events are gaining traction now, but wait until the genre hits the world stage. With the launch of Def Jam Africa, Afrobeats is about to explode all over the world. E go shock you how day parties and events will also skyrocket, not to mention other aspects of African culture like fashion and food. Audiences will change from largely people of African descent to people from all walks of life, joined together by their love of music that is characterised by complex rhythms, heavy percussion, local languages, and Pidgin English.

Already, Afrobeats has its own chart with a rundown of the top 20 biggest hits based on UK streaming data and sales. Artists such as Wizkid and Burna Boy, two of the genre's biggest stars, have won Grammys in the last year. Global artists like Beyonce and Drake have collaborated with some of Africa's finest. All accomplished mostly because of the love and dedication of the African fanbase that takes this music wherever they go.

When this genre hits its pinnacle on the world stage, the demand for Afrobeats events and day parties will explode as well. Because what goes better with our music than our food, dance, and enthusiastic love of life? This presents the need for our events and day parties to level up in terms of quality and administration to cater to a global audience.

This doesn't mean we should dilute the essence of who we are. Rather, we should increase our capacity to highlight the best aspects of our culture. While our African clientele may be able to overlook huge gaps in service and/or delivery (because we are a supportive people by nature), this will not be the case with larger and more varied audiences. We need to bring our A-game.

Afrobeats has given us the foot in the door to showcase our culture. Our events and day parties should rise to the occasion by putting in place measures that do this to the best of their ability. 

If you want to know more about the rising popularity of Afrobeats, check out this recent feature by ABC News, and don’t forget to reach out to us @ info@soundsdafrique.com if you have any questions