Music streaming giant Spotify is seemingly everywhere. But they are not the only ones expanding their activities in Africa, global music labels are increasingly looking to the continent for new artists and market leaders too. Some of these include Mavins Global, Empire, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Concord Records, and Roc Nation with the latter helping Nigerian artists wizkid, Burna boy, Davido and other fast-rising artists break into the US market and reach
In the past few years, Africa has emerged as a significant market for music labels.
Fueled by a growing young-people population, great musical talent, great culture, and more streaming opportunities, Africa’s music industry is booming. And the world’s major music labels are taking notice.
1. The continent’s population is young and growing fast: According to the UN, Africa has one of the youngest populations in the world. This means that there are plenty of potential consumers who can be reached through marketing campaigns targeting young people. In addition, many African countries have high birth rates which will result in more consumers entering the market over time. For instance, Nigeria was ranked as having one of the fastest-growing populations globally due to its high fertility rate (4) and increasing life expectancy at birth (5). Furthermore, recent data shows that Nigeria will have more than 200 million people by 2050 (6).
The global music industry has been undergoing some major changes recently with streaming becoming increasingly popular among consumers around the world — especially in Africa a continent Fueled by a rowing young-people population, great musical talent, great culture, and more streaming opportunities, Africa’s music industry is booming.
In 2017, Forbes reported that Nigeria was the world’s fastest-growing market for recorded music — up 20% from 2016 — and it’s not alone.
The African continent is a hotbed of musical activity. On top of the fact that it’s home to some of the world’s most well-known musicians (such as Fela Kuti, Angelique Kidjo, Youssou N’Dour) and of course the emerging wizkid, davido, Burna boy and the likes. new artists are emerging every day.
The biggest reason why major labels are so interested in Africa right now? The growth potential is huge. A study by MIDiA Research predicts that digital music revenues will reach US$2.36bn in 2022 in sub-Saharan Africa alone — representing an increase of 40% from 2018.
I hope this helps you to put your best foot forward when sending your music industry professionals a demo of your work. There is a lot of information to be gathered, but it is there for a reason if you follow the simple steps outlined in this article, you are more likely to make the strongest impression on any A&R rep that happens across your demos. Who knows? Maybe it will lead to the break you’ve been working for!
Your song is your work of art. You’ll want to share it with the right people. Normally done over email and social sites, it’s not always easy to network; you don’t know who’s listening and you certainly need A&R reps contact information. I will help you set the scene for success.
When it comes to music and the entertainment industry, there’s one thing that everyone needs: connections. And while you might not be able to control where your next big break will come from, you can make sure you’re making the right connections at the right time – by getting in touch with managers and record labels early on in your career. But how do you know who these people are? How do you find them? And how do you approach them in the first place?
A lot of artists have a good idea of what they want to achieve but have no idea how they’re going to go about it. For example, “I want to be famous” is nice, but it’s not enough on its own. You need to think about the steps you need to take for that goal to become reality—and then outline those steps in detail and start taking them!
Having this kind of plan will help ensure that you don’t waste time or energy on things that aren’t effective at getting you closer to your goals (or worse yet, put yourself at risk). If someone signs their name with their contact information on your demo CD and hands it back without listening or responding at all? Maybe try something else next time!
The second thing you should do is make sure the manager or A&R you are approaching has a track record of success. This is especially important if you are an indie artist with no backing from a label or management company yet.
To do this, look at the artist’s past successes and failures under their management team. If they don’t have any artists signed to major labels or haven’t had any success with their careers, this may not be the right person to approach yet (unless they can show that they have experience in managing up-and-coming talent). You also want to make sure that the label has had some success in working with other artists before approaching them as well if not, there’s no guarantee on whether or not your album will sell once released on their label!
Check out their social media, too. Most artists are active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; if they’re not posting regularly, it might mean they have other things going on in their lives. Don’t send a cold email if that’s the case!
If you’re sending a physical package (CDs/DVDs), don’t send more than three items in one package; otherwise, the label may toss the whole thing out when they see how much room all those packages take up in their mailroom! If possible, try sending only one item per package if multiple items are being sent together; this will help ensure that all items arrive safely at their destination.
Don’t ask for money upfront. You’ve heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and it applies here.
Instead, when approaching a record label or manager, simply ask for an initial meeting to discuss your ideas and plans. There are no guarantees that they’ll be interested enough in what you have to say (or your musical talent) to sign you on immediately but if they do like what they hear, then they may be able to help with funding later on.
It’s important not only not to be afraid of asking for meetings but also not too greedy with them either – don’t expect every meeting with someone new will lead directly into a record deal! If anything it’s more likely that being persistent will bring results faster than being quick-witted both because people tend not to take kindly towards being pestered as well as those who come across as too pushy during initial exchanges often lose credibility quickly so keep trying until one day someone says “yes!”
You should follow up with an email, text, or phone call if you don’t hear back straight away – but don’t bombard them with pestering messages every day! It’s important to be persistent but polite.