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Business Daily: Afrobeats: A multi-million dollar industry

Bulletins

Afrobeats: Going global?

21/03/2023 GMT

Afrobeats: A multi-million dollar industry

BBC World Service - Business Daily, Afrobeats: A multi-million dollar industry

We find out whether other sectors can capitalise on the music genre's success.

Arguably the fastest growing music genre in the world, Afrobeats artists are playing to sold out crowds in the most coveted venues across the globe.

What started as an umbrella term in London, UK, to encapsulate pop music of African extraction has become a major force in pop culture.

But is Afrobeats able to emerge as a major economic force within the continent and can it leverage on its global appeal to boost other sectors including fashion and the arts?

We hear from the pioneers like Abass Tijani, one of the very first DJs to play Afrobeats in UK clubs and Ayo Shonaiya who created the first TV show featuring musicians from Nigeria and Ghana.

We also hear from Weird MC and Paul Play Dairo – two artists whose experimentation of sound in the mid-1990s contributed immensely to the growth and appeal of the genre.

Produced and presented by Peter MacJob.

(Image: Burna Boy performing at the NBA All Star game 2023. Credit: Getty Images)

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