How Afrobeats became a $29.6 billion global industry

Back in 2017, Afrobeats streams on Spotify barely registered globally. By 2024, the genre had generated over 14 billion streams in a year, growing by 550% over a decade.

This has helped Nigerian artists earn unprecedented revenue. On Spotify alone, $37.5 million in royalties has been generated. That doesn’t account for shows, CD sales, merchandise, and so forth.

​A few artists have helped boost this globalisation. Burna Boy, for example, was the first African artist to headline a UK stadium. Rema’s “Calm Down” is also the first African-led track with more than a billion streams.

​Now, the industry is worth $29.6 billion, and Africa’s total creative economy is projected to hit $200 billion by 2030.

The numbers that are coming out of the Afrobeats sector are remarkable.

Burna Boy’s Love, Damini world tour brought in $40 million across 12 countries. This includes a sold-out O2 Arena that netted $10 million. Wizkid’s Made in Lagos tour grossed over $25 million as well.

Rema’s “Calm Down” with Selena Gomez is the first African-led track to reach Spotify’s Billions Club. The US version of this song alone passed a billion streams by mid-2024.

Adding to this, Tems has co-written for Beyoncé and Rihanna. Tyla won the inaugural Best African Music Performance Grammy in 2024 as well. In 2025, twelve African artists across four countries received Grammy nominations.

All of these achievements have boosted Africa’s creative economy. That’s exactly why the industry is on track to hit $200 billion by 2030.

Source: Unsplash

There have been a few things that have driven the global rise of Afrobeats.

First is collaboration. Wizkid signing with RCA/Sony Music International in 2017, Burna Boy signing with Atlantic, and Tems co-writing for Beyoncé and Rihanna gave the genre instant access to international audiences.

The second is variety. Afrobeats isn’t a single sound. It covers a wide range of sub-genres. The industry understood that breadth equals reach. These principles apply elsewhere in entertainment as well. Online platforms that offer slingo games, for example, now run hundreds of variations of what was considered a “niche game”. Variety equals a bigger target market.

Adding to this, they’ve had platform power. Spotify’s editorial playlists, like African Heat, have become gateways for global audiences. TikTok has also turned many of these sounds into a viral phenomenon. Rema’s “Calm Down” is a good example of this.

The global growth of Afrobeats isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. Investment in the sector will only become more present, growing the industry further.

Afreximbank, for example, is investing $1 billion into Africa’s creative industries, and Universal Music Group now has a majority stake in Mavin Records for $150 to $200 million.

Booked shows are going well, also. Live Nation reports that US Afrobeats shows are up 400% YOY. With such a figure, it’s only a matter of time before global festivals start changing their headliners to Afrobeats artists.