Africa’s share of the global creative economy is 1%. Let’s change that.

Global music and culture is shaped by artists of the diverse African diaspora. What impact could we have on African development if we tapped into the source of the sauce?

Africa is trending. Music is integral to African life, and the continent’s ethnically diverse and aesthetically unique musical contributions have been coveted all around the world. This year’s annual SXSW music festival will spotlight five Nigerian artists. People all around the world are listening to South African Gqom and Amapiano music, and doing the Shaku Shaku and Gwara Gwara dances. Nigeria’s own Burna Boy will perform at this year’s Coachella after presenting a concert at the world-renowned Apollo Theatre, and with afro-futurism being displayed in the international blockbuster Black Panther, droves of global music stars are making their way to the motherland on a quest of artistic discovery.

With the mainstreaming of African sounds, aesthetics, and cultures, there is a large demand for embracing shared African heritage through the exploration of music. Everybody wants in.

This comes as no surprise. Africa is known for being rich in creative innovation and talent, however lasting legacies of colonialism and neocolonialism have limited Africa’s ability to compete in global trade markets, excluding African artists from the global creative economy. The traditional world media has only allowed a few African artists the platform for expression on a global scale. In fact, the last time the United Nations checked, Africa’s share of the global creative economy was less than 1%. The 2018 Global Music Report published by the IFPI is a comprehensive analysis of the global trends in music, and the report leaves no stone unturned with its data analysis on North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australasia. However, there is no mention of Africa at all. The vast and populous continent is completely excluded from the global music narrative. Clearly, Africa has a deep pool of talent, but there is a huge lack of opportunities and infrastructure for artists to compete in global markets.

Together, we can create resources, infrastructure and opportunities for the global export of African music.

We need to disrupt this system, and what better place to do so than New York City, a hotbed of cross-cultural interactions and arguably the world’s creative core? Together, we can create resources, infrastructure and opportunities for the global export of African music.

Some might argue that the best strategy for empowering African voices is to strengthen the creative economy within the continent only. This is a fair argument, but leveraging U.S. resources and infrastructure for African development is a radical act of subverting the traditionally top-down, exploitative engagement that global Western trade has historically had with the African continent. African artists have always been at the fore of world music since its genesis in the 1980s. However, the cultural dimension of international political domination has ensured that the continued globalization of music reproduces hegemonic racial and gendered hierarchies all around the world. Even in today’s zeitgeist of African artistry in the mainstream, international actors often appropriate styles for global consumption without providing platforms for their originators. U.S companies are infiltrating African music markets for their own economic benefit and cultural capital. If stakeholders come together to create new distribution networks that bypass traditional, exclusionary infrastructure, then we can subvert and transform global inequitable capital flows on our own terms.

In the U.S. alone, creative activities contributed $764 billion to the economy in 2018. African countries should tap into this lucrative market and benefit from their own cultural production. This is especially important because of the potential of creative and cultural industries to be key contributors to Africa’s economic growth and social development. Multiple studies have shown that creative industries are key catalysts for income generation, job creation, foreign exchange and investment and the growth of leisure and tourism industries. These are important factors for a continent still reeling from its peripheral position in the global economy. One need only look at Nigeria’s $50 billion film industry, Nollywood, to see the large impact that the creative economy can have on economic development on the continent. The booming industry is the country’s second largest employer.

So, where do we begin?

Investing financial resources. For even the biggest names in African music, a main stage in New York City seems like an unattainable dream. Providing access to the New York City creative market for the next generation of African talent relies on investment from both public and private sources in order to provide platforms for artistic expression on the world stage, grow global audiences and amplify public awareness. This isn’t an easy feat, as Duke Concept LLC CEO Osito “Duke” Ugeh notes. The company is one of the most successful African enterprises in the U.S, with an impressive history of producing concerts for Nigeria’s biggest artists. Ugeh’s latest project, a Burna Boy concert in NYC, took patience and perseverance. “It took me two years to get an African artist to headline at the Apollo,” he says, “but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Consistency and collaboration is key. We can’t be afraid to work together and invest in what we believe in.” A solid foundation is also important though. “We need to build structures in our communities, and encourage knowledge-sharing in the business of entertainment.”

Building infrastructure. The lack of infrastructure for creative industries within the continent needs to be addressed to turn African talent into profitable enterprises. In Senegal, for example, the largest musical acts have to travel abroad to record music of a sellable quality, and often have to find alternate means of employment to feed their passion and themselves. Progress can’t be made if infrastructure within the continent is not improved. A new value chain of distribution networks between artists, entrepreneurs, distributors and support services needs to be created, one that will catalyze widespread job creation in African countries and generate profitable income for individual artists.

For now, the internet is leading this infrastructural revolution. In 2018, Tidal began its strategic expansion into Africa, and Spotify followed suit with specialized global streaming services to host African music. This is a great sign that big U.S. companies want in on the zeitgeist, but even the internet can’t do what a strong support structure can, as South African music duo Darkie Fiction lament; “The internet makes it easier to access global markets, but that reach doesn’t have impact if you don’t have the backing and resources to penetrate those markets.”

Making Connections. Systems can’t change without collaboration. There needs to be a concerted effort towards cultivating partnerships in the global West, strengthening distribution networks, and generating publicity in order to catapult talented African artists onto the world stage. This work is already being done in some spaces, and the results are promising. “It makes sense to bring it all together,” says DJ mOma, New York City’s foremost DJ, producer and cultural entrepreneur. “Making African music, playing it at parties, having African artists perform at our New York events, producing events in South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania, and bringing people of the diaspora who have never been home. There are so many ways to connect the dots.” Clearly, if high-level, intentional actions are made towards disrupting the exclusionary system of the global creative economy, 1% can turn into 5%, and 5% into 10.

The African Renaissance has begun. With a collective, collaborative effort, the next generation of African talent can take its place on the world stage, where it belongs.