Intro:Â Afrobeats is currently enjoying its golden era, dominating charts from Lagos to London. But behind the sold-out arenas and viral challenges, is the culture losing its soul to corporate interests?
In this exclusive Op-Ed for the Beats of Africa, music executive Otunba Olumide Enilolobo argues that Western labels are exploiting the lack of structure in the African market. It is a controversial take, but one that demands to be heard.
The Exploitation of Afrobeats by Western Record Labels
As I celebrate another year of life, I feel compelled to address an issue that has shaped my journey over the last 8 years in the Nigerian entertainment industry — an issue that concerns our culture, our music, and the business behind it.
Afrobeats has become one of the fastest-growing genres in the world. According to global music market reports, African music streams have risen by more than 30–40% annually, and Afrobeats now pulls billions of streams across DSPs every year. The world is finally listening — but unfortunately, the world is also taking.
The Global Love… And The Global Exploitation
While Afrobeats’ global rise is worth celebrating, the business underneath it tells a different story. Western record labels have discovered a new goldmine in African artists — high-impact markets, low production cost, and extremely vulnerable talent ecosystems. And they are exploiting it.
Here are the patterns we see every day:
1. Unfair Record Deals Many African artists sign deals that offer small advances compared to their streaming power, demand long-term catalog ownership, and provide little transparency in royalty accounting. Labels know the hunger for global exposure makes artists vulnerable — and they profit from it.
2. Cultural Capital, Minimal Investment Western labels leverage African culture to boost their global portfolios, but when it’s time for marketing, tour support, and long-term brand building, African artists often get fractional support compared to their Western peers.
3. Using Africa as a Cheap Market Entry Rather than building real music infrastructure in Africa, labels use local partnerships that give them control without responsibility. They benefit from the streaming explosion in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa — yet invest very little in the industry that fuels the growth.
4. Asymmetry of Information Our artists are often negotiating deals with little legal guidance, no publishing knowledge, and no clear understanding of masters, splits, and IP. This imbalance was created intentionally — because information is power, and power is profit.
“When artists lose ownership, the culture loses ownership. When labels own the masters, they own the future.”
Why This Happens
The Western industry knows exactly what it’s doing. Afrobeats is global. Africa is the youngest continent in the world.Streaming is booming. But the African music business lacks competitive local labels, strong unions, consistent legal frameworks, and adequate artist management systems. This vacuum makes exploitation easy.
The Real Cost
When artists lose ownership, the culture loses ownership. When labels own the masters, they own the future. And if we don’t act now, Afrobeats will become another global genre whose profits and legacy belong to corporations outside Africa.
What Must Change
As someone who has worked across the African entertainment ecosystem for 8 years — from production to talent platforms — here’s what I know for sure:
- Artists must prioritize legal literacy. Contracts are not vibes. Read, understand, negotiate, and walk away if necessary.
- African stakeholders must build stronger local labels. A strong home base is the only way we negotiate from power.
- Ownership must become non-negotiable. Masters, publishing, splits — African artists must keep what they create.
- Government and private investors must support the creative economy. Music is not just culture. It is GDP.
- The industry must value structure over hype. Talent without protection is exploitation waiting to happen.
About the Author:Â Otunba Olumide Enilolobo is a music and entertainment executive with over 8 years of experience in the Nigerian entertainment industry, spanning production to talent management.
