by Marris Adikwu

When Stephanie Adamu made her entry into the African music scene, sold-out world tours and record-breaking streaming numbers seemed like a far-fetched goal for homegrown talent.

The year was 2014, and the opportunities to expose African music to international audiences were limited to club appearances and concerts mainly frequented by the African diaspora crowd. At the time, Adamu often worked the doors at these venues. But this would quickly change for her and the African music scene through consistent effort.

"I built a team and started meeting many people in media and entertainment following a stint working with a promoter as project manager for a Davido/Tiwa Savage concert in the UK,” recalls Adamu. “Soon after, many African artists started reaching out to me to help promote their projects.”

Her journey would see her helm her PR Agency for African artists looking to break into the UK market and spend time as a producer on the Afrobeats Takeover radio show on The Beat London. Eventually, Adamu's vast experience earned her the marketing manager position at the African division of EMPIRE, a distribution company and record label. Presently, she sits as the company's marketing director and works with top African artists to make their sound heard worldwide.

A far cry from its position in 2014, African music's continued expansion into the global market has significantly transformed the genre's landscape, culturally and economically. Sub-Saharan Africa generated US$70.1 million in revenue from recorded music in 2021, according to the IFPI. In 2022, the region became the fastest-growing globally, with more than 30%growth (34%) in recorded music revenue.

Enabling this growth and engineering the international success of some of the continent's biggest acts is EMPIRE. A worthy example of this feat is Nigerian artist, Asake. His 2022 debut album, Mr Money With the Vibe, became the highest-charting Nigerian debut on the Billboard charts and led to his first run of international shows across the US and UK. 

This rapid ascent to global stardom defied the conventions of reaching commercial success in today’s music industry, making him one of Afropop’s most formidable acts of the year. Ghanaian rapper Black Sherif's viral single, "Kwaku the Traveller", soared across airwaves, became the soundtrack to countless TikTok videos, and put him on the map globally. 

This was also the case with the summer hit "Peru" by Fireboy DML, which reached No.2 on the UK singles chart last year thanks to a remix featuring Ed Sheeran. According to Adamu, the success of this release was not merely due to the collaboration with one of the UK’s biggest singers, but from acting on the momentum that already existed from the song's initial release.

Today, social media allows artists to reach different corners of the globe. But while most marketing advice for artists focuses predominantly on social media, Adamu believes it remains crucial to prioritise real-life activity. “You must constantly give people reasons to care offline and stay invested in your craft,” she says. “You need to be performing regularly and adopting marketing ideas that take place in real life, in stores or pop-ups, while building a physical brand presence.”

These strategies are now a full-time commitment for Adamu. However, she admits that at the beginning of her career, most marketers in the African music scene maintained day jobs while promoting artists on the side. “I always dreamed of African music getting recognition globally and touching the lives of every race while breaking cultural barriers and becoming the top music genre our generation will experience,” she says. 

'Peru', the single by @fireboydml and @edsheeran, is now #BRITcertified 2x Platinum pic.twitter.com/VUy9SPaL6Z

— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) December 23, 2022

Despite the advancements made in African music by major record labels, there remains room for improvement. Adamu explains the need to understand the dynamics of Afrobeats as, at the moment, any musician from Africa is categorised under this vast genre. “We can continue to educate and communicate more about the appropriate representation of the African music industry. We have many genres from rap and drill to dance music which now need to sit in their rightful positions across radio, TV and streaming services,” she explains. “I'd also love to see more senior and executive positions for people of colour from the culture who have firsthand experience in contributing to the hits we all hear today.”

Her expectations for the future extend to promoting gender parity in the music business, where women remain underrepresented in fields like music marketing. As a chair trustee for the nonprofit organisation, Women in Music Nigeria, Adamu advocates for equality and uses her own experiences in the industry to offer support and raise other women. “Many of us attempt to lead in our day-to-day jobs. We have the power to influence our environment, so we all need to take responsibility for sharing our vision and passion,” she says, adding, “The last few years have seen a few positive changes in terms of opportunities and representation for women in our industry. Now that we are in these positions, it is our role to expand and continue building spaces where women can speak up and be heard.” 

Navigating this fast-paced, male-dominated music industry comes with its challenges, especially for young people starting or looking to get their start in the business. But as Adamu advises, building firsthand experience is essential to getting ahead and developing a better understanding of the industry. "This could mean shadowing someone at a radio station or streaming platform, taking up freelance work to build your portfolio, speaking to peers in the business and never being scared to present an idea, no matter how crazy it sounds.” As she says, “African music as it is today has created a new world that offers a sense of identity, with a lot of potential and opportunities for musicians, creatives, influencers and executives, and we’ve only scratched the surface of its potential.”