Digitization and Globalization: Where is the African Music Industry?

Over the last couple of decades, advancements in the entertainment industry have fundamentally changed both society’s perceived value of the arts, and the ways in which people engage with the artistic world. The introduction of digitization has opened a plethora of doors for creatives of all mediums—from the small entrepreneur to the next Billboard-charting artist. With increased access to tools that allow even the most obscure art forms to be seen, the magnitude of both creators themselves and opportunities to have stability in their artistic pursuits have never been more abundant. These emerging technologies have been especially vital in the modern music industry. Regardless of whether a song carries radio potential and caters to the masses or targets only a very specific niche audience, digitization has paved the way for more musical innovation across the world. In particular, the presence of social media has played a significant role in the globalization of the music industry by increasing musical collaboration amongst artists even from polar opposite ends of the world. As a result, creatives have more access to learn from experiences and cultures outside of their own—components that significantly inform every aspect of an artist’s musical expression. While technology certainly carries its fair share of negativities, such as detrimental psychological effects and unhealthy social dynamics, it has served as a major economic benefit to many markets—but, unfortunately, not all. For countries who have the bandwidth to adapt to ever-changing technological trends, digitization has been a source of excitement and curiosity for consumers and creators alike. However, developing nations, who are still playing catch-up to the booming economies that have the infrastructure to invest in and adopt these new technologies, are often excluded from the narrative. Africa carries one of the largest populations and largest contributions to the history of music but remains tainted by a long history of delayed progress. After centuries of European conquest and cultural erasure, many African nations continue to suffer from a struggling economy and government, preventing various industries from being able to prosper. Ongoing research has long drawn the lines between the continent’s troubling present and traumatic history, which has “...affected a wide range of important outcomes, including economic prosperity, ethnic diversity, institutional quality…” and more.1 Africa’s history has left such a deep deferral in the continent’s development that African music, although brimming with creativity and originality, does not currently have the means to propel the continent into the same competitive league as more developed markets within the global music industry. Africa has a large community of African artists pursuing music and making strides in the major markets, however, the African music industry lacks the resources and legal infrastructure for artists to build sustainable careers. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a self-funded agency under the United Nations, aims to develop intellectual property systems across the globe and has engaged with musicians in Africa to investigate the modern music industry. Upon visiting Nairobi in Kenya, WIPO found that musicians have very limited access to rehearsal spaces and recording studios, preventing them from optimizing the full capacity of their creative potential. Access to instruments is also difficult, especially for youth, due to a great lack of affordability. However, scarce musical resources are certainly not unique to Kenya; musicians in Uganda also “...had no access to music books and records…[and] simply could not improve on their artistic talents…they had little or no access to educational resources”.2 Thus, artists are often forced to pay higher costs in order to outsource to other African nations that are able to offer such services due to their increased economic prosperity. For example, South Africa is one of Africa’s major economies, making the country a popular site for musicians to access industry-standard resources, such as music production, copyright collection, and royalty management. In addition to cross-country outsourcing, Kenyan artists have also begun to explore the film industry’s resources in production and distribution, specifically the leading Kenyan film company Riverwood. With wider distribution capabilities and cheaper production costs, the film industry has the potential to uplift Kenyan music and even foster a relationship between the two creative industries. Abbi, an Afro-fusion artist from Kenya, believes “If [they] could get more international investment in music, then truthfully [their] music would rise to a different level.”3 While foreign aid has been successful in providing resources to Africa, this desire for external intervention from musicians themselves only emphasizes the severity of the deficiencies that exist internally. Many African countries suffer a major problem with piracy that is perpetuated by the government and, ultimately, hurts a major stream of income for African artists. In fact, piracy has become so problematic in Kenya that “...for more than a decade now, international record labels and music companies have abandoned Kenya as a non-viable market for their product.”4 The magnitude of piracy in Kenya, and across Africa, prevents artists from being able to gain much profit directly from sales of their original recordings. On the one hand, more African governments and industry representatives are beginning to recognize piracy as theft and understand the value of music. In fact, the Vice-Chair of the Music Copyright Society of Kenya acknowledged the economic benefit of music, claiming that it “...adds value to the GDP and creates employment for the country.”5 On the other hand, the legal infrastructure surrounding copyright administration in Africa is not strong enough to seize control over the widespread issue. Thus, artists must rely on live shows to profit, however, even the live entertainment industry lacks the resources to be fruitful. Rima Tahini, Director of A&R at Mavin Records based in Nigeria, shares that “...[they] don’t have enough venues to do live shows, they’re not big enough or they don’t have enough infrastructure for it.”6 She also speaks to the piracy issue from a business perspective, highlighting the African music industry’s inability to support artists in their development and protect their creations. Though piracy clearly has negative effects in commerce and is considered highly criminal in many countries, the underlying reasons for its popularity in Africa may be more nuanced. Due to a deep-seeded culture and tradition surrounding the sharing of resources, including knowledge itself, “...it is commonly known that many if not most of these vendors are likely to have little knowledge their sales…involves a kind of theft from artists that has huge consequences.”7 This standard African custom paired with a lack of legal enforcement has a direct effect on how citizens treat all intellectual property. Due to piracy’s long history in Africa as a common practice, many Africans’ perceptions of the economic value of music (or lack thereof) have long been shaped and will certainly take time to re-shape across the continent. One of the major obstacles in the African music industry is the disparity between Africa’s music education and that of major markets. According to a survey conducted in 2019 at the Music in Africa Conference for Collaboration, “...95% of songwriters, producers, and creators in Africa have been unpublished since 2018.”8 Apart from the ability to formally receive a quality education in music, the major players in the music industry also have access to technology, namely the internet, that promotes independent research and learning. Africa’s economy presents difficulties in reaping benefits of the digital era, such as “...spotty mobile internet service, high data and smartphone prices in countries with comparatively low incomes and a lack of reliable online payment options.”9 Without quality exposure to music education through formal school or the ability to expand one’s knowledge through technology, many African musicians lack the awareness of how to best operate as a professional artist, and all the profitable avenues that are available to them. Music publishing and the complexities of the music business have historically been overlooked topics for musicians in general. During the early days of the music industry, major labels recognized this largely untapped knowledge of the industry in aspiring musicians and capitalized on their ignorance in the form of corrupt practices and convoluted contracts. The consensus was that artists were to focus on solely making music while the labels handled all business endeavors behind the scenes, leaving much room for exploitation. As digital advancements allow information to become more accessible, musicians based in developed markets are educating themselves and each other, slowly steering away from the traditional major label model entirely. As a result, both independent and signed artists are becoming more aware of healthy music industry practices surrounding copyright protection and royalty collection. However, without these advancements being universal, the African music industry is subject to a large knowledge deficit. In Senegal, “...artists are inclined to accept short-term deals in which they ‘sign away their rights to the music’ in exchange for small sums of money from producers.”10 Without having the tools to navigate such a complex industry, African musicians are not well-equipped to ensure international entities do not take advantage of both their naivety and disadvantage. According to legal scholar Irwin A. Olian Jr., “Of the many problems facing developing countries, none is more urgent than the need for wider dissemination of...