By Adebayo Olawunmi
Spotify has highlighted the impact of Afrobeats, saying it led to 240 million global discoveries on the platform in the last one year.
Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa, in a statement on Friday in Lagos, said the platform remains committed to championing Afrobeats, and taking it to new heights globally.
Okumu added that during the period under review, fans played more than 152,000 Afrobeats tracks per hour worldwide, and playlist creation climbed an average of 41.44 per cent year-on-year.
Okumu said that the platform’s latest campaign, ‘Afrobeats: Culture in Motion’, aimed at celebrating the genre’s evolution through storytelling, data, and artiste-led moments.
According to her, the campaign highlights how Afrobeats continues to shape music, fashion, and culture worldwide.
“It reflects Spotify’s dedication to championing African music and the new wave of artistes driving its future.
“The idea of The Afrobeats: Culture in Motion tour was to connect people to the heartbeat of the genre: its roots, its rhythm, and its people.
“It’s one leg of a bigger story we’re telling with the campaign: how Afrobeats continues to evolve through new voices, while staying deeply rooted in African identity, and we’re proud to champion the new wave of artistes carrying this legacy forward.
“The campaign also traced who is redefining the center, women driving the sound forward, and where it landed next, from London basements to Latin American block parties,” Okumu said.
She said that at the Kalakuta Museum, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s former home, the tour group stepped into the cradle of Afrobeat’s politics and groove.
“In a fireside chat, Fela’s grandson, Made Kuti, reflected on that lineage.
“The essence of Afrobeat, when Fela decided this was what he wanted to achieve with his music, was consciousness.That marriage of rhythm and resistance set the tone for the Afrobeats era that followed.”
Okumu said the tour moved to the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, connecting the dots from pioneers like I.K. Dairo and King Sunny Adé to contemporary giants, including Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido, Ayra Starr, Tems, and Rema.
According to her, industry conversations with producers, DJs, artistes, and journalists, including Andre Vibez, Braye, Vector, Melly, and Spinall, tackled the question every rising act faces as global demand surges: how to scale without sanding off the edges.
“Andre Vibez put it plainly: “Know who you are and what message you want to convey before you go global.”
She added that Afrobeats’ visual language took centre stage at a fashion showcase where Móye Africa, I.N Official, KADIJU, and Pièce Et Patch translated basslines into silhouettes.
“The takeaway was clear: Afrobeats isn’t just sound; it’s a look, a mood, a way of moving through the world.”
She said the tour was also taken to Mavin Records’ Creative Studio, where panels unpacked the mechanics of artiste development and export.
“That ethos came to life later at Greasy Tunes Cafe with performances by FOLA, Adekunle Gold, WurlD, and Kold AF, proof of the genre’s range, from velvet R&B inflections to percussive, club-ready bounce.
“For international guests, this was a working visit: label walk-throughs, conversations with A&Rs, producers, and stylists, and a front-row seat to how Lagos builds stars for a global stage.”
Okumu noted that the tour was one leg of Spotify’s broader Afrobeats: Culture in Motion campaign, a multi-format effort tracking how a new wave of artistes are reshaping sound, imagery, and story in real time.
“The focus is on export, but not as a one-way flight out of Africa. The model invites the world in first, then sends the music back out with deeper context.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Folasade Adeniran
