Vevo sees 56% surge in global Afrobeats and amapiano views

This is according to recent report by analytics firm Chartmetric, as reported by Music Business Worldwide, which also shows that the total views for these genres surpassed nearly 4 billion globally.

“The sheer impact we’ve seen across the European and US music scene is unprecedented,” Vevo’s senior manager, music & talent, UK Jodeci Rampasard said.

Afrobeats and amapiano are Africa’s dominant music genres, birthing some of the most successful popstars today, primarily from Nigeria and South Africa, the sounds’ respective origins. In past years, the service has forecasted global breakthroughs for Nigerian stars like Ayra Starr and Oxlade, as well as South African singer Tyla.

Vevo also identifies cross-genre collaborations involving Afrobeats and amapiano artists as a major avenue for growth.

“We’ve seen more and more artists that are thinking beyond being cookie-cutter, single-genre musicians and are instead choosing to expand both their fanbases and musical repertoire by exploring new musical styles  –  and sometimes even languages that are new to them,” Rampasard said. “Artists working outside of their normal sound exposes them to countless new eyes and ears that may not have been exposed to their art beforehand, and allows the cross-pollination of global audiences.”

According to IFPI’s 2024 Global Music Report, sub-Saharan Africa surpassed 20% growth as revenues climbed by 24.7%, with South Africa contributing 77.0% of revenues due to its 19.9% increase.