Warner Music Africa Francophone hosts first songwriting camp in Abidjan

The event brought together over 20 artists, producers, and songwriters from across the continent, marking the official launch of the new venture.

The camp featured prominent musicians including Black K, Ch’cco, Herc Cut The Lights, Hyce, Jeriq, Kold AF, Kouz1, Paulo Chakal, Ste Milano, and Yumbs, who collaborated on new tracks and beats. It also provided a platform for artists from Ivory Coast and the wider Francophone region, such as Akim, Ayanne, Beeztrap, Dorty, G6$, Kemuel, Kiff No Beat, Mac Abel, Mr. Behi, Nikanor, Remy Baggins, Shaun, Spy Shitta, Suspect 95, Tamsir, and Yilim, to connect with their counterparts from across Africa.

The camp concluded with an official WM AFR launch event, attended by Warner Music Africa Managing director Temi Adeniji, Africori CEO Yoel Kenan, and Warner Music France President Alain Veille. Key political and industry figures from West Africa also participated, including Ivory Coast’s Minister of Culture and Francophonie, Madame Françoise Remarck. The Minister expressed her ministry’s commitment to collaborating with WM AFR in the coming months to develop new partnerships and initiatives aimed at discovering and nurturing local talent.

“The blueprint for Warner Music Africa Francophone was to connect the best French-speaking talent with the rest of Africa, so I’m proud to see us do just this at our first songwriting camp,” Warner Music Africa Francophone co-director, Marc-André Niang said.

Niang’s co-director, Yoann Chapalain, said: “It’s been powerful to see such a wide range of artists join us here in Abidjan, with people flying in from all over Africa. Warner Music Africa Francophone exists not just to sign talent but to connect artists from French-speaking regions to the rest of the continent. It’s in our DNA to take a pan-African approach.”

The initiative comes at a time when French-language music is experiencing significant growth. In 2024, over 83 million hours of French-language tracks were streamed across 180 countries, underscoring the genre’s increasing global influence. According to Spotify, more than 100 million users worldwide engaged with at least one piece of French audio content between August 2023 and July 2024.

With the success of its inaugural songwriting camp, WM AFR aims to continue fostering collaboration and expanding the reach of Francophone African music across the continent and beyond.