Some of these narratives sound detached from industry realities. On your podcast, you asked Muyiwa if there was another way to take Afrobeats global, he said no. Artists aren’t abandoning locals, they’re making data driven moves with hybrid projects rooted in Afrobeats’ fusion. That strategy has fueled 15B+ streams in 2024, 135% playlist growth (2020–25), a 4,530% surge in Indonesia, and 183% YoY growth in Latin America (2025). The driver isn’t a “colonial hangover” but economics, such as $300–400 per 1M Nigerian streams and only ~17.3% digital penetration of a 200M population. Global reach is essential to scale. Afrobeats’ 28% global listenership rise in 2024 proves fusion strengthens roots through diaspora virality and cross-continental collabs.
Some of these narratives sound detached from industry realities. On your podcast, you asked Muyiwa if there was another way to take Afrobeats global, he said no. Artists aren’t abandoning locals, they’re making data driven moves with hybrid projects rooted in Afrobeats’ fusion. That strategy has fueled 15B+ streams in 2024, 135% playlist growth (2020–25), a 4,530% surge in Indonesia, and 183% YoY growth in Latin America (2025). The driver isn’t a “colonial hangover” but economics, such as $300–400 per 1M Nigerian streams and only ~17.3% digital penetration of a 200M population. Global reach is essential to scale. Afrobeats’ 28% global listenership rise in 2024 proves fusion strengthens roots through diaspora virality and cross-continental collabs.