The Nigerian music industry has experienced global success in recent years, with songs produced by Nigerians reaching different cities across the world. Afrobeats has embarked on a global domination with Nigerian artistes selling out major international arenas and earning Grammy recognition.
The creative sector now contributes approximately 2.3% to Nigeria’s GDP, worth over $4.2 billion annually. Despite the massive revenue projections, a new report titled “Basslines to Billions: Nigeria’s Music Market Intelligence Report” has revealed critical challenges currently limiting the Nigerian music industry’s full potential.
The report, produced by Regalstone Capital in collaboration with the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), identifies several urgent issues that require immediate reform and investment. These include:
Streaming and Publishing Gaps: Artists are not fully benefiting from the global streaming boom due to infrastructure bottlenecks and a lack of robust publishing and licensing structures.
Weak Collection Systems: Inefficient royalty and copyright collection systems mean that revenue generated often fails to reach the creators who earned it, leading to “limited monetization.”
Obi Asika, the Director-General of the NCAC, in the report, acknowledged these issues, stating, “We recognize both the opportunities and the challenges highlighted here: streaming and publishing gaps, infrastructure bottlenecks, weak collection systems, and limited monetisation. These are urgent issues—but they are also catalysts for reform and innovation.“
The report calls for a concerted effort from stakeholders to address these gaps, emphasising that resolving these issues is key to unlocking the projected growth to ₦1.5 trillion by 2033 and ensuring that artists and stakeholders benefit fully from their work.
The need for better data, insight, and analysis is highlighted as essential to chart the necessary investments and interventions.
The report comes at an opportune time when the Nigerian entertainment industry is gearing up for the 2025 edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference. Themed: Powering Africa Through the Creative Enterprise, stakeholders will explore the challenges facing the industry and chart a course to ensure that the recent successes translate into maximum economic benefits.
We look forward to welcoming you to this year’s edition of NECLive, brought to you by NETNG on Friday, November 28 2025, at the Landmark Events Centre in Lagos, Nigeria. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of it. Register today!
