For African music, 2024 was a landmark year. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) confirmed that Sub-Saharan Africa’s recorded music revenue surpassed $100 million for the first time, reaching $110 million with a growth rate of 22.6 percent, making it the fastest-growing region in the world. Driven by the global boom of Afrobeats and Amapiano, Africa’s music ecosystem now generates hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. Yet behind these record-breaking numbers lies a troubling paradox. A 2025 report by Harvard University’s Centre for African Societies and Economies (CSASE) warns that Africa is capturing only a “negligible percentage” of this wealth. While the continent’s creativity fuels global charts, the systems that monetize music remain extractive, opaque, and largely controlled from abroad. This is what industry experts call the “Black Box Problem” — a financial void where royalties owed to African creators disappear into global systems, leaving artists with only a fraction of their true earnings. The Black box: Where the money goes The Black Box is not a physical place but a systemic failure. It refers to the gap between the revenue generated by African music globally and what actually reaches the creators. This gap often occurs when the composition of a song—its lyrics and melody—is not properly registered with global Performance Rights Organisations (PROs). Many artists focus primarily on distributing their music through streaming platforms, while publishing royalties remain uncollected. These include revenues generated from radio play, television broadcasts, international streaming, background music in bars, restaurants, and retail venues abroad. For example, a song streamed in London or played in a New York bar generates revenue. But without proper rights registration and effective licensing systems, that money often remains unclaimed in international royalty pools—or is never tracked at all. Case study: Rwanda In Rwanda, the gap between creation and collection has been particularly stark. The now-defunct Rwandan Society of Authors Union (RSAU) distributed less than Rwf 90 million (about $65,000) to artists over several years — leaving many creators with little financial return from their work. The underlying problem is twofold: the weak local licensing structures and limited awareness among artists about their different rights as writers, composers, or performers. This dual failure means that revenue disappears at both local and international levels, leaving large portions of artists’ earnings permanently uncollected. Regional efforts to fix the system Some African countries are beginning to address these gaps. In neighboring Uganda, the government has taken a legislative approach. President Yoweri Museveni recently approved a new Copyright Management System designed to improve transparency and tracking. “Now technology should be able to tell us who has played my song and where,” Museveni said when announcing the reform. The system will require businesses to install licensed tracking devices capable of recording how often songs are played — ensuring artists and rights holders receive proper compensation. Meanwhile, South Africa remains the continent’s most advanced market for rights administration. The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) distributed a record R429 million in royalties in 2024, representing a 48.3 percent increase from the previous year. Total collections reached R684 million. SAMRO also maintains 89 reciprocal agreements with collecting societies worldwide, ensuring that its members — composers and publishers — are compensated whenever their music is used internationally. Another major body, SAMPRA, represents more than 75,000 recording artists and 11,000 record companies, and has established reciprocal agreements with major neighboring rights organizations. The opportunity: A transparent fix in Rwanda Amid these systemic challenges, new solutions are emerging in Kigali. Entrepreneurs are increasingly recognizing that the Black Box Problem is not inevitable, but rather an administrative and technological gap that can be solved. Among them is Prince Nshogoza, Head of Publishing at Dajah Group, who leads a team focused on improving rights administration through technology. “We found that for many years, Rwandan artists were only getting paid for half of their work,” Nshogoza explains. “They were focused on the master recording revenue, while the underlying composition was generating money globally that was simply being lost.” Dajah Group’s solution is comprehensive publishing and rights administration powered by its proprietary technology platform, Dajahtunes. The platform helps unlock what the company calls “hidden money” — including performance royalties, mechanical royalties and micro-sync royalties from platforms such as TikTok. For leading producers such as Muriroo and Producer X, the platform also provides specialized tools designed to eliminate intermediary fees and improve transparency in revenue collection. The fix Solving the Black Box Problem requires a multi-layered approach. Industry experts across Africa broadly agree on three key priorities. Professional publishing administration The focus must shift beyond simply distributing music to streaming platforms. Artists need professional administration of publishing rights, ensuring that the compositions behind recordings are properly registered and tracked worldwide. Platforms like Dajahtunes demonstrate how global registration systems can ensure every public use of a song generates revenue. Local infrastructure with global reach Building local licensing infrastructure is equally important. Uganda’s device-based tracking model represents one approach, while Rwanda’s emerging rights-administration platforms illustrate another. By developing trusted local systems, music can increasingly be treated as a bankable business asset capable of attracting investment. Without these structural reforms, the $110 million milestone risks becoming a ceiling rather than a floor for Africa’s music industry. Closing the Black Box will require treating the business of creativity with the same seriousness as the art itself.
