Here Are 3 Proven Strategies Afrobeats Music Executives Should Try In 2025

The Afrobeats ecosystem has never been as stiff and competitive as it is today. The pressure to break new artists, build the fanbase of emerging talent, maintain the trajectory of established artists, and consistently generate revenue from catalogues remains the reality for the creative and daring souls working behind the scenes in our multi-billion-dollar industry. Now more than ever, an artist’s or label’s success is not measured solely by the sonic prowess displayed in their records but by the hit songs they produce. Often, this success is gauged by likely inflated streaming numbers, politically and fundamentally flawed awards, and highly exaggerated ticket sales in a bid to join the “sold-out” gang.

Yet, at the centre of this are artists who do not resist the urge to hastily denounce Afrobeats at any given opportunity on the global stage, as well as ongoing conflicts between artists, labels, music executives, artist beefs, and fan wars. While it is true that the good, the bad, and the ugly have all contributed positively—at least from the perspective of Afrobeats PR, growth, and global dominance—it has not been without challenges.

As we continue to push for global dominance in 2025, here are a few strategies Afrobeats music executives should try:

1. Creative Samples

Before Tems’ Love Me Jeje won the Best African Music Performance category at the 67th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Afrobeats artists had been sampling records. While most of these attempts fail to achieve success, quite a few have thrived. Burna Boy—without downplaying his creativity—has been the king of samples, having drawn inspiration from African legends like Fela Kuti and The Afrika 70 on Ye, as well as non-African artists like Toni Braxton on Last Last and Jeremih on City Boys, among others. Other artists like Darkoo, Wizkid, and Davido have also sampled legendary African musicians in their songs.

READ MORE: 15 African Artists To Watch Out For In 2025

Nostalgia will always remain a marketing currency in pop culture. This is why remixes, prefixes, and covers continue to excel in today’s world. It also explains why a sample snippet from Rema is currently the most anticipated song of 2025, with over 8.4 million views on Instagram—surpassing his 3.5 million average on other reels—and over 86,000 user-generated reels from the snippet. One of the 32,000 comments on the Is It a Crime? snippet, originally performed by Sade in 1985, from @purple_pastry reads, “It is actually a crime that you have not still dropped this jam!!!!! Ah ah, what is it??! Must we beg you like this?” This not only validates the commercial viability of creative samples in 2025 but also highlights the cultural impact of sampling classic Afrobeats records.

While sampling foreign records is essential for growth—especially for artists looking to break into new categories—sampling classic Afrobeats records not only provides a ready-made hit song but also introduces a growing fanbase to the roots of the genre the world can’t seem to get enough of.

2. Joint Projects and Tours

We know the power of collaboration. It’s like crossbreeding two genetically different animals to create a unique and new breed. This strategy has fuelled the success of many stars today. Whether it involves artists of different levels or those on the same level, the result in most cases is the same—success. But what if we go beyond collaborating on just a song? What if we extend it to full projects and tours?

Last year, Ruger and BNXN, under Empire, delivered one of the best joint projects in recent years with RnB. Beyond its commercial success, its sonic dexterity is something we’ll always be proud of. These are evergreen records that could easily be sampled and/or interpolated in years to come due to their musical depth.

3. Popularizing Traditional/Folk Music

Artists can either sample traditional music—such as Fuji, Highlife, Juju, and more—or create pop versions of these genres. The most financially buoyant fans in the industry today are in their early 30s to late 50s. These are the people who can afford to purchase tables, VVIP tickets, and other premium experiences. They are the ones funding the industry in every sense. Many of them were raised on folk music, and as we know, while we often vibe to popular music in our 20s, we tend to switch back to traditional music in our 30s.

What if there was a bridge—a blend of both eras? We’ve seen this with Shallipopi’s Obapluto and even his recent snippet Laho, which is already gaining traction on social media as a fusion of Afrobeats and traditional music. Recently, Brain Jotter’s social media content revived Mike Ejeagha’s Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche, which currently has over 1.2 million streams on Spotify. Additionally, FirstKlaz is off to a great start in his career by collaborating with the Arewa music band Iliya Entertainment Music—further proving that folk music has room to thrive in 2025, especially if it can be popularised.