Nigerian music projected revenue at $86m in 2021 – Minister

Emmanuel Akosile

The Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the Nigerian music revenue is projected to hit $86million (about N3.096billion) in 2021, making it the biggest in Africa.

Alhaji Mohammed gave the projection Thursday, January 23, in Madrid, Spain, at the 11th edition of the Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (Investour) organised by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and CASA Africa.

Agency report notes that the forum is on the sideline of the ongoing 2020 International Tourism Trade Fair (Fitur), one of the biggest tourism fairs worldwide that holds annually in Madrid.

The Minister, who was among the panelists at the forum, said the nation’s music revenue grew from about 36 million dollar in 2014 (about N1.596 billion) to 53 million dollar (about N1.908 billion) in 2018.

He said a chunk of the figure came from digital music consumption, an area of the market which significantly boosted the industry in Nigeria and paved the way for local artists.

He said that Nigeria has a very vibrant and popular music industry which not only reflects her cultural richness, but has over the years translated into international recognition and acceptance.

“Although the art and craft sector largely consists of an unskilled workforce and individuals from remote and poor rural areas, it contributes to addressing some of the challenges that local communities face.

“It is also viewed as a cultural activity which represents the essence of the people’s way of life and serves as an integral part of the travel and tourism industry,” he said.

The minister observed that with the impressive figures, the Creative Industry has been viewed as a sector that could help the government to reach its diversification goal of moving the nation’s economy away from oil.