What Ghana can learn from the popularity of Nigerian Music

Nigeria is a country in West Africa with a population of over 200 million people, making it the most populated country in Africa. It has 36 states, with Abuja being its capital and Lagos holding the largest population in the country.

This huge population has played a key role in the music industry by creating a large pool of audience that consumes the music here in Nigeria. This population factor has become so major that some artistes are willing to send their work to Nigerian artistes for promotion.

In the film industry in Nigeria, Nollywood also widens the market greatly for its artists. Nollywood is the world’s second-largest film industry, making the country a hotbed of opportunities even for artists. This popularity brings the country to the surface, especially on social media, where most of the advertising is currently taking place. Plus, numbers are very important in promoting your video.

The majority of the songs produced in Nigeria are of the Afro-Genre. This genre involves the use of both West African music styles, high life, and funk influences. Funk music is a piece of dance music with a mixture of jazz, soul, and blues, while high life is a West African type of music that spread to Nigeria from Ghana.

They use instruments like the bass guitar, drums, keyboards, and saxophone. Most of these Afrobeats artists love this genre because, besides being so hyped up, it helps them forget their pain. It is most popular among youth, hence the increased popularity of this genre.

Music acts such as Burna Boy, Davido, and Wizkid have carried the Afrobeat music flag so high. It is worth noting that from 2017 on, we had Wizkid win at the BET Awards; in 2018, Davido took home the win; in 2019, 2020, and 2021, we had Burna Boy unapologetically take the wins.

Another thing that makes Nigerian music so popular is that they mostly use English. Aside from it being their primary language, so many countries around the world recognise it as their original language too, hence making their market move from the local market to a global level.

Nigerian producers have also not been left behind. They have heavily invested in quality recording and production. It is through producing great content that your music can be appreciated by your audience because it will leave a powerful experience and expression for the artiste.

They have established record labels that now focus on making songs for global audiences beyond the borders of Nigeria.

Global competition

Nigerian artistes are now competing not only locally but globally. They have so far managed to top billboards and make the top chart on Spotify. They can now perform at global festivals and sign deals with major global labels. This helps them sell tickets and get high-profile collaborations. Through streaming and social media, this genre has found popularity both at home and all over the world. This is what has made Nigeria very popular in terms of music production, and it is an advantage to them.

Just like cash crops, music is very popular in Nigeria, but it is exclusive to those who produce good music. Social media has helped these artists become popular, and that makes it clear that people from every corner of the world just need to be served good content.

That is the epitome of popularity because the world has been reduced to a global village. Unlike in the past, when artistes had to travel to different parts of the world to popularise their music, things have become easier.

You can tell whether your production is great or not based on the feedback you get on social media. YouTube, for instance, is a platform where music is uploaded and viewers can rate, consume, and interact with the music. Even before uploading to YouTube, artists will just post on social media to inform their followers when they’re releasing new music, and that is how influence grows.

The stars of Nigeria have already set the pace for good music. The few who have managed to hit the international limelight have given people across the world the impression that Nigerians are good at what they do.

When you look at people like Ada, Sinach, and the P-square brothers, you will notice that they are loved internationally in equal measure. They have paved the way for upcoming Nigerian artists to be respected across the world, and their work is highly accepted. When you look at artists like Minister GUC, Mercy Chinwo, Steve Crown, Travis Grene, and Tomi Dakolo, you realize that the impression has already been made that Nigerians produce good music. That is why they are very popular internationally.

In conclusion, those who have tried Nigeria on other things like films ended up testing their music. All over Africa, Nigeria is very popular for producing nice local films that hit international media. Afro-Sinema and movies, for instance, are associated with Nigeria, and they are very popular across the world.

People who loved them became addicted, and they ended up trying things like comedy in Nigeria and other artistic works from the country. Once they tried music, they realised that everything in Nigeria is big.

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