Afrobeats’ global decline due to exorbitant performance fees by artistes – Promoter

Mr. Berny Sarfo, a renowned UK-based Ghanaian promoter, believes that the global decline in Afrobeats concerts abroad is primarily due to the high rates that artistes charge when they are booked to perform.

According to Mr Sarfo, CEO of Bizzle Entertainment, Afrobeats artistes failed to protect the genre during its peak because they were more focused about the immediate earnings they would receive from major event organisers such as Live Nation.

He added that some events organisers abroad were less motivated to organise events for Afrobeats artistes due to expensive performance fees, and may not break even after hosting shows.

Mr. Sarfo also asserted that Afrobeats artistes have stopped putting in the hard work with the genre which has culminated in its struggle to make waves across the globe which according to him is a major worry.

“Honestly this is all happening now because we haven’t been smart enough about this at all. The minute we saw big money from Live Nation, we forgot the hardwork and effort we had invested into the craft and immediately forgot our identity.

“We failed to protect Afrobeats. They saw the future of the African Music Market and they quickly jumped in with big money to distract us and create confusion and fights among ourselves so they could control our market. We have fought really hard to be here and to see things crumbling is very disturbing,” he said.

To solve this issue, Mr Sarfo believes there needs to be some form of collaboration between promoters and artistes on how to revive the genre globally and not solely focus on the financial incentives.

“Let’s wake up as Africans and unite to sustain Afrobeats at the global level. When Afrobeats thrive globally, the music industry will organically grow and will get the monetary benefits later in the future,” he said.