The African creative scene is experiencing a significant surge on YouTube, with artists, filmmakers, and creators leveraging the platform to reach global audiences and monetise their work.
The distribution of films directly on YouTube is becoming increasingly popular among Nigerian filmmakers, offering them unfiltered and ungated access to viewers worldwide.
This growth is further highlighted by the remarkable success of Nigerian musicians, where the top 16 artists have collectively surpassed 20 billion views, showcasing the widespread influence and global appeal of Afrobeats and Nigerian music on the platform.
In an exclusive interview, Addy Awofisayo, head of music for Sub-Saharan Africa at YouTube, outlines the platform’s dynamic strategies to enhance monetisation opportunities for African creators. Through Partner programs, educational initiatives like the Music Business Academy, Foundry, and Black Voices Fund, YouTube is equipping artists and creators with the tools to succeed.
Awofisayo highlights the power of consistency, audience engagement, and tapping into global revenue streams, where creators can earn from viewers worldwide, benefiting from higher advertising rates in markets like the US and UK, as key drivers in maximising earnings, amplifying African creativity on a global stage, and more.
Can you tell us about your role at YouTube and how it relates to African music and creators?
I started this role towards the end of 2021, and it was a newly created position at YouTube due to the global growth we’ve seen in African music. It was crucial for us to have someone dedicated to amplifying African music on the platform, and that’s what I do. I work with artists, labels, songwriters, publishers—basically, the entire music ecosystem—to amplify African music on YouTube. So, if you’ve ever seen a Burna Boy or Wizkid livestream on YouTube, or any of our offline activations, that’s essentially what I do.
Before my current role, I led creator and content partnerships, focusing on creators, film, and TV. I worked closely with popular Nigerian creators like Winnie of Zeelicious Food and Mark Angel to help them grow on the platform, a role I held for over three years.
How has the consumption of Nigerian content on YouTube changed over the past years?
Consumption has definitely increased considerably, whether it’s movies, music, or lifestyle creator content. You see more views on videos. For instance, Omoni Oboli trended a couple of weeks ago when one of her movies on her YouTube channel hit 10 million views in just a few days. This is a full-length movie, over an hour long, reaching 10 million views that quick.
It’s not just movies—artists are also seeing more views on their music videos. Views are one way to measure how consumption has grown over time. Another is watch time: How long are people actually watching the content? Is it an hour-long video, and are they staying for the full hour or just five minutes?
Another factor boosting viewership is the popularity of social media and the virality of Nigerian content and entertainment. When something trends, people want to see it.
Increased data availability has also contributed. Data remains the biggest barrier to digital consumption in Africa, but as more people gain access and it becomes less expensive, you’ll see more online content consumption.
The diaspora plays a role, too. Social media has broken down barriers between the diaspora and the continent, so the diaspora is more tuned into what’s happening in Africa. One way they stay connected is by consuming our media and entertainment, which has further increased Nigerian content consumption.
In terms of key metrics for measuring popularity and growth, it’s views—how many million views a video gets, watch time, how long people are watching, and subscribers, how many a channel has. That said, a channel might have a million subscribers, but that doesn’t mean every video will get a million views. The subscriber count doesn’t always directly translate into views, but it’s still valuable to have a high number because it means more people are plugged into your channel and can get notifications when you upload new content.
How does YouTube support African artists and creators in terms of monetisation and revenue generation? Can you explain the process of monetisation for creators?
One of the most exciting things about YouTube is that you can earn money on the platform. Once you’re part of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), you can monetise your videos. The YPP allows anyone who uploads videos to earn money, provided they meet the eligibility criteria of 4,000 watch hours and 1,000 subscribers.
You must also ensure you haven’t violated any community guidelines. Once you meet all the requirements, you can apply for the YPP, and if approved, you can start earning money immediately, which is very exciting for creators.
Our support for creators and artists in monetising their content focuses on education. We run numerous programs to help them understand what’s needed to get the best out of their videos on YouTube. Consistency is crucial for creators to reap the full potential of their efforts. We help them understand the importance of consistency, audience building, and engagement to maximise their monetisation.
Can you discuss any specific programs or partnerships YouTube Nigeria has launched or is launching to boost the revenue and visibility of African and Nigerian artists?
We focus on providing both the information and skills necessary for success on the platform. For instance, we supported the Music Business Academy, founded by Godwin Tom, because we wanted to ensure that artists have a strong ecosystem supporting their careers. People often think artists become successful overnight, but it’s actually the team behind them—managers, video editors, PR professionals—who help drive their success. Making sure these people are well-equipped with the right information and skills is really important.
We also supported Audio Girl, an initiative for female songwriters who, though often behind the scenes, are crucial to an artist’s success.
Are there any specific programs or initiatives that YouTube has launched to promote African music and creators?
Yes. For creators, we ran a YouTube Creator Boot Camp in my previous role. We had 12 creators participate in a week-long boot camp where they learned about the algorithm, content strategy, optimisation, editing, and production—key topics for growing their channels. Participants included Akah Bants, IamDodos, Miss Techy, and Eric Okafor, who have since become influential creators in Nigeria.
For artists, we’ve had various programs, including the Foundry artist development program, which supports emerging artists. In Nigeria, for example, Rema and Tems are Foundry alumni who are now promoting African music globally. We also had the Black Voices Fund, which amplified black artists globally. Fireboy DML, for instance, participated in this program, which focused on understanding and maximising their audience on YouTube.
Speaking of education, how does YouTube train and support African and Nigerian artists in maximising their revenue?
We offer extensive online resources, including portals like artists. YouTube, which provide videos and information on improving channels, content strategy, and more. Additionally, we have in-person programs like ‘Future Insiders,’ designed for new and emerging artists and creators. We’ve held this program in Nigeria and South Africa, typically once a year, and it’s particularly beneficial for those still building their careers and teams, offering them a chance to learn and grow.
One of the most exciting things about YouTube is that you can earn revenue from viewers worldwide, not just in your home country. This is exciting because developed countries have higher CPM (cost per thousand impressions) due to their larger digital advertising ecosystems, meaning more brands advertise online compared to markets like Nigeria. Increasingly, creators and artists are earning revenue from international viewers as their content reaches global audiences. This trend is set to grow as international viewers watch more Nigerian content, offering creators the opportunity to earn beyond their home markets. It is important to state that even if you are a creator in Nigeria, you can earn revenue from viewers globally as long as YouTube is monetised in that market. In fact, quite a number of Nigerian artists and creators have audiences outside their home country, which gives them the opportunity to earn from that country, thus increasing their revenue, especially from countries with higher CPM rates.
Why do you think Nollywood filmmakers are opting to use YouTube as a preferred platform for film distribution?
My take on Nigerian filmmakers choosing YouTube as their preferred platform for distributing their films is just super exciting. It’s thrilling to see the shift and to watch people realise that YouTube provides unfiltered, ungated access to audiences unlike any other platform.
With streaming platforms, you have to wait for them to pay or commission you. With TV, it’s the same thing—you either pay for airtime or wait for them to buy your content. But with YouTube, you just upload directly, promote your content, and reach your audience. It offers unfiltered, ungated access.
So, not only are you getting unfiltered, ungated access to grow your audience, but you also get to monetise the content and make money from it. And you can keep earning money for as long as that video is on YouTube; you could be making money for 10 years as long as it’s on YouTube. Plus, you get feedback straight from the audience in the comments. Many of them share ideas and opinions.
How does YouTube’s Content ID system benefit African and Nigerian artists, and are there any unique challenges in the African market?
Our Content ID system is one of the unique ways YouTube helps content owners protect their work. If someone uploads a song or movie that doesn’t belong to them, the rightful owner can report it to us. If our team finds the claim valid, we’ll take it down. That’s how we safeguard content owners.
One unique challenge in the African market, especially in the movie sector, is that just because a YouTube channel uploads a movie doesn’t mean they produced it. Sometimes, they’ve bought the rights from a producer offline to upload and monetise it online. For example, a movie might have gone straight to cinemas or aired on a free-to-air channel, but then the producer sold it to someone for online distribution.
What we’ve seen is that sometimes a producer sells the same movie to two, three, or four different people, all of whom think they have exclusive rights. They all upload it, only to discover another channel has the same movie. It becomes hard to prove who actually owns the rights. This doesn’t help because it makes it difficult for people to monetise the content.
If no one can definitively claim ownership, they can’t monetise that video.
Sometimes, especially in the movie space, you’ll see a film with a different title, but as you start watching, you realise it’s the same content as another movie on a different channel, just with a new title or a slightly altered opening. These tactics aren’t healthy for the ecosystem. Hopefully, we can address these issues to help our industry grow stronger.
