Keypoints:
- Africa’s royalties climbed to €90m
- Broadcast and digital income surged
- Literature saw the strongest growth
AFRICA’S creators have recorded their strongest earnings in decades, with royalty collections rising to €90 million ($104.72 million) in 2024. The figure, drawn from new data by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) represents a 14.2 percent increase from the previous year and almost a 30 percent rise over the past decade. It marks a striking moment for the continent’s creative economy, which, despite remaining the smallest regional market in global royalty terms, is now outpacing every other region in growth.
Broadcast still drives the continent’s earnings
According to the data, Africa’s performance stands out for its consistency even amid uneven digital adoption. Broadcast income remained the backbone of the continent’s revenue streams, accounting for 38 percent of all collections. This category also grew by 14.5 percent, underscoring the continued dominance of radio and television as the leading channels for formalised royalty income across much of Africa. Live and background performance income rose as well, increasing by 13.8 percent, with South Africa, Morocco and Kenya contributing strongly to the continent-wide uplift.
Digital gains rise but remain far behind peers
Digital earnings, while still modest in absolute terms, climbed to €14.9 million. This represents a 14.6 percent increase, reflecting steady expansion in streaming and online uses. However, the report notes that Africa’s digital growth has been slower than in other regions: despite a decade of expansion, the continent’s digital collections remain only around two-fifths above their 2015 level. The gap highlights the persistent challenges around metadata accuracy, licensing enforcement and digital-rights infrastructure — issues that CISAC and African rights bodies have long pointed to as limiting factors in converting audience engagement into creator income.
Literature booms as new licensing models expand
Revenue growth varied sharply across creative repertoires. Music — by far the largest category — grew by 10 percent to nearly €80 million. Dramatic works saw an even faster rise of 18.2 percent. Literature recorded the most dramatic change: a 90.8 percent surge, driven almost entirely by new reprography collections in Morocco, where licensing systems for educational and institutional photocopying were introduced or strengthened. Visual arts was the only category to contract, dropping 26.5 percent from an already small base, a decline the report attributes to market volatility and low formal licensing uptake for image-based works.
For policymakers, regulators and industry leaders, the numbers tell a complex story. On one hand, Africa’s growth rate demonstrates the impact of strengthening collective-management organisations (CMOs), improving public-performance licensing, and expanding rights enforcement in the broadcast sector. On the other, the region’s comparatively low digital figures underline how much potential remains untapped. CISAC’s wider commentary highlights that markets with strong metadata discipline — particularly those that rigorously link ISRC and ISWC codes — are recovering fastest worldwide. The organisation warns that without accurate and complete metadata, African creators risk missing out on earnings that should be triggered automatically by digital platforms.
The report also comes at a moment when generative-AI systems are reshaping global debates about intellectual property. CISAC has warned that without firm protections, creators could see their royalties undermined as AI-generated works proliferate. For Africa, where the creative sector is already fighting to secure its digital footprint, the challenge is even more acute.
Still, the overarching message is one of momentum. Africa’s creative economy, long undervalued and structurally underfunded, is now showing signs of accelerated formalisation. With stronger licensing systems, improved digital-rights management and better metadata governance, the continent could shift from sporadic gains to sustained growth — particularly in music and literature, where demand continues to rise both domestically and globally.
The numbers offer a glimpse of what is possible when policy, technology and rights enforcement align. For now, Africa’s €90 million earnings do not match its cultural influence — but they suggest the gap may finally be narrowing.
