For nearly two decades, YouTube has been an undeniable force in the global export of African music, collapsing borders, building communities, and amplifying voices through the power of visual storytelling. As African music continues its worldwide ascent, I sat down with Addy Awofisayo, Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa at Google and YouTube, to unpack her behind-the-scenes role, the shifting dynamics of Africa's global influence, and what she believes lies ahead for the continent's creative economy.
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Awofisayo's work sits at the intersection of culture, technology, and advocacy. Her mandate is simple yet expansive: to champion African music, elevate its creators, and strengthen the continent's creative ecosystem across YouTube and the wider Google network.
"I work across Google's music ecosystem to ensure that artists, songwriters, producers, labels, collection societies, and others see YouTube as their platform of choice, or at least one of the platforms they rely on to share and amplify their creative work," she explains.
When asked what pulled her into the media space, she smiles, almost as though the answer has been waiting her whole life.
"I think for me, it didn't even start with music. I was fascinated by storytelling, and I was fascinated by the creative space. As a kid, I loved Tales by Moonlight (a classic NTA TV show). I never missed it, wherever I was, I always found a way to watch it. But I never really saw it as a career.
"I started in finance at Microsoft for about five years, then pivoted to healthcare consulting, then to public policy. And it was within public policy that I started getting introduced to media, and media as a policy area. I became fascinated by what you can do in the media and entertainment space. That's when I realized, oh, I can channel my storytelling passion and also create a system for creatives that allows them to thrive, that allows their stories to get out there."
Addy is a lifelong music lover, driven by a passion for storytelling, but her journey did not begin at YouTube. She moved across disciplines: finance, healthcare, policy, media, before stepping fully into the creative space. In her words:
"I was always curious about the space, about the creative economy, the intellectual curiosity about how the space came to be—how people monetize, how people own their content, their IP. I just kept learning and growing my knowledge, surrounding myself with people already in the space who were doing well. I was working with the YouTube Music team whenever an opportunity showed up, even though that wasn't my role. My role was non-music. My role was YouTube Creator Ecosystem."
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Today, Awofisayo is a defining influence behind some of the biggest African concert livestreams on YouTube, from Burna Boy's historic sold out night at Madison Square Garden to Rema, Wizkid, and Asake's landmark O2 Arena performances. I ask her what drives these projects.
She leans in. "When Burna Boy sold out Madison Square Garden, there was so much noise online, but if you weren't there physically, you couldn't grasp the magnitude. I thought, This moment shouldn't be confined to the walls of MSG. People deserved to experience it."
At the time, livestreaming wasn't common among African artists. "Most artists saw YouTube as a place to upload music videos or behind-the-scenes clips. Meanwhile, artists in the US and Latin America were livestreaming major concerts. I kept wondering, why isn't this happening for Africa?"
She pitched the idea to Burna Boy's team. "It was all 'maybes.' Maybe it would create excitement. Maybe it would build FOMO for his next show. But they believed in the idea, and it changed everything. Not only did you have the people at Madison Square Garden experiencing it, you had millions of people globally experiencing it and talking about it. There was just a greater appreciation for the art, for the culture, and for the space."
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We further discussed where African music stands globally today, and what comes next for the continent.
"There are two examples I use: K-Pop and Latin music. Seeing how far those genres have come, but also understanding the data—what helped those genres get even bigger is that people from their home markets have easy access to the music. The hindrance we have in Africa is that we still don't have a lot of people online. A lot of people are not yet on digital platforms. So even though streaming is a thing now, we are barely scratching the surface when it comes to Africa.
"When that barrier breaks and more people from the home countries of these artists can stream their music, that's when we're going to see a big boom, more appreciation, more monetization, more tours, and more opportunities for artists.
When asked about the toughest part of her work, Awofisayo doesn't hesitate. "Infrastructure," she says plainly. "Our market just isn't ripe enough. We're not there yet in terms of infrastructure, regulation, and the policies needed to support the creative economy or IP."
"That makes it really challenging for creatives on the continent who are trying to grow and build an audience. For instance, with internet barriers, you can't reach as many people in your home country. So to monetize digitally, you have to start thinking about your export audience because that's where your money will come from."
An example she gives is live events: "Even down to attending shows, it's hard for people to pay a high ticket price because you're only tapping into a fraction of the market. So when people say, 'Why not make it free or discounted?' Well, if you do that, how are you supposed to put on a great show? How do you pay the right cameraman, videographer, editor? It becomes a whole industry and infrastructural issue."
So how does YouTube help dismantle the idea of Africa as a monolith?
"YouTube gives everyone a voice," she says. "Someone in Uganda can tell their own story and show the world what being Ugandan looks like. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with us, Africans, to tell our stories the way we want them to be seen. We must be the ones pushing our narrative."
As the year winds down, I ask Addy what she hopes African artists focus on moving forward.
First, she emphasizes sonic identity. "There is so much diversity in African music, our beats, our tones, our instruments. Artists should lean into that. That's what makes us distinct. When you hear Latin music or K-Pop, you immediately recognize it. African music has that same richness. Really showing that off is important because that's what makes us unique. We shouldn't be afraid to tap into what makes us distinct."
Then she turns to collaboration. "I love what collaborations have done for African music. They allow artists to tap into new fan bases and introduce global audiences to our sound. Look at Rema and Selena Gomez, or Ayra Starr and Rauw Alejandro, these collaborations expand fan bases, open new markets, and introduce more people to African music who otherwise may not have encountered it.
