Mavin’s loud ambitions + Afrobeats goes to Canada
We look at what’s behind Mavin’s East Africa concert tours, and a former emPawa executive trying to sell Afrobeat in Canada.
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In this Digest, we discuss:
Mavin’s plans to unlock the live music industry in Africa
Former co-founder of emPawa Africa’s new record label venture
Center Spread 🗞️
Mavin Records wants to own the stage
Nigerian music label Mavin is eyeing a new frontier: Africa’s underdeveloped live music scene.
Earlier this month, the label launched the East Side Tour, a new concert series to build a viable touring circuit across the continent. The first show was held in Nairobi, Kenya, and featured rising Mavin acts Magixx, Bayanni, and Boy Spyce. Shows in Uganda and Tanzania are expected to follow, though dates have not been announced.
But this isn’t just about performances. As Semafor Africa reports, Mavin’s move is part of a broader strategy to develop infrastructure and cultivate demand for touring within Africa.
Despite Afrobeats’ global success, most African superstars earn their touring income from fans in Europe and North America. Back home, the scene is fragmented. There are few consistent touring opportunities outside Nigeria’s “Detty December” season and occasional shows in hubs like Johannesburg and Nairobi.
Mavin wants to change that by creating a pan-African network of regional concert stops, allowing its up-and-coming artists to tour profitably and consistently without having to look abroad. Compared to the slow drip of streaming royalties, touring provides immediate revenue from ticket sales, brand sponsorships, and merchandise.
The label’s recent acquisition by Universal Music Group may also be accelerating the search for a new revenue source.
Still, the challenges are significant. Most African cities lack the venues, ticketing systems, and transportation and hospitality infrastructure that support such large-scale live events. The continent also lacks the consumer culture that sees concert-going as essential. Attending concerts is still seen as a luxury in many markets where basic needs take priority.
Yet the timing may work in Mavin’s favour. Governments across Africa are beginning to invest more intentionally in the creative economy, and initiatives like Move Afrika are helping to test whether local audiences are warming up to paying for live music experiences.
If Mavin can crack the model, it won’t just be a win for the label. It will reshape how African music is consumed and monetized on the continent.
Afrobeats finds a second home in Canada
Former co-founder of emPawa Africa, Ikenna Nwagboso, and Camillo Doregos, another longtime associate of emPawa’s Mr. Eazi, are partnering to establish a new record label in Canada. The new label, named Hi-Way 89 Entertainment, is expected to promote both African and Canadian artists.
Nwagboso and Doregos are veterans in the African music industry. Doregos is the founder of DC Talent Agency, a talent management and booking company that represents artists such as Pheelz, Kah-Lo, and others. Nwagboso, before stepping down in January 2025, served as emPawa’s global head of label services and partnerships, where he helped launch the careers of artists like Joeboy, Fave, and Tekno.
Their new venture offers an interesting twist on how Afrobeats is being exported. Rather than solely pushing African artists into Western markets, they’re also empowering Western artists, who were first influenced by Afrobeats, to thrive within it, with support from those who helped spread the genre. A good starting point for cultural exchange, even though not everyone may agree.
The label’s first signing is Ottawa-based singer Chrissy Spratt, who went viral in Nigeria for her covers of Afrobeats songs. Her renditions of tracks like Kizz Daniel’s Cough (Odo) and Ckay’s Love Nwantiti earned her praise from top Nigerian artists and a large social media following. Now, with support from Hi-Way 89, Spratt is transitioning to original music, and she will be working with Nigerian producers and collaborators.
Crunch Time 📈
Catch Up 📬
What Piggyvest and Kaizer Chiefs have in common
Nigeria’s fintech darling PiggyVest and South African football giant Kaizer Chiefs might seem worlds apart, but they share one thing in common: long-term media content strategies.
As you will see in our latest essays, both companies are taking deliberate steps to leverage content to build a community of loyal fans and customers to help achieve their business goals.
Communiqué 66 explained why and how PiggyVest used comics, videos, and carefully curated content design to get more people to use its products.
Communiqué 67 explored how Kaizer Chiefs is quietly building its own media empire. The club’s newly announced radio station is geared toward unlocking new revenue streams.
Curiosity Cabinet 🗄️
Botswana wants to rival South Africa and become Hollywood’s next go-to destination in Africa.
Nigerian YouTuber Eniola Olanrewaju, “Korty EO,” thinks Africa needs more creatives who understand business. Communiqué 35 explains why this is true.
Media veteran Andile Masuku weighs in on what it means to be a creator in the AI age.
According to a new report from Creative Boom, freelancing in the creative industry in 2025 is anything but easy.
Challenge Yourself 🧐
This week, we’re bringing back our classic Fill-in-the-Gap challenge. The paragraph below is from one of the old Communiqué essays referenced in today’s digest.
Fill in the gaps:
Each phase of the creator lifecycle comes with different pain points, each pain point presents different economic opportunities, and all these opportunities hold a _____of potential returns on investment.
Companies building for only one phase are more prone to market instabilities, all of which are determined by supply and demand. For example, because it has become easier to create content, there is minimal _______ for products whose only function is helping creators produce content. Therefore, the hard work isn’t in creation. It’s in distribution and _______.
As always, the winner gets a complimentary subscription to Communiqué. Looking forward to your answers. Good luck!