‘Her Success Is Success Of Africa’: The South African Artist Signaling The Next Stage Of The Continent’s Global Music Economy

The timing is significant. According to the IFPI Global Music Report 2026, global recorded music revenues rose 6.4% to a record $31.7 billion in 2025, driven primarily by paid streaming subscriptions. Sub-Saharan Africa was among the world’s fastest-growing recorded music markets, with revenue increasing 15.2%, highlighting the expanding commercial potential of artists from the region.

“As a South African living in the U.S. and working here, it’s been so inspiring for me to see someone with a similar background to mine, coming from where she has and taking the world by storm,” business executive Ross Franks told FORBES AFRICA at Thursday’s A*POP listening party at The Box in New York. “She has the combination of everything that makes a global artist, along with an authenticity that audiences genuinely connect with. I can’t wait for the next chapter.”