Warner Music Africa Francophone has launched its first-ever songwriting camp in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, bringing together more than 20 artists, producers, and songwriters from across the African continent for a three-day event.
The Warner Music Camp Babi, held at Abidjan’s Villa Tahiba, featured talent from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa working together to produce new tracks and promote pan-African musical connections.
Warner Music says the event is “the first songwriting camp of its kind” in French-speaking Africa.
Participating artists included Black K, Ch’cco, Herc Cut The Lights, Hyce, Jeriq, Kold AF, Kouz1, Paulo Chakal, Ste Milano, and Yumbs. Additional invited talent such as Akim, Ayanne, Beeztrap, Dorty, G6$, Kemuel, Kiff No Beat, Mac Abel, Mr. Behi, Nikanor, Remy Baggins, Shaun, Spy Shitta, Suspect 95, Tamsir, and Yilim joined the sessions to help connect artists from Côte d’Ivoire and other Francophone regions with creators from across Africa.
“The blueprint for Warner Music Africa Francophone was to connect the best French-speaking talent with the rest of Africa, so I’m proud to see us do just this at our first songwriting camp,” said Marc-Andre Niang, Co-Director, Warner Music Africa Francophone.
“The blueprint for Warner Music Africa Francophone was to connect the best French-speaking talent with the rest of Africa, so I’m proud to see us do just this at our first songwriting camp.”
Marc-Andre Niang, Warner Music Africa Francophone
“This was a truly pan-African experience and certainly the first of its kind in Francophone Africa.”
The three-day creative session culminated in an official launch event that was attended by Warner Music Africa Managing Director Temi Adeniji, Africori CEO Yoel Kenan, and Warner Music France President Alain Veille. The event attracted key political figures from across West Africa, including Madame Françoise Remarck, Minister of Culture and Francophonie of the Republic of Côte D’ivoire
Yoann Chapalain, Co-Director, Warner Music Africa Francophone, said, “It’s been powerful to see such a wide mix of artists join us here in Abidjan, with people flying in from all over Africa. Warner Music Africa Francophone exists not just to sign talent but to connect artists from French-speaking regions to the rest of Africa; it’s in our DNA to take a pan-African approach with all of our artists. Thank you to Alain, Temi, and Yoel for trusting our creative vision.”
Warner Music also hosted a songwriting camp in Seoul in 2019 via a partnership between Warner Chappell Music UK and Korean K-pop company JYP Publishing.
The songwriting camp in Africa arrives about four months after Warner Music launched WM Africa Francophone, operating in France and French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa. WM AFR is a collaboration between Warner Music Africa, Warner Music France, and Africori, the distribution, music rights management, and artist development company majority-acquired by Warner in 2022. Warner took full ownership of Africori last month.
Founded in 2009, Africori boasts what’s claimed to be “one of the biggest independent songbooks in Africa”, including music from the likes of Kelvin Momo, Master KG, Nkosazana Daughter, Oscar Mbo, and TitoM & Yuppe. The company represents more than 7,000 artists.
These developments come amid growing global interest in French-language music. Citing data from Spotify, Warner Music said over 83 million hours of French-language tracks were streamed in more than 180 countries during 2024. Additionally, Spotify reported that more than 100 million users worldwide listened to at least one piece of French audio content between August 2023 and July 2024.
Separate data from the IFPI showed that Sub-Saharan Africa was the fastest-growing recorded music region in 2023 and in 2022.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s recorded music market saw a 24.7% revenue increase in 2023, driven primarily by a 24.5% surge in paid streaming. South Africa dominated the region, generating 77% of total revenue with 19.9% YoY growth. Africori’s artists achieved notable success, holding the top spot on South African radio for 11 straight weeks and securing a strong presence on both BMAT and Apple Music charts.
In an MBW podcast last year, Temi Adeniji, Managing Director of Warner Music Africa and SVP of Sub-Saharan Africa at Warner, highlighted “the great de-Westification” in the music industry.
“I think in terms of influence, you’re seeing countries with huge demographic numbers, just huge populations, really starting to have their [day in the sun] and starting to influence and show the influence of other markets that are non-Anglo,” Adeniji said.
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