Indicators of Growth in Malawi’s Local Music Market – What’s Real and What’s Superficial?

It’s that time of year again where Malawian artists wonder how Cosoma calculates and distributes royalties. A small percentage of Malawian artists have received royalties in the upward amount of MWK1,000,000 with the rest falling below that amount. One cannot help but wonder why and how the figures are so? Additionally, are there comprehensive royalty statements given to artists when they receive their royalties.

As Malawi’s music industry continues to develop, it’s essential to distinguish between real, sustainable growth and mere superficial gains. While the local music scene has seen significant visibility, understanding what true growth entails—and how to foster it—is crucial for artists, producers, and stakeholders who are interested long-term success.

Superficial Growth: What It Looks Like and Why It Happens

Superficial growth in a music market is often marked by increased visibility without a matching depth of development. Signs of this include high streaming numbers on a few hit songs, a surge in social media followers, or increased event appearances that don't necessarily translate to more financial stability for artists or the industry at large.

A few factors that drive superficial growth include:

• Virality Over Quality: Viral moments create brief, intense exposure but often lack the sustained engagement needed for career longevity.
• Inconsistent Industry Support: When industry support is sporadic or focused on limited genres or artists, the industry may seem vibrant on the surface while remaining underdeveloped at its core.
• Lack of Structural Support: Without accessible industry structures—such as distribution channels, quality production facilities, and reliable streaming platforms—growth will largely be limited to surface-level success without deeper roots.

Does this sound familiar in relation to the Malawian music industry? These factors are creating a culture where most Malawian artists are chasing numbers rather than investing in their craft, career management, or skills development, which ultimately hinders long-term industry progress.

Indicators of Real Growth in a Local Music Market

If we were doing well as an industry, what would that look like? True growth in a music market is multifaceted, involving financial health, talent sustainability, infrastructure development, and industry standards. Let’s look at some key indicators of what real growth in Malawi’s music market would look like:

1. Diversified Revenue Streams: More Malawian artists would have income beyond just performances and streaming. This includes royalties, licensing deals, merchandising, and brand partnerships. When we, artists start relying on multiple revenue channels, we can create stability for ourselves AND the industry.
2. Consistent, Quality Production: Reliable access to high-quality recording and production facilities is essential for Malawian artists to develop a professional sound and attract international collaborations. Quality studios translate to quality sound especially where the sound engineers, and producers are knowledgeable and skilled.
3. Professionalisation of Industry Roles: From artist managers to booking agents, the pro version of a robust Malawian music market would have professionals dedicated to nurturing talent and guiding artists. A&Rs, tour managers, publishing administrators, entertainment lawyers, sync agents, to name a few, are just some of the potential roles the Malawian music industry needs more of. As more people specialise in these roles, our music market becomes more capable of sustaining itself. We can go regional and global!?
4. Education and Skill Development: We would have more skill-building initiatives focused on producers, artists, and other industry professionals, such as those by Girls Beat Club and other initiatives, improving the industry's overall standard. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya & South Africa, Egypt are some of the countries we know to be continuously immersed in workshops, conferences, programs and skills-building initiatives for creatives and music professionals. How much are those industries making per year?
5. Industry Support and Networking Opportunities: Our annual festivals, workshops, and live performance platforms would empower different types of Malawian artists and sounds to grow their audience base, interact with industry professionals, and build brand loyalty. Currently, one can almost guess the type of sound they will get when they attend certain spaces or events. Nothing wrong with existing sounds but now there are more variety of alternative Malawian music and artists dying to be heard and promoted.

Strategies for Ensuring Real Growth in Malawi’s Music Market

To avoid superficial progress, we, the stakeholders need focus on a few critical actions that can help us create our own genuine growth:

• Invest in Infrastructure: Let’s establish more accessible recording studios, co-working spaces for producers, and create strong regional distribution networks with the likes of Audiomack, Dittomusic, Mdundo. Some of you guys know someone who might know someone who works at these companies - put in a word for Malawian artists and sound. Reach out to us so we can discuss what we need to do more of and improve on in order to really break out beyond Malawi borders. The availability of quality resources to more Malawian artists can elevate the professionalism and sound of local music on a global level too as we are seeing with our neighbouring countries.
• Expand Local and Regional Distribution: Partnering with regional streaming platforms and exploring global distribution options will allow Malawian music to reach wider audiences. To do this, we need local distributors who actually know what they are doing and how the world of distribution works in order to avoid revenue loss for artists. We are yet to have conversations as to what it would take for regional streaming platforms and global distributors to pay attention to Malawi. Do we actually want them to pay attention at this point where we don’t have our act together - business and infrastructure wise? Either way, if we are to secure international collaborations and put Malawi on the map we need to know what we’re doing and build strong, valuable relationships outside of Malawi.?
• Promote Local Collaboration and Mentorship: Maybe in time, but more of our experienced artists, producers, and music business professionals should invest in mentorship programs. Collaboration and knowledge sharing is a guarantee to empower the next generation of Malawian artists, producers and songwriters to achieve their goals.
• Create Supportive Networks for Female Artists and Producers: Initiatives like The Diamond Standard’s Girls Beat Club, Chmba’s Tiwale programs, that focus on empowering female producers and DJs are critical to building an inclusive industry. A more diverse talent pool adds resilience and richness to the music market.

What do you think we need to do more for the music industry and music business in Malawi to flourish beyond a game of numbers and facades? I would love to hear your thoughts.