At MTN ‘Reverberation’ Music Workshop, Industry Leaders Advocate Better Transparency, Infrastructure

Vanessa Obioha

The two-day music business workshop organised by MTN Nigeria witnessed a huge turnout and robust conversations. The industry roundtable tagged “Reverberation: The Blueprint for Africa’s Digital Audio Future,” was designed to bring together key voices across Nigeria’s music ecosystem to help shape the future of music creation, distribution, monetisation, and innovation in the digital age.

Held at the MTN Rooftop Event Centre in Lagos, it convened music producers, managers, record labels, publishers, technology innovators, policymakers, talent managers, and distribution partners for a series of focused conversations exploring the opportunities and structural challenges shaping Africa’s evolving digital music economy.

Reverberation was structured as a collaborative listening and strategy platform, creating space for open industry dialogue around the realities of digital music infrastructure models for African creators – creator economics, platform development, rights management, and sustainable monetisation.

Hosted by Music and Culture Journalist, Joey Akan, the workshop was split across generational cohorts within the music industry, recognising the different ways artists and stakeholders have engaged with digital music platforms over the last decade.

The first day’s session featured conversations and panel discussions with music journalist and culture commentator, Osi Suave, music journalist Motolani Alake, entertainment journalist Adeayo Adebiyi, music executive Excel Joab and other notable personalities in the music industry. They shared their perspectives on the realities of today’s streaming-led music ecosystem and the expectations of creators around discovery, audience engagement, global competitiveness, monetisation, and platform experience within an increasingly digital-first music economy.

The second day brought together artists, labels, and industry veterans whose growth intersected with Nigeria’s earlier mobile music era driven by platforms such as Music+ and Callertunes. Panel sessions featured veteran music executive Efe Omorogbe, broadcaster and media entrepreneur Olisa Adibua, founder of EeZee Conceptz, Ezekiel ThankGod Onyedikachukwu and other notable executives in the music industry.

These artists reflected on the evolution of Nigeria’s digital music ecosystem and the importance of trust, transparency, and stronger industry collaboration in building future-ready platforms for African creators.

At both sessions, a recurring theme emerged – the need for Africa’s music ecosystem to build and scale home-grown digital solutions tailored to the realities of African creators and consumers. Stakeholders highlighted the importance of stronger local infrastructure, payment systems, distribution networks, and commercialisation frameworks capable of supporting sustainable growth across the continent’s creative economy.

Speaking during the workshop, Chief Digital Officer, MTN Nigeria, A’isha Umar Mumuni, reinforced MTN’s commitment to creating collaborative platforms that enable the industry to actively participate in shaping the future of digital audio innovation across Africa.

“Africa’s music industry remains one of the continent’s most powerful cultural exports. Unlocking its next phase of growth requires deeper collaboration, stronger digital infrastructure, and solutions designed around the realities of African creators and audiences,” she said.

“Reverberation was created as a platform for honest industry conversations, one that allows us to listen, engage stakeholders, and collectively explore what the future of digital audio can look like for Africa.”

Industry leaders expressed optimism over MTN’s interest in the music industry, stating that its next project which will include a streaming platform and music awards will benefit the industry economically as well as democratise music.