Spotify revealed last month that more than 100 million people in non-Francophone countries are listening to French language music, with streams of such repertoire up 94% since 2019.
According to the announcement, the venture brings together the three entities’ A&R, Digital, and Marketing teams so that they can “discover and develop artists, and create ground-breaking cross-cultural collaborations”.
“There’s a strong cultural trade route between France and West Africa.”
Simon Robson, WMG
He added: “WM Africa Francophone will help us support the artists in that space, just as our 91 North venture is successfully doing with talent working the similar trade route between Canada and India.”
Toronto-headquartered 91 North Records was launched by Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India last year to support artists of South Asian heritage.
Yoann Chapalain takes up his Co-Director role at WMAFR while continuing his current role as A&R Manager at Africori, supporting artists such as Kamo Mphela, Kelvin Momo, Makhadzi, and TitoM & Yuppe.
Niang, meanwhile, will combine his Co-Director role at WMAFR with his current role as A&R Director, French Speaking African Repertoire at Warner Music France.
He has previously played a key role in the management of artist projects such as Himra and Louzio while contributing to the strategic strengthening in this region.
“I’m excited about the new venture, which will spotlight incredible talent from Francophone Africa.”
Yoann Chapalain
Yoann Chapalain, Co-Director, Warner Music Africa Francophone, said: “I’m excited about the new venture, which will spotlight incredible talent from Francophone Africa.
“It aims to connect diverse sounds and regions, elevate releases for maximum success, and expand the music’s reach globally. I’m grateful to Alfonso Perez Soto and Yoel Kenan for pushing this initiative forward.”
“Our team will connect creatives and help shape the environment to drive cross-cultural success.”
Marc-Andre Niang
Marc-Andre Niang, Co-Director, Warner Music Africa Francophone, added: “It’s important for us to be able to create new synergies for the development and structure of the Francophone market in Africa.
“While the region is steeped in both culture and talent, the ecosystem faces challenges. Our team will connect creatives and help shape the environment to drive cross-cultural success.
“I want to thank Alain Veille, Alassane Konaté, and Temi Adeniji for giving us this opportunity to take French-speaking African artists to the world stage.”Music Business Worldwide
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
