The State Volume 1: NIGERIA 3 - 1 KENYA

2025 at a Glance: The Highest Grossing Music Imports vs Exports in KENYA.

About balance of trade, Kenya is taking L’s. We are HUGE exporters of flowers and coffee, yes we’re romantic and we don’t sleep but across multiple sectors we’re importing more than we export and in the entertainment space, This is no different!

For the Nth year in a row, notice I say nth because, I don’t remember the last time we beat the Nigerians but yes, 2025 was no different. We were beaten at home.

The good news however, the tide is shifting gradually, steadily and surely. How? It’s all in the numbers. Streaming numbers in 2025 show Kenyans are now more than ever consuming more Kenyan music. Local shows are packed and more frequent, artists are curating their own communities, brands are supporting talent, collaborations are thriving! As much as we lost again, We’re equally evolving.

By highest grossing, were not just focused on the artist’s collections even though we know they do COLLECT! Let’s not even get started on their riders, their do’s and don’ts. We are talking about the entire eco system from Marketing Budgets, Ticket Sales, Sponsorships, Attendance and most importantly Public Sentiment. If you look at these factors all together it becomes clear. The year 2025, Burna Boy at Madfun, Tems at Blankets and Asake at Tukutane were the most hyped shows with each delivering an audience of over 10,000 pax at their distinct venues.

This is not to discredit the curation that goes behind these line ups, but we all know the headliner is the ticket sales trigger. Of the three, none can compare to TEMS in all fundamental aspects! If you were not at the Blankets and Wine September Edition, you should make a point of checking out the aftermovie on Youtube. Needless to say, All the three artists delivered stellar performances and they reminded us of why exactly Nigeria is the capital city of Afro Music.

All is not lost, we had a single stroke of magic sweep through the country going by the name ALUSA CONTINUA. Albeit in 2025, we did export some artists/djs here and there. We even exported an entire festival plus line up to the UK! (Cheers to Goodtimes Africa!). But with regards to the metrics mentioned, the one and only Bien Aime solidified our international value proposition by cross covering the world and selling out at each stop!

People will argue that Bien goes to perform for Kenyans living abroad, well that’s just the beggining of territorial marketing! This year he will be gracing the stage at Afro Nation + Other global shows, by virtue of the work put in last year!

Sitting at helm of the Sol Group, Bien has ensured all enemies must suffer, with current numbers showing +40% of the all the music on rotation in clubs , radio and dj mixxes have a home at Sol Generation Publishing. This is no easy feat! The Sol Franchise is definitely headed for 100 YEARS ON TOP!

The industry is becoming bankable and the market is free than ever. Eco systems surrounding artists are thriving and its about time for artists to thrive as well.

The current state of existing portfolios is still fragmented and the ROI behind the actual music is quite low. On the flipside, the space is expanding to accommodate more and more content consumption formats that present multiple opportunities for monetization, developing global and digital footprint.

To top it all, regulation is aligning! The E-citizen Royalties thingy could be a gamechanger. Let’s sit back and watch what 2026 has in store for us.

BY THE WAY, (insider gossip) Joshua Baraka’s real name is Joshua Kilonzi Munee from Mtito Andei. Kenyan export with Ugandan accent. SMH