—
On April 16, 2026, CSASE’s African Creative Economies (ACE) Initiative hosted a panel discussion of distinguished experts titled Building a Pan African Music Ecosystem, which explored the prerequisites for, as well as existing hurdles to, building a sustainable career in Afrobeats and other African music genres. The panel members included Olufunmilayo Arewa, Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law; entertainment attorneys Uduak Oduok and Amy Oraefo; music executive June Saba; and artist-activist Dr. Ietef “DJ Cavem” Vita. Anchored in Professor Arewa’s policy report Afrobeats: Global Rise, Local Realities, and the Future of African Music Economies, the panel examined questions of ownership, data, and value, highlighting how gaps in legal knowledge, royalty collection, and cross-border coordination have diminished the economic returns African artists.
In a follow-up workshop, students worked alongside the panelists to identify concrete solutions to these challenges, from strengthening artists’ understanding of their intellectual property rights and revenues stream diversification to designing more transparent data practices and locally-grounded support systems. The event advanced ACE’s mission to ensure that Africa’s creative capital remains under African control and that the economic gains of the continent’s global musical influence accrue equitably to its creators.
