By Adedapo Adesanya
As Afrobeats music continues to gain traction and acceptance in the global sphere, a music charting platform, Billboard, has partnered with music festival brand, Afro Nation, to launch the first-ever United States chart for Afrobeats music.
In a statement on Tuesday, it was stated that the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart will go live on Billboard.com on March 29.
The chart ranks the 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the country based on a weighted formula incorporating official streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of leading audio and video music services, plus download sales from top music retailers.
Speaking on the partnership, Mr Obi Asika, Afro Nation founder said, “The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon, influencing culture and fashion across the globe and I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented and passionate people.
“There is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it and I believe it is vital that with Billboard, we now have a US chart that reflects this growth and provides a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to new audiences.”
On his part, Mr Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard’s SVP of Charts and Development, said “Billboard is excited to collaborate with Afro Nation on the launch of the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.
“As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with this new weekly ranking.”
Afrobeats has become a success story with wider audiences with the likes of Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Mr Eazi, and Fireboy DML among the current proponents.