Developing a Curriculum Framework for Afrobeats Music Production Education at Nigerian Polytechnics

Afrobeats has established Nigeria as one of the world's most significant popular music producers, but the formal education infrastructure for training the next generation of Afrobeats producers, engineers, and composers at polytechnic level remains inadequate and disconnected from industry practice. This study developed a curriculum framework for Afrobeats music production education at Nigerian polytechnics. A professional curriculum development methodology was employed, drawing on industry competency mapping through interviews with 15 professional music producers and engineers in Lagos and Abuja, review of existing music production programmes at three polytechnics and two universities with relevant departments, and benchmarking against music production curricula from Berklee Online, the Academy of Contemporary Music UK, and the University of Ghana's music technology programme. Industry competency mapping identified the seven most critical professional skills absent from current polytechnic music programmes: digital audio workstation mastery, mixing and mastering to streaming platform standards, music business and rights management, sync licensing, live sound engineering for Afrobeats performance contexts, music theory applied to polyrhythmic composition, and sonic branding for advertising. The curriculum framework designed specifies a two-year National Diploma programme structure with credit allocations, learning outcomes, equipment specifications, and industry partnership integration through apprenticeship and studio placement components. Expert review by ten music education and industry specialists confirmed the curriculum's professional relevance. The study recommends adoption by the National Board for Technical Education as the standard Afrobeats music production ND template.

Keywords: Afrobeats education, music production, polytechnic curriculum, Nigeria, music industry training