Communiqué 51: The year we went all in

Going full-time with Communiqué has been a wild ride. Here’s what we’ve been up to, and what we’re planning for the next year.

“Every gambler knows

That the secret to surviving

Is knowing what to throw away

And knowing what to keep.”

– Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler”

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My team has told me that I must make today’s newsletter personal. It’s our last one for the year, after all. Our final chapter in the year we took a leap of faith, the year we bet everything on building a media company that will become the primary source of high-quality information about Africa’s creative economy. The year we decided to tempt fate.

The term “creative economy” has become a buzzword. Many people use it without even knowing what it means. But we—the newsletter, really—have been here since the pandemic. We’ve been writing and talking about the media, the creator economy, and the need to invest in creative, nontraditional industries since the menace of COVID locked down several parts of our society. We’ve been at this for some time now. In bits and pieces, yes. But we’ve been at it. This year, though, we took a plunge into the sea of uncertainty. And it’s been quite the swim.

We’ve learned a lot already, some good and some bad, but all for the better of the work we set out to do. We’d like to share some of those lessons with you and let you in on our plans for 2025. But we also would like to hear from you: what did you like, what didn’t you like, what do you want to see more of?

1. Three of a kind

Without mincing words: we want to build a truly global, profitable, and sustainable media company out of Africa. We believe there is a lot of room in the world for our work and what it represents. The creative economy could easily become a vital pillar of economic growth and political influence for several African countries. More than many other regions, countries on the continent have vast supplies of cultural and creative resources that could feed a world in dire need of new experiences. What’s even more encouraging is that this isn’t new — it has been the case for centuries — so this isn’t a trend, and while the term “creative economy” has become a buzzword, the industry itself is anything but. The business of culture is as old as time. This is the premise we’re building Communiqué on.

But to build and be taken seriously, one must prove one’s worth. We are still in the process and will be for years, but already, so much has happened that emboldens us.

Take our Visual Storytelling Bootcamp in partnership with Gatefield Foundation, for example. For three days, we gathered ten young journalists from across Nigeria together in a room and taught them the fundamentals of visual storytelling. We showed them how to turn their phones into film studios, we gave them tips on how to build future-proof careers, and then we gave them the financial resources to do so. We continue to support them professionally, knowing fully well that initiatives like this will bear fruits far into the future.

David teaching during a session at the Visual Storytelling Bootcamp

This year, we also took Communiqué behind a paywall. It was a gamble, as with any big decision, but we knew what to expect. For us, it was about encouraging more people to back us financially as they have done socially in the past. It was about showing our subscribers that we could be more valuable to them professionally. It was about pushing the boundaries of what was possible in this industry. So far, we are confident that we made the right decision, especially by blending a freemium model that doesn’t entirely exclude our audience. Most of our paid subscribers are media and tech professionals who see value in our work, and most (over 60%) opt for annual over monthly subscriptions. This significantly reduces our anxiety over subscriber churn, while giving us ample time to prove our worth. It is also quite telling that over 40% of our paid subscribers live outside the continent (in North America, Europe, and Asia).

In October, we partnered with our friends at TM Global to release the most comprehensive Africa Creator Economy Report. Our research has armed investors and fund managers, academics and journalists, and policymakers and government agencies with the material they need to finally crystallize (with data!) thoughts and ideas they had held for so long. The report was picked up by international media, such as Semafor, and has already been cited in conversations we could only have dreamed of.

David along with the directors of TM Global and Obi Asika, DG/CEO of the Nigerian Center for Arts and Culture at the launch of the Africa Creator Economy Report

2. Straight flush

None of our plans and ambitions would be useful if we couldn’t match them with the quality of our stories. We’ve now published 50 editions of this newsletter (excluding this one), with each edition exploring its theme in depth, backed by data, firsthand experiences, and insider accounts of company strategies. We’ve taken our readers behind closed doors, out into the streets, and far out of their comfort zone without compromising on quality.

Our top stories this year have also shown us what you like: you like company profiles (a lot!), you like actionable insights, and you like stories that explain things you’ve seen but couldn’t necessarily describe. In 2025, we will give you more of that. Stick with us and tell your friends and colleagues about us. We will get even better.

Communiqué as a company has multiple business arms, but they all rely on the quality of our media products, much like the overall business wellbeing of a football club depends on the on-field performance of the team. If you don’t believe me, take a look at Manchester United over the last decade. We do not intend to renege on our promise to deliver high-quality information always, whether through newsletters or other content formats.

3. Full house

A year ago, I would have written this essay describing Communiqué’s operations in singular first-person. I’m glad I don’t have to anymore. It’s “we” now. And as our team continues to grow, we are clear on the type of culture we want: a culture of kindness and respect for each other, where everyone’s opinion is important, a culture where everyone can make a case for their ideas, and is driven purely by excellence and high standards.

The Communiqué team after our strategy session. L-R: Tobi, David, Jolomi, Favour, and Treasure. Femi and Gloria, our Academy program managers, were there with us in spirit.

As the year ends, we have thought about what 2025 will look like. We’ve talked amongst ourselves, and conferred with our community, and we will do more. But so far, here are some of the things we plan to do:

• Our video strategy is coming alive. If you’ve been following us on social media, then you will have seen some snippets of this. Take our ‘Culture in a Box’ social video series, for example (part 1 and part 2 are here). Those are experiments, and you will witness the real deal in 2025—through video essays, interviews, and documentaries, all retaining the quality you’ve come to expect from us. Never videos for the sake of videos.

• Communiqué events are coming back. Our last Communiqué community event was in January 2023, and it was a full house. In 2025, those events are making a comeback, and we are adding even more. We will have an event for every segment of our audience, all to help you achieve your professional goals. So, be on the lookout for details.

• We are introducing Communiqué Intelligence. This is still mostly a secret, and so I can’t tell you too much about it. But I’d like you to imagine what you could do with more contextually relevant data about the creative economy and its many subsectors—film, music, arts, fashion, and media. Our creator economy report was just the tip of the iceberg. We are ready to go deeper.

4. Shall we deal?

We’re heading into 2025 with a lot of excitement and optimism. If this year was anything to go by, we are certain that the next one will be ten times better for us. We feel the weight of your love and support, and we deeply appreciate them. But we know there’s even more room for improvement, and we’d like you to help us.

Communiqué is read across 105 countries, from the U.S. to Brazil, Germany, Egypt, India, and Australia. Our community is vast, and it includes entrepreneurs, operators, academics, and policymakers. So, we would like to hear from you. What have you liked about us so far? Where can we improve? What more do you want to see?

Please let us know.