Mavin Records boss Don Jazzy has opened up about the massive financial commitment it took to turn Rema’s Calm Down into one of the biggest Afrobeats records in the world.
Speaking on Toolz’s Bounce series, the music executive disclosed that the label invested between $4 million and $5 million to push the song to its current global heights.
Don Jazzy shared the figure while discussing the intense strategy and spending required to successfully break into major international markets. He explained that achieving worldwide success involves a continuous cycle of promotion, marketing, and expansion into new territories. “A song like Calm Down, we probably spent close to $4–5 million to get it to where it is,” he said, adding that the team follows a “conquer and move” approach, once they secure dominance in one region, they reinvest to break into the next.
The investment has yielded historic results. Since its release in 2022, and later boosted by the Selena Gomez remix, Calm Down has shattered multiple global records. It became the first African song to surpass one billion streams on Spotify and remains one of the longest-charting African tracks on the Billboard Hot 100. The song firmly established Rema as a leading international figure in the Afrobeats movement.
Don Jazzy’s revelation sheds light on the scale of funding required to elevate African artists on the world stage, making it clear that global success is powered not only by talent but also by well-structured, high-budget campaigns that rival those of major Western pop acts.
Get Fresh updates from NotJustOk as they drop via X and Facebook
