MBW’s World Leaders is a daily sequence through which we flip the highlight towards a number of the most influential business figures overseeing key worldwide markets. On this characteristic, we converse to Nuno Rocha, Head of Enterprise Growth for MENA, Lusophone, and Francophone markets at ONErpm. World Leaders is supported by SoundExchange.
ONErpm is making severe strikes throughout a number of the music business’s highest-potential rising markets.
The Nashville-headquartered music distribution and label companies firm has just lately appointed Nuno Rocha as Head of Enterprise Growth for Portugal, the Lusophone and Francophone African territories, and the MENA area – a promotion from his earlier function as Normal Supervisor of Portugal.
Beneath Rocha’s management, ONErpm is opening a brand new workplace this fall in Luanda, Angola’s capital, whereas strengthening its operations in Morocco and Tunisia and accelerating development in Egypt.
The corporate’s Portuguese workplace, working in collaboration with ONErpm’s advertising workforce in Brazil, is actively supporting all Lusophone territories throughout Africa.
“We’re dedicated to creating regional hubs that work in an built-in method, however with enough autonomy to adapt methods,” says Rocha, commenting on the corporate’s enlargement technique. “As well as, we’re very targeted on shopper knowledge and insights, which assist us perceive rising developments and act shortly.”
Previous to becoming a member of ONErpm, Rocha was the proprietor of DJ Selektion, a label below Vidisco, the place he collaborated with artists together with Fats Joe, Fatman Scoop, Vitor Kley, Mc Fioti, DubVision, Daniel Santacruz, Pedro Cazanova, and Boy Teddy.
He additionally performed a key function in organizing a few of Portugal’s most outstanding music festivals, together with RFM Seaside Energy, in partnership with the nation’s largest radio station.
Since becoming a member of ONErpm, Rocha has been instrumental in signing prime expertise to the corporate, together with MAGIC, Yuri de Cunha, Firebeatz, and Badoxa.
Beneath his management, Hélio Batalha earned three main awards on the 2025 Cabo Verde Music Awards, whereas Portugal’s Badoxa surpassed 90 million YouTube views and 60 million streams.
Portuguese band VIZINHOS, in the meantime, shaped in 2025, has shortly turn out to be one of many nation’s largest breakout acts, amassing over 90 million streams throughout platforms.
Additionally they held the No.1 spot on Spotify in Portugal for greater than 100 days with their hit single Pôr do Sol.
In Angola, the place ONErpm is now launching a devoted workplace, the corporate has already performed a pivotal function in creating the native music business.
The corporate factors to Chelsea Dinorath as a standout success story – she joined as an rising artist and has since racked up greater than 36 million YouTube views and over 270,000 subscribers.
In Egypt, Rocha works alongside Nayrouz Abouzid, who ONErpm says has been a driving pressure behind a number of the nation’s stand-out rising stars.
Amongst them are Shahyn, DJ Mubarak (whose streams ONErpm says “skyrocketed by 760,000% in simply 5 months”, and Mond, who reached 61 million streams in 4 months.
Along with his expertise in enterprise growth, Rocha tells us that his background within the music business has all the time been linked to “the enlargement of artists and types within the music business”.
“Our technique is constructed on proximity, personalization, and robust native partnerships.”
Nuno Rocha, ONERPM
“I’ve labored in numerous areas, from artist administration to digital distribution, which has given me a broad perspective on the ecosystem,” he tells us.
“I labored on worldwide initiatives, serving to artists place themselves in new markets and maximize their potential via personalized advertising and distribution methods.
“Becoming a member of ONErpm was a pure step, as a result of the corporate shares precisely this philosophy of empowering artists with instruments, knowledge, and a worldwide community of execs who actually perceive the particularities of every territory.”
Right here, Rocha discusses ONErpm’s enlargement technique throughout Portuguese-speaking and French-speaking Africa and the Center East, the corporate’s new Angola workplace, and why he believes the subsequent huge international music pattern will emerge from cultural crossovers in these territories…
You’re main operations in Portugal, Portuguese-speaking and French-speaking Africa, and the Center East — an enormous area. What’s your technique for managing these markets?
Our technique is constructed on proximity, personalization, and robust native partnerships.
Every of those markets has very totally different cultural and financial dynamics, so it’s important to have native groups who know the terrain, the audiences, and the media. The aim is to be agile, related, and culturally related in every market.
How is ONErpm performing in these markets, and what’s the outlook for the subsequent 12 to 24 months?
Development has been very constructive. In a number of of those territories, ONErpm is gaining a number one place as a accomplice of selection for unbiased artists. Over the subsequent 12 to 24 months, we need to consolidate this presence by opening new places of work, strengthening groups, and investing in native and regional advertising.
“The aim is just not solely to distribute music, however to construct sustainable ecosystems that permit artists to thrive regionally and broaden globally.”
The aim is just not solely to distribute music, however to construct sustainable ecosystems that permit artists to thrive regionally and broaden globally.
What’s the largest problem artists in these markets face at present?
Certainly, the dearth of construction and entry to skilled sources. Many artists have extraordinary expertise, however face challenges reminiscent of restricted technical means, lack of strategic administration, and little worldwide visibility.
ONErpm goals to bridge that hole by offering know-how, mentorship, and strategic assist that permit artists to compete on equal footing within the international market.
ONErpm is opening an workplace in Angola. Why Angola, and why now?
Angola is a vibrant market with a really sturdy music scene and a particularly digitally energetic viewers.
“Angola is a vibrant market with a really sturdy music scene and a particularly digitally energetic viewers.”
There’s a new technology of artists and producers rising with a novel sound that blends African, Portuguese-speaking, and international city influences.
We selected this second as a result of we really feel that the market is ripe for an expert construction that may internationalize these abilities, and ONErpm desires to be the accomplice that helps them take that leap.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt have gotten vital markets. What are the distinctive challenges of launching artists in these areas?
The principle challenges are cultural and regulatory. These are markets with a really particular sociocultural framework, which requires sensitivity and respect for native norms. On the similar time, there is a gigantic thirst for brand new experiences and sounds.
The problem lies in balancing authenticity with technique, serving to artists construct sustainable careers with out shedding their cultural identification.
The Portuguese workplace collaborates with the Brazilian workforce to assist Portuguese-speaking territories in Africa. What alternatives do you see within the connection between these markets?
This is without doubt one of the biggest benefits of our international community: the pure bridge between Brazil, Portugal, and Portuguese-speaking Africa. Portuguese and Brazilian music share a cultural and linguistic affinity that facilitates the circulation of artists.
We’re working to create synergies between groups, joint campaigns, and regional playlists that assist African artists attain Brazilian audiences—and vice versa.
We consider that the subsequent huge motion in Lusophone music will come exactly from this connection.
ONErpm has signed artists reminiscent of MAGIC and Yuri da Cunha. What do you search for while you determine to work with an artist?
Greater than numbers, we search for imaginative and prescient, consistency, and authenticity. We wish artists who know who they’re and need to construct a long-term profession.
“Greater than numbers, we search for imaginative and prescient, consistency, and authenticity.”
ONErpm steps in when there’s a strong challenge with identification and potential to develop via a transparent technique. We work facet by facet with the artist—it’s not simply distribution, it’s profession growth.
Chelsea Dinorath went from being an rising artist to 36 million views on YouTube below your administration. What was the technique for highlighting an Angolan artist in a traditionally uncared for market?
The important thing was understanding the viewers and staying true to the native tradition. We targeted on a robust, constant visible narrative and genuine communication, aligned with Chelsea’s persona.
We labored strategically with digital media, viewers segmentation, funding in natural content material, and collaboration with native influencers. From there, we created momentum: visibility generates alternative, and alternative generates scale. Right this moment, Chelsea is an instance of how native expertise can obtain international recognition with the precise technique.
Saudi Arabia is investing closely in leisure. What alternatives does this create for the music business?
It’s a cultural revolution in progress. Private and non-private funding is opening doorways for festivals, occasions, and trendy music infrastructure. For artists and corporations like ONErpm, this implies new alternatives for collaboration, distribution, and native manufacturing.
Saudi Arabia’s younger viewers is extremely related and curious — fertile floor for the expansion of worldwide and regional music.
The place do you see the subsequent huge music pattern rising within the territories you cowl?
I see an explosion of hybrid sounds coming from Africa — particularly Portuguese-speaking and French-speaking Africa — and the Center East.
There’s a pure fusion between conventional rhythms and trendy manufacturing that’s creating one thing contemporary, international, and extremely exportable. I consider that the subsequent huge international hits will come from these cultural crossovers.
What does success imply to you?
Success is seeing artists develop sustainably, sustaining their authenticity and making a dwelling from their artwork. For me, it’s also about constructing a construction that continues to generate alternatives for future generations.
If you happen to might change one factor within the music business, what would it not be and why?
It will change the inequality of entry to info and sources. There may be nonetheless an enormous hole between artists from massive facilities and people from rising markets. Democratizing entry — to knowledge, coaching, instruments, and alternatives — is crucial for expertise to talk louder than context. That’s precisely the mission that drives me at ONErpm.
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