Spotify’s Loud & Clear reveals Naija artists’ streaming royalties exceed N25B in 2023
Africa’s music scene isn’t just growing – it’s exploding! Across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), established stars are pushing boundaries, while sounds like Afrobeats and Amapiano continue to captivate audiences worldwide.
This explosion is more than just a trend, it’s backed by impressive numbers. According to the 2024 IFPI report, the Sub-Saharan Africa market boasts the world’s fastest-music growing revenue with a staggering 24.7% growth increase.
This growth is fueled by a surge in paid streaming services, which now contributes 24.5% of the revenue. Notably, Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region surpassing 20% growth.
The Nigerian music revolution: Powered by streaming
Nigeria, sometimes referred to as the Giant of Africa, has undoubtedly contributed massively to this growth. With a population of approximately 230 million and being home to some of Africa’s biggest artists, the country’s music scene is a force to be reckoned with. Streaming platforms like Spotify have been a game-changer, allowing artists to reach audiences beyond their borders and benefit financially from their craft.
Spotify launched its annual report, Loud & Clear, to increase transparency in the music industry by sharing data on Spotify’s royalty payments and breaking down the global streaming economy, the players and the process. For the second year in a row, Spotify is releasing the data on earnings specifically for Nigerian artists on the platform.
Here are the key figures from Spotify’s 2024 Loud & Clear Report on the Nigerian music streaming:
Streaming royalties for Nigerian artists on Spotify alone exceeded 25 billion NGN in 2023, double the prior year. (2,500% increase since 2017)
The number of Nigerian artists earning over 10 million NGN in royalties quadrupled since 2018
Over half of these royalties went to independent artists or labels, showcasing the democratizing power of streaming
Spotify listeners discovered Nigerian artists nearly 950 million times in 2023
Nigerian artists own over 80% of the tracks featured on Nigeria’s daily top 50 chart in 2023
Over 1,400 Nigerian artists added to Spotify editorial playlists in 2023
“The significant growth in royalties earned by Nigerian artists on our platform is a powerful testament to their talent, creativity, and global appeal. We’re proud to amplify their voices and fuel the Nigerian music revolution. As a leader in the streaming economy, we’re committed to supporting African creators to make a living from their art and we’ll continue to invest further in African artists to ensure this momentum continues,” says Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Beyond Afrobeats: A genre revolution
While Afrobeats remains the king, Nigeria’s music scene is experiencing a genre revolution. Spotify data reveals an increase in popularity across local genres: Homegrown genres like Highlife (up 224%), Igbo Pop (up 303%), and Fuji (up 187%) are experiencing significant increase in listenership in the last 12 months
Highlife, Fuji, and Igbo Pop also saw listenership increase in Q1 2024 growing by 240%, 175%, and 270% respectively compared to Q1 2023
Top Artists: Fuji king K1 De Ultimate remains on top, while Highlife finds new life with Umu Obiligbo’s energy and Phyno for Igbo Pop
Top Tracks: Fuji gets a fresh spin with Adewale Ayuba’s Koloba Koloba, Highlife goes nostalgic with Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe’s Nwanem Ebezina and Igbo Pop gets a vibrant boost with KCee’s Ojapiano
Men dominate listeners of local music genres like Fuji (85%), Highlife (89%), and Igbo Pop (81%). However, Gen Z (aged 18-24) is the leading age group across all the three genres, making up 32% of Fuji listeners, 31% of Highlife listeners, and 46% of Igbo Pop listeners
Interestingly, cities like Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Katsina all top the charts for streaming these local genres – Fuji, Highlife, and Igbo Pop
The top 5 exported music genres from Nigeria are Afrobeats, Nigerian Pop, Afropop, Nigerian Hip Hop and Afro R&B