NIGERIAN ARTISTS EARN N25 BILLION ON SPOTIFY IN 2023
Africa’s Music Scene Explodes
- Sub-Saharan Africa’s music revenue is the world’s fastest-growing, with a staggering 24.7% increase (IFPI report, 2024).
- Paid streaming services surge, contributing 24.5% of revenue – surpassing 20% growth only in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Nigeria Leads the Charge
- Nigeria, with its massive population and renowned artists, plays a key role in Africa’s music growth.
- Streaming platforms like Spotify empower artists to reach global audiences and earn from their music.
Spotify’s Loud & Clear Report Highlights Nigerian Music Success
- Spotify’s royalty payments to Nigerian artists doubled in 2023, exceeding 25 billion NGN (2,500% increase since 2017).
- The number of Nigerian artists earning over 10 million NGN quadrupled since 2018.
- Over half of these royalties went to independent artists, showcasing streaming’s democratizing effect.
- Spotify listeners discovered Nigerian artists nearly 950 million times in 2023.
- Nigerian artists dominated Nigeria’s daily top 50 chart in 2023, owning over 80% of the tracks.
- Spotify actively promoted Nigerian artists, adding over 1,400 to editorial playlists in 2023.
Spotify Committed to Supporting African Creators
- Spotify sees the talent and global appeal of Nigerian artists and aims to amplify their voices.
- The platform is committed to supporting African creators’ success and will continue investing in them.
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
This summary highlights the booming African music scene, particularly in Nigeria, fueled by the rise of streaming services. It emphasizes Spotify’s role in supporting this growth and its dedication to empowering African artists.
