Nairobi News

Since 2022, the number of South African and Nigerian artists who have become millionaires from Spotify royalty payments has doubled and tripled, respectively.
The digital service provider (DPS) announced that the number of Nigerian artists earning Naira 10 million (Sh810,000) annually from their royalties has tripled since 2022. The same is true for South Africans, who now earn between R100,000 (Sh664,000) and R500,000 (Sh3.3 million) annually from Spotify.
This financial success is fueled by an exploding global appetite for African sounds, especially Amapiano and Afrobeats. Spotify reports that 250 million user-generated playlists worldwide now feature at least one Nigerian artist, while 220 million playlists feature South African artists. This deep integration into the listening habits of global audiences is driving significant export growth – Nigeria has seen a 49% increase in music exports over the past three years, while South Africa has seen an impressive 104% increase.
Nigeria and South Africa are currently Spotify’s largest African markets, with Kenya a distant third, although it is still considered an emerging market.
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), there are now 752 million premium streaming subscribers worldwide, up 10.4 percent from last year, with subscription streaming generating $20.4 billion (Sh2.6 trillion) in total revenue – up 9.5 percent from 2023.
Spotify, of course, delivered a big chunk of that – both in terms of revenue and subscribers – with a total revenue of €15.7 billion (Sh2.2 trillion) in 2024, supported by 263 million premium subscribers at the end of last year. In 2024, Spotify paid out $59 million to artists from Nigeria, and Southern Nigerian artists received $38 million in royalties last year, more than double the 2023 figure. Much of that came from outside their home markets.