Lagos, Nigeria — Spotify, di global audio streaming giant, don increase royalty payments wey dem dey pay artists for Africa, as e show say people dey ginger for di continent’s music. Dis move come as Nigeria and South Africa, di two biggest market for Spotify for Africa, don see beta growth.
For 2024, Spotify don pay around $59 million in royalties to artists from dis two countries, wey show say African music dey gain commercial viability for di platform, according to report from Reuters.
Worldwide, Spotify disbursed a massive $10 billion in royalties last year. Even though Africa still dey hold small share for di global streaming market, di continent dey rise sharply. Popular artists like Nigeria’s Burna Boy don help carry di sound of African music go global.
Di growing interest for African music dey show for user engagement too. Currently, about 250 million playlists wey users create get at least one Nigerian artist, while South Africa dey contribute 220 million playlists. Dis one show how African music don dey blend with di global streaming ecosystem.
For Nigeria, di royalties see serious jump as dem receive over 58 billion naira (around $38 million) in 2024. Dis figure don more than double compared to last year. Also, di number of Nigerian artists wey dey earn at least 10 million naira each year don double year-on-year and don triple since 2022. Naij artists don also benefit from di growth of music wey dey export from di country.
In di last three years, di export growth rate for Nigerian artists don rise by 49 percent, showing say people dey jones for Nigerian music beyond di country. This na because of di global success of Afrobeat and other Nigerian genres.
South African artists no carry last too; dem don see increase in royalty wey reach 400 million rand ($21 million) for 2024, showing 54 percent increase year-on-year. Most of di revenue still dey come from foreign markets. In di past three years, di number of South African artists wey dey earn between 100,000 and 500,000 rand annually don double. Dis na good sign for emerging and mid-tier artists, fit show say di streaming model don dey make sense for dem.
Spotify earlier announce say di company’s monthly active users don grow by 35 million to hit 675 million by di end of December 2024, with a total of 11 million new subscribers, bringing dem to 263 million. Spotify revenue also don reach €4.2 billion, wey be 17 percent increase. For Q1 2025, dem dey forecast 678 million MAU, plus 265 million subscribers.
Di increase for di royalty payments show say Spotify dey serious about promoting African music globally. Di future dey bright for artists from Nigeria, South Africa, and oda emerging markets. Di streaming economy dey change how African artists dey fit gain from dia music, with more placements on playlists and rising exports indicating say di African music industry dey prepare for better days.
