That is Observe the Cash, our weekly collection that unpacks the earnings, enterprise, and scaling methods of African fintechs, monetary establishments, corporations, and governments. A brand new version drops each Monday.
Nigerian artists have earned over ₦143 billion ($105.62 million) from Spotify since 2023, with annual revenues rising over the interval. However that development is starting to stall, and the explanation might lie in the place the streams are coming from.
In accordance with Spotify’s annual Loud & Clear report, Nigerian artists’ earnings have grown by 140% in three years, however between 2024 and 2025, development was solely 3.45%.
2025: The Plateau
+3.45% YoY
Regardless of native streams leaping by 170%, general income barely moved. Why? Nigerian streams pay out considerably lower than worldwide ones attributable to decrease subscription prices (~$1.17 vs. ~$13.78 within the West).
On the identical time, native consumption of Nigerian music jumped by 170% in 2025, indicating that extra streams at the moment are coming from Nigeria.
Nigerian artists are incomes extra from Spotify than ever, however the development is slowing, and the place the streams are coming from explains why. As Nigerian listeners drive a surge in native consumption, they’re additionally dragging down the worth of every stream, exposing a core pressure within the economics of world music streaming.
Spotify doesn’t pay a set fee per play. It distributes income based mostly on how a lot cash is generated in every market. As streams start to tilt in the direction of Nigeria, the place subscription costs are among the many lowest globally, the payout per stream falls.
The economics of a Nigerian stream
Streaming is now the dominant income supply for recorded music, accounting for 69.6% of world trade revenues in 2025, in line with the Worldwide Federation of the Phonographic Business (IFPI), the worldwide physique for the recording trade worldwide.
However as Nigerian artists begin to get extra streams at dwelling, low subscription spend caps how a lot they’ll make.
In 2025, Nigerian artists generated ₦60 billion from 30.3 billion streams. That interprets to roughly ₦1.98 per stream.
Whereas the platform didn’t disclose the entire variety of streams in 2024 and 2023, a million streams in Nigeria generate simply $300, whereas the identical streams in Sweden are price as much as $10,000, in line with this 2025 report.
“Even when an artist has 10 million followers in Nigeria,” media professional Akíntúndé Babátúndé wrote on this LinkedIn submit, “They may nonetheless earn lower than somebody with only one million followers in a high-income nation.”
The distinction comes right down to Spotify’s territorial pricing mannequin. Subscription charges fluctuate by nation, and payouts are tied to income generated in every market.
In Nigeria, Spotify’s premium plan prices round ₦1,600 ($1.17) month-to-month. In Sweden, the place the corporate is headquartered, subscriptions price about $13.78. Decrease subscription charges imply smaller income swimming pools, which translate into decrease payouts per stream.
Spotify royalties are distributed based mostly on an artist’s share of whole streams inside a market.
“If an artist accounts for 1% of all streams in a selected nation, their chosen rightsholder(s) obtain 1% of the recording royalties we pay there,” the streaming platform stated.
Spotify doesn’t pay artists instantly. It pays out roughly two-thirds of each greenback it generates from music streaming to rights holders. Earlier than artists obtain their share, that cash flows by means of labels, distributors, publishers, and collective administration organisations.
Spotify has paid out $30 billion globally between 2023 and 2025, and Nigerian artists have accounted for simply 0.36% of that whole.
World Spotify Payouts
Regular, compounding development in a mature market.
The Baseline: Globally, Spotify’s payout pool grows at a extremely predictable fee of roughly 10% to 11% year-over-year, pushed by high-value subscriptions in Western markets.
Spotify’s international payouts have grown by about 22.22% since 2023. On the continent, Nigeria’s development is quicker than South Africa’s. South Africa’s 2025 Spotify earnings figures haven’t been launched, however artists’ earnings grew by 56.25% between 2023 and 2024.
South Africa Spotify Payouts
Explosive early-stage market development.
The System Perception: Not like the mature international market, South Africa skilled a large 56.25% income surge between 2023 and 2024. The ecosystem is ready to see if 2025 information sustains this momentum.
Whereas Nigeria’s earnings are rising, South Africa stays the area’s largest market. Sub-Saharan Africa generated $120 million in recorded music income in 2025, with South Africa accounting for 78.1% of that whole, in line with IFPI.
Who’s ‘capturing’ the cash?
About 58% of Spotify royalties earned by Nigerian artists in 2025 went to impartial artists and labels. Impartial artists sometimes produce and distribute their music by themselves with out utilizing document labels. In accordance with this report, Nigerian artists underneath this class embody Ric Hassani, Kizz Daniel, and Nasboi.
On the identical time, three main distribution gamers—Empire, Sony, and Common Music Group—accounted for 68% of Nigeria’s whole streaming quantity, highlighting the continued dominance of world music corporations.
Spotify didn’t disclose particular person artist earnings, nevertheless it stated the variety of Nigerian artists incomes over ₦10 million ($7,386) yearly in royalties has continued to develop since 2018.
Globally, the variety of artists who generated over $1,000 in royalties on Spotify rose to 303,200 in 2025.
127,100 are within the over $5,000 bucket, and over 81,100 are within the over $10,000 bucket. Solely 80 artists are within the over $10 million bucket, Spotify’s highest tier.
Scale with out proportional worth
Past payouts, the attain of Nigerian music continues to increase quickly.
Nigerian artists recorded 1.6 billion listening hours on Spotify final yr. They have been found by first-time listeners greater than 1.3 billion instances, a 26% improve from 2024. Native consumption of Nigerian artists is up by 170% on Spotify alone.
“Nigeria’s music story continues to be considered one of creativity, innovation, and international cultural affect,” stated Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Managing Director, Spotify in Africa, in a press release.
At dwelling, Nigerian music dominated consumption. Native artists accounted for over 80% of tracks on Spotify Nigeria’s Every day High 50. Streams of Nigerian feminine artists grew by 55%, whereas indie artists noticed a 75% improve in native streams.
Globally, Nigerian music appeared in practically 320 million consumer playlists and over 12 million playlists regionally. Greater than 60 million playlists that includes Nigerian artists have been created in the course of the yr. Practically 2,000 editorial playlists included Nigerian music.
“Africa is a regional market the place, when nice music breaks, it really goes international,” stated Simon Robson, President, EMEA, Recorded Music, Warner Music Group, in IFPI’s 2026 international music report.
Streaming has made Nigerian music extra accessible than ever. However it is usually exposing a structural downside: low-value markets generate low-value streams.
As listening continues to shift inward, income development is predicted to proceed stalling.
Nonetheless, Nigerian artists are more and more utilizing streaming as a discovery engine moderately than the first supply of earnings. They’re changing streams into touring, model offers, and different income streams the place the economics are stronger.
Elevate your perspective with NextTech Information, the place innovation meets perception.
Uncover the newest breakthroughs, get unique updates, and join with a world community of future-focused thinkers.
Unlock tomorrow’s developments right this moment: learn extra, subscribe to our publication, and turn into a part of the NextTech group at NextTech-news.com
