Spotify paid out $59 million to Nigerian and South African artists in 2024, reflecting a major leap in earnings. Driven by international listeners, African music exports surged, with Nigerian and South African acts now appearing in hundreds of millions of playlists globally. Spotify’s influence on African artists continues to grow rapidly.
Spotify significantly boosted its royalty payouts to Nigerian and South African artists in 2024, reaching a combined $59 million. This milestone highlights the growing global influence of African music, particularly from its two largest markets on the continent.
The streaming giant revealed that it distributed $10 billion in royalties worldwide last year. While African music still represents a small portion of its vast catalog, the demand for hits from stars like Nigeria’s Burna Boy and South Africa’s Tyla is surging internationally.
Spotify’s data, released on April 3, showed that Nigerian artists collectively earned over 58 billion naira (around $38 million), more than double their earnings from 2023. Meanwhile, South African musicians received approximately 400 million rand ($21 million), marking a 54% increase from the previous year.
International audiences have been key to this growth. Nigerian music exports have grown 49% over the past three years, while South Africa’s exports soared by 104% in the same period. Today, Nigerian artists feature in over 250 million user-generated playlists, with South African acts appearing in more than 220 million.
Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, praised the progress, noting more mid-level and emerging artists are now making a sustainable living through streaming.
In Nigeria alone, the number of artists earning over 10 million naira annually from Spotify doubled last year and has tripled since 2022. Similarly, in South Africa, the number of artists earning between 100,000 and 500,000 rand doubled over the past three years.
