Nigerian artistes generated more than ₦60 billion in revenue from music streaming on Spotify in 2025, according to the platform’s latest Loud & Clear annual report released to mark its 20th anniversary.
The report, which offers insights into how musicians earn income from streaming, shows that earnings by Nigerian artistes on the platform have grown rapidly in recent years, reflecting the expanding global reach of the country’s music industry.
According to the data, revenue generated by Nigerian artistes on Spotify increased by more than 140 per cent over the past two years, signalling rising global demand for Nigerian music and improved financial opportunities for creators.
Audience engagement also recorded significant growth. In 2025 alone, Nigerian artistes accumulated about 30.3 billion streams and 1.6 billion listening hours on the platform. During the same period, their songs were discovered by more than 1.3 billion first-time listeners, representing a 26 per cent increase compared with 2024.
Despite the international success of Nigerian music, the report indicates that its popularity within the country is also growing.
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In 2025, Nigerian artistes accounted for more than 80 per cent of songs featured on Spotify Nigeria’s Daily Top 50 chart, highlighting the dominance of local talent in shaping listening habits among Nigerian audiences.
Local consumption of Nigerian music on the platform also rose sharply, recording a 170 per cent year-on-year increase.
Commenting on the findings, Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Managing Director of Spotify in Africa, said the figures underscore the global cultural influence of Nigerian music.
“Nigeria’s music story continues to be one of creativity, innovation and global cultural influence. What we’re seeing is a market where talent is not only reaching new audiences around the world, but also building deeper connections at home.
“For us, Loud & Clear is an opportunity to spotlight the evolving pathways artistes are taking to build sustainable careers, and to show the many ways Nigerian creators are shaping the future of music.”
The report also highlights rising performance across different segments of the industry, particularly among female and independent artistes.
Local streams of Nigerian female artistes increased by 55 per cent year-on-year, while streams of independent Nigerian artistes grew by 75 per cent over the same period.
Independent creators and labels generated a substantial share of earnings, accounting for about 58 per cent of all royalties earned by Nigerian artistes on Spotify in 2025.
Spotify’s editorial playlists also contributed to expanding the reach of Nigerian music. Nearly 2,000 Nigerian artistes were featured on the platform’s editorial playlists during the year, helping them connect with wider audiences.
Globally, Nigerian artistes appeared in almost 320 million user-generated playlists, while more than 12 million playlists were created in Nigeria alone. Overall, more than 60 million playlists featuring Nigerian artistes were created on Spotify in 2025.
The report further suggests that Nigeria’s listening culture is diversifying beyond Afrobeats. Over the past five years, the fastest-growing genres on Spotify in the country include pop urbaine, alternative pop, anime, emo and drill, reflecting changing tastes among younger audiences.
The Loud & Clear report also shows that streaming is becoming an increasingly important source of income for Nigerian artistes.
In 2024, Nigerian artistes generated over ₦58 billion in royalties from Spotify, more than double the ₦25 billion recorded in 2023 and about five times the estimated ₦11 billion earned in 2022.
Streaming activity within Nigeria has also surged significantly, with local listening increasing by 206 per cent year-on-year in 2024 and by 782 per cent over three years. International streams of Nigerian music also rose by 49 per cent during the same period.
The number of Nigerian artistes earning at least ₦10 million annually from Spotify has also grown sharply, more than doubling since 2023 and tripling compared with 2022.
Globally, Spotify reported paying more than $11 billion in royalties in 2025, bringing its cumulative payouts to nearly $70 billion to the music industry. About 13,800 artistes earned at least $100,000, while more than 1,500 artistes generated over $1 million from streams on the platform.
The report also notes that opportunities are expanding for more musicians. The 100,000th highest-earning artiste on Spotify earned about $7,300 in 2025, compared with roughly $350 a decade earlier.
Around half of all royalties were paid to independent and DIY artistes, while more than 50 per cent of earnings came from international listeners. Spotify also helped generate more than $1.5 billion in global concert ticket sales.
Nigeria’s Streaming Stars
Although Spotify does not disclose individual royalty payments, streaming figures offer insights into the country’s most popular artistes on the platform.
Among the most-streamed Nigerian artistes are Wizkid, Seyi Vibez, Asake, Burna Boy, Odumodublvck, BNXN, Davido, Rema and Olamide.
Among female artistes, Ayra Starr ranks as the most-streamed female act in Nigeria, alongside globally recognised stars such as Tems.
Internationally, Nigerian artistes including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Rema, Tems and Ayra Starr continue to dominate streaming charts worldwide.
Rema’s hit song Calm Down featuring Selena Gomez remains the most-exported Nigerian song globally, holding that position for three consecutive years.
In terms of cumulative Spotify streams, Wizkid leads Nigerian artistes with approximately 7.1 billion streams, followed by Burna Boy with about 6.7 billion streams.
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