Nigerian artists earn over N60bn from Spotify in 2025

SPOTIFY has released Nigeria-focused insights from its annual Loud & Clear report, highlighting the financial and cultural impact of streaming on the country’s music industry.

The report, which analyses millions of streaming data points each year, is designed to help artists, fans and industry stakeholders better understand how revenue flows through the music streaming economy. In Nigeria, the latest findings show a rapidly expanding music ecosystem where artists are gaining audiences locally while increasingly reaching listeners across the globe.

According to the report, Nigerian artists generated more than N60 billion in revenue from Spotify alone in 2025, representing an increase of over 140 percent in the last two years. The figures underscore the rising global popularity of Nigerian music and the growing financial opportunities available to artists in the industry.

Listener engagement with Nigerian music on the platform also continued to surge. Nigerian artists recorded 30.3 billion streams and 1.6 billion hours of listening on Spotify in 2025. In addition, they were discovered by new listeners more than 1.3 billion times, a 26 percent rise compared with 2024.

READ ALSO: Burna Boy becomes first African artiste to gross $1m from single concert in Oceania

Within Nigeria, local music maintained a dominant presence on the platform. Nigerian artists accounted for over 80 percent of songs on Spotify Nigeria’s Daily Top 50 in 2025, reflecting the strong influence of homegrown talent on the country’s listening habits. At the same time, streams of Nigerian artists by local listeners rose 170 percent year-on-year.

Commenting on the report, Managing Director for Spotify in Africa, Ms Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, said Nigeria’s music industry continues to demonstrate creativity and global cultural influence.

She noted that Nigerian artists are not only attracting new audiences internationally but are also building stronger connections with listeners at home. According to her, the Loud & Clear initiative helps illustrate how artists are developing sustainable careers while shaping the future of music.

Female and independent artists’ streams

The report also highlights strong growth among different artist groups. Streams of Nigerian female artists within the local market increased 55 percent year-on-year, while local streams of Nigerian independent artists rose 75 percent over the same period.

Independent creators also accounted for a significant share of earnings. About 58 percent of the royalties generated by Nigerian artists on Spotify in 2025 went to independent artists or labels, underscoring the growing role of independent players in the country’s music ecosystem.

READ ALSO: Van Dijk hands UK nearly £10m in tax as Premier League stars dominate top taxpayer list

Spotify’s editorial platform also played a key role in artist discovery. Nearly 2,000 Nigerian artists were added to Spotify’s editorial playlists in 2025, helping expose their music to wider audiences.

Globally, Nigerian artists continued to feature prominently in user-generated playlists. They appeared in almost 320 million playlists worldwide and more than 12 million playlists within Nigeria. Overall, over 60 million playlists featuring Nigerian artists were created on Spotify in 2025.

The data also reflects changing music tastes among Nigerian listeners. Over the past 5 years, the fastest-growing genres on Spotify in Nigeria include pop urbaine, alternative pop, anime, emo and drill, pointing to a music culture that is becoming increasingly diverse.

Spotify said the latest Loud & Clear data shows that Nigerian artists are gaining stronger momentum both domestically and internationally, while also generating increasing economic value from streaming on the platform.