Nigerian artists income doubles, hits N58bn in 2024

Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Managing Director for Spotify Africa, revealed that Spotify paid Nigerian artists over N58 billion in royalties for 2024. This figure, more than double the amount paid in 2023 and five times greater than in 2022, headlines Spotify’s 2024 Loud & Clear report, released this week, underscoring the platform’s growing impact on the Nigerian music industry.

Muhutu-Remy during the Spotify Loud and Clear Breakfast event held at Sky Restaurant, Eko Hotel, highlighted the significance of these payouts, noting that they reflect the rising global demand for Nigerian music and Spotify’s commitment to supporting artists.

In a fireside chat with Joey Akan, founder of Afrobeats Intelligence, Muhutu-Remy, unveiled the remarkable growth and global influence of Nigerian music on the streaming platform.

The discussion shed light on the platform’s pivotal role in amplifying Nigerian artists worldwide and the economic opportunities and challenges within the industry.

Nigerian music’s global reach

Muhutu-Remy revealed that approximately 250 million playlists worldwide feature Nigerian artists, predominantly curated and driven by global listeners. She emphasised the power of user-generated and editorial playlists in boosting artist discovery, noting that new Nigerian artists were discovered 1 billion times worldwide on Spotify.

“Discovery is an essential feature of streaming, and Spotify is particularly good at helping artists be discovered,” she said. “It means that if you’re in Oslo, in Tokyo, or wherever, you can discover or listen to a Nigerian artist for the first time. This is the mainstreaming and normalising of our sounds in people’s lives worldwide.”

This global embrace is further evidenced by the 11 million hours spent by listeners worldwide streaming Nigerian artists in 2024. Over the past three years, exports of Nigerian music have surged by 49 percent, signaling that more Nigerian artists are finding audiences beyond their home country.