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This cultural exportation currently taking place thanks to Afrobeats’ prevalence in mainstream global media is the focus of this week’s update to Spotify’s Afrobeats: Journey of a Billion Streams site.
Launched by Spotify last month to chronicle Afrobeats’ growth from West Africa to the global stages, the site has so far journeyed through Afrobeats' origins in Ghana and Nigeria, the evolution into the current sound, and its fusion with other genres.
Latest Update on Spotify’s Afrobeats: Journey of a Billion Streams site
Afrobeats' surge in popularity can be linked to several factors including international collaborations, the power of social media, the rise in music streaming, and the African diaspora.
According to Spotify-commissioned research conducted by Kuvora, 28% of fans believe that international collaborations are one of the key factors driving the growth of Afrobeats.
The findings from the research and a deep-dive article into Afrobeats as a tool for cultural export are included in this week’s site update. The experts are back, sharing insights into the globalization of Afrobeats. This week’s videos feature:
- Benewaah Boateng, Spotify’s West Africa Editor
- Efya, a Ghanaian artist
- Seyi Shay, a Nigerian singer and songwriter
- Kofi Bansah, a Ghanaian music producer
- Obi Asika, CEO of Storm Records, one of Nigeria’s pioneer music labels
- May7ven, a UK-based Afrobeats artist and pioneer
Afrobeats and streaming
Thanks to music streaming, African creators can now earn from their art as Spotify exposes them to 550 million active users on the platform, resulting in new audiences and more streams for the artists.
According to Spotify's recently launched annual report, "Loud & Clear", made increased transparency in the music industry by sharing data on Spotify’s royalty payments and breaking down the global streaming economy, Afrobeats artists are set to enjoy an increased payday on the platform.
In 2022, revenues generated by Nigerian artists from Spotify alone reached over 11,000,000,000 NGN. While Nigerian music industry revenues overall have grown 63% from 2021 to 2022 (according to IFPI), revenues generated by Nigerian artists – from Spotify alone – grew 74% over this same period.
The number of Nigerian artists who generated more than 5M NGN and 10M NGN in royalties from Spotify alone has increased by nearly 25% over the last year.
Other data updates
In addition to the data on the revenues generated by Nigerian artists, there are also new data on:
- Top exported Afrobeats albums
- Top exported Afrobeats artists
- Top exported Afrobeats tracks
- Top exported female Afrobeats tracks
Some of the top cities, outside of Lagos, where Afrobeats is getting the most streams are London, Paris, Abuja, Nairobi, Amsterdam, and Accra.
Readers can get the latest updates on Spotify's Afrobeats website.