African music continues to take the world by storm.
This according to Spotify’s annual report, Loud & Clear.
The music streaming platform launched its report to increase transparency in the music industry. This is done by sharing data on Spotify’s royalty payments, which further breaks down the global streaming economy, the players and the process.
In elating news, the report reveals that amapiano and Afrobeats and the genres’ artists have reached previously unprecedented heights for African music.
Due to its infectious beats and dance moves, amapiano is the most popular music exported from South Africa and, according to data from Spotify’s on-platform analytics, the genre is not about to slow down.
There has been an uptick in local music consumption in SA, growing by 101% in 2023.
Although male artists dominate the industry, female artists are catching up; in 2023, average streaming for female artists climbed by 49% year on year.
Amapiano tracks have been added to more than 14 million playlists. The 2023 versus 2018 growth is 566%.
Spotify’s 2024 Loud & Clear Report on the South African music business reveals that:
* Spotify brought in around R256 million in royalties for South African musicians in 2023, up by more than 500% from 2017 and nearly 240% from 2019.
* Almost 735 million new listeners found South African musicians on Spotify in 2023.
* On Spotify, the number of South African artists earning more than R100 000 in royalties has increased by more than five times since 2018.
* Spotify-curated playlists featured more than 2 800 artists from South Africa in 2023.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) 2024 report also reveals that the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) music industry is the only region where revenues’ growth surpassed 20%, making it the fastest-growing.
SSA’s overall revenue grew by 24.7%, which was fuelled by a surge in paid streaming revenues that contributed 24.5% of the revenues.
IFPI further reveals that South Africa remains the largest market in sub-Saharan Africa, growing by 19.9% to contribute 77% of the total regional revenue.
Several factors have contributed to the growth, key among them is internet penetration and, in tandem, music streaming. With streaming platforms like Spotify, artists are able to cross borders, widen their fan bases and make a living from their art.
“South African artists’ streaming revenues on Spotify keep growing every year, a true testament to their immense talent. It’s a privilege to continue supporting them, in keeping with our vision of ensuring all professional artists can make a living off their art,” says Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify’s SSA managing director.
Saturday Star
anita.nkonki@inl.co.za