South African Artists Have Made Nearly R256 Million On Spotify

Spotify launched its annual report, Loud & Clear, to increase transparency in the music industry by sharing data on Spotify’s royalty payments and breaking down the global streaming economy, the players, and the process. For the second year, Spotify is releasing data on earnings specifically for South African artists on the platform.

These are the key figures from Spotify’s 2024 Loud & Clear Report on the South African music industry: 

• In 2023, royalties generated by South African artists from Spotify alone reached nearly R256 million, reflecting a nearly 240% increase since 2019 and a more than 500% increase since 2017. 
• In 2023, South African artists were discovered by first-time listeners over 735 million times on Spotify.
• The number of South African artists generating over R100,000 in royalties from Spotify alone has grown more than 5x since 2018.
• In 2023, nearly 2,800 South African artists were added to editorial playlists on Spotify.

“South African artists’ streaming revenues on Spotify keep growing every year, a true testament of 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. 

Amapiano is the most popular 

Amapiano is South Africa’s biggest musical export. Spotify’s on-platform data shows that the genre is not slowing down anytime soon: 

• There has been an uptick in local music consumption in South Africa, growing by 101% in 2023
• The industry is still male-dominated but female artists are gaining pace. Average streams for female artists year on year increased by 49% in 2023
• Amapiano tracks have been added to over 14 million playlists. The 2023 vs 2018 growth is 566%