Afrobeats Grows by 550% Streams on Spotify, with New Audiences Emerging in Mexico & India

Spotify has unveiled its highly anticipated 2023 Wrapped campaign, showcasing the year's most popular artists, songs, albums, and podcasts on the platform. Taylor Swift emerged as the most-streamed artist, amassing over 26 billion streams and ending Bad Bunny's three-year reign.

Swift also shattered the record for the most streams achieved within a single year on Spotify. Coming in at a strong second place is Bad Bunny, with around 18.5 billion streams. The Weeknd, Drake, and Peso Pluma follow closely behind, rounding out the top rankings.

Turning our attention to Nigeria - For the third year in a row, Nigerian artists and songs make up Nigeria’s top ten most streamed artists, in true showcase of Nigeria's pride in their own music. Asake leads as the most-streamed artist on Spotify. Following closely behind are Burna Boy, Davido, Seyi Vibez, and Omah Lay.

In 2023, Nigerian music took the world by storm, reaching unprecedented heights and breaking down barriers. Rema, one of the genre's brightest stars, has had an extraordinary rise to fame. His collaboration with American pop star Selena Gomez on the hit single Calm down has won him legions of fans worldwide and has become the first African-led single to reach a billion streams on Spotify.

A landmark achievement for African artists, this song is the first by a Nigerian Afrobeats artist to feature on the top 10 chart of most streamed recordings globally on Spotify. It also tops the Nigerian song export chart, solidifying its position as a global musical phenomenon.

Rema and Asake have also cemented their positions as Afrobeats' global ambassadors, with Rema holding the title of the most globally exported artist and Asake captivating audiences across Nigeria, Ghana, and Togo, earning him the coveted title of most streamed artist in each country. This continued international success further underscores the enduring appeal of Afrobeats as the most exported genre of the year.

Interestingly, Mohbad secured a position in the top 20 list of the most streamed artists in Nigeria, an attribute to an increased interest in his music following his untimely death. His track Ask About Me was the top streamed track everyday between 13th and 25th September.

On the top most streamed female artists, Spotify RADAR alumnus and 1st time Grammy Nominee, Ayra Starr clinched the title of the most streamed female artist in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Mercy Chinwo, a gospel artist, secured a spot among the top 10 most streamed female artists in Nigeria, underscoring the enduring popularity and influence of gospel music.

On top local podcasts in the hearts of Nigerian listeners, the spotlight falls on Apostle Joshua Selman, KOINONIA with Apostle Joshua Selman, The HonestBunch Podcast, I Said What I Said, Tea with Tay, and Koinonia Experience With Apostle Joshua Selman (ENI). The leading position of these podcast shows come as no surprise, given their widespread popularity among the youths, especially the Gen Zs and Millennials. Their popularity can also be attributed to their engaging and entertaining content, their keen awareness of trending subjects and their unfiltered and candid conversations.

Spotify delved deeper into music trends that defined this year, shedding light on genre-specific patterns that unfolded on the platform.

According to Spotify, Gen Z continues to embrace the genreless/genre-hybrid trend, refusing to be defined by only one genre, and instead moving seamlessly between sounds. They also embrace moods, looking for playlists and songs that best describe the mood or moment they’re in.

Also, Afrobeats remains one of the fastest-growing genres on Spotify, growing by 550% streams worldwide since 2017 with new audiences emerging in Mexico and India. In 2023, Rema’s “Calm Down” became the first Afrobeats artist-led track to hit a billion streams on Spotify. 

It further highlights Rema, Burna Boy, and Libianca as some of the top artists to be added to “Afrobeats” playlists this year.

Some data about Nigeria’s listening habits on Spotify in 2023 has it that:

• The demand for local music in Nigeria continued to skyrocket, with consumption growing by an impressive 284%

• Average streams of female artists in Nigeria experienced a remarkable 150% surge Year-on-Year

• Music lovers in Nigeria turn up the volume on Fridays, with 3 pm being the most popular time to indulge in their favourite tunes

• Rema topped the list of most searched queries, while Burna Boy topped the list of both most searched artists and most viral artists. Asake’s Lonely At The Top claimed the first spot on most viral tracks

Top Streamed artists in Spotify across Sub-Saharan Africa include:

1. Drake

2. Burna Boy

3. Asake

4. Davido

5. Omah Lay

6. The Weeknd

7. Rema

8. Chris Brown

9. Travis Scott

10. 21 Savage

Spotify rival, Apple Music also recently unveiled Replay campaign, its response to Spotify’s Wrapped, and it crowns 'Soso' by Omah Lay as Nigeria's most-streamed song. Closely followed by Asake's 'Lonely At The Top', Ruger's 'Asiwaju', Davido's 'Feel', and Victony's 'Soweto’.

Apple Music also reveals some of the most streamed songs across Sub-Saharan Africa which include:

1. Rush by Ayra Starr

2. Soweto by Victony 

3. Last Last by Burna Boy

4. People by Libianca

5. Mnike by Tyler ICU & Tumelo.za

6. Ku Lo Sa by Oxlade

7. Asiwaju by Ruger

8. Bandana by Fireboy & Asake

9. Calm Down by Rema

10. Soso by Omah Lay