South African artists earned $30.69 million on Spotify in 2025. Most of it came from abroad.

Nearly 74% of the R504 million ($30.69 million) generated by South African artists on Spotify in 2025 came from listeners outside the country, making the rest of the world South African music’s biggest market on the streaming platform. 

This was disclosed by Spotify at its new Rosebank office in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday. 

The R504 million ($30.69 million) earned by South African artists is a 28% year-on-year increase, nearly double the earnings recorded in 2023.

The growth underscores how streaming platforms are turning African music into an export industry, and reflects a sustained international appetite for South African music genres such as amapiano.

The announced figures are part of the global streaming platform’s annual Loud & Clear report. The report attempts to give visibility into artists’ earnings on the platform.

According to the company, it pays out two-thirds of every dollar it generates from music streaming to rights holders, who eventually pay artists. Globally, it paid out $11 billion in 2025, and Nigerian artists earned over ₦60 billion ($43.92 million) in royalties.

South Africa has roughly a quarter of Nigeria’s population, making the per-capita earnings comparison notable.

In 2025, South African artists were discovered by first-time listeners more than 1.6 billion times, up 40% from the previous year.

More than half of the royalties generated by South African artists on Spotify went to independent artists or labels, reflecting how streaming is lowering barriers to global distribution and allowing artists to monetise audiences without major label backing.

The announcement also comes as Spotify deepens its investment in Africa’s music ecosystem, following its launch in South Africa, its first on the continent, in 2018.

Speaking at the company’s Johannesburg event, Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify Sub-Saharan Africa Managing Director, said South African artists have become “a globally dominant creative force.”

“Their success is driven by worldwide demand, ensuring that independent and local talent alike are being discovered by billions of listeners and taking the international stage by storm,” she added.

Spotify’s data also showed that South African artists accounted for 67% of songs featured on Spotify South Africa’s Daily Top 50 chart in 2025.

The company highlighted strong growth in music performed in Zulu, with a 37% increase in global royalties and more than 120% over two years. Local streams of South African female artists grew by 22% year-on-year, while their international streams grew by 20%.

Overall, nearly 3,550 South African artists were added to editorial playlists on Spotify in 2025, and cloud rap, pop country, acoustic country, pop rap, and worship are the country’s fastest-growing genres over the last five years, according to Spotify data.