Entertainment

Nigeria among top five countries streaming Amapiano – Spotify

Published

1 year ago

June 14, 2024

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Amapiano music, Spotify has released a report highlighting the genre’s remarkable growth and popularity. According to the report, Nigeria ranks among the top five countries streaming Amapiano music, alongside South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Amapiano, a subgenre of Kwaito and house music originating from South Africa, has gained immense popularity globally. Characterized by its unique blend of deep house, jazz, and lounge music, Amapiano has become a staple in the music industry.

Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music in Sub-Saharan Africa, revealed that Amapiano has amassed over 1.4 billion streams on the platform in 2023 alone. The top five Amapiano playlists on Spotify include AMAPIANO grooves, SoulPiano, Beast Mode Amapiano, Amapiano 101, and Amapiano Rising.

In Nigeria, the top 10 Amapiano artists streamed in the last 10 years include Focalistic, DJ Maphorisa, Tyler ICU, Titom, Yuppe, Kabza De Small, Mellow and Sleazy, Tumelo_za, Uncle Waffles, and Justin99.

The report highlights Amapiano’s significant growth, with a 345% increase in streams in 2023 compared to 2014. The genre has also seen a remarkable 153,000% growth in export and a 87% growth in female artistes in 2023 compared to 2022. Furthermore, 40% of Amapiano listeners are between the ages of 18 and 24.

Spotify has launched “A Decade of Amapiano,” a website dedicated to celebrating the genre’s history, sounds, and future. The platform also features pivotal playlists and podcasts for fans to explore.

The COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role in Amapiano’s growth on Spotify, with the genre hitting its first 100 million streams in 2020 and an impressive 300 million streams in 2021.