South African artists generated more than R504m on the Spotify music streaming platform in 2025, highlighting the growth of local online music consumption and the global appeal of locally produced music.
Over the past two decades, artists have lost much of the revenue that came from traditional record sales, now relying on live performances, touring, merchandising and a host of other avenues for income.
As such, Spotify and its rivals in streaming have come under fire for what many perceive as an abuse of musicians.
Still, Spotify has made it clear that two-thirds of its revenue goes directly to music rights holders such as record labels and distributors. The share that artists end up with usually depends on their agreements with record labels, distributors, publishers and the like.
The Loud & Clear series of reports is the Swedish company’s attempt to “increase transparency on music streaming economics and royalty payouts”. The reports show how Spotify pays music rightsholders and how money flows through the streaming industry. They also feature interactive tools to analyse artist earnings and streaming milestones.
Spotify, which has been in business for the past 20 years, has been operating in South Africa since 2018.
According to the music streamer’s latest findings, royalties generated by local artists in 2025 were up 28% year on year and almost double those of 2023.
“This phenomenal growth confirms that the country’s independent and local talent is dominating the international streaming landscape, driven by worldwide demand,” the company said.
Outstanding local performances
Almost three quarters of royalties generated by South African artists on Spotify in 2025 came from users outside South Africa.
Local streaming of South African female artists grew 22% year on year, while their international streams grew 20% compared with a year earlier.
Royalties from Zulu music have grown 37% globally and by more than 120% over two years.
During a launch event for the report in Johannesburg, Joceleyne Muhutu-Remy, MD of Spotify Sub-Saharan Africa, said: “Loud & Clear’s report this year proves that South African artists are not only experiencing explosive growth but have also solidified their position as 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.”
Spotify is credited for growing music streaming to the point that it has become the main mode of music consumption and the industry’s main revenue.
In the past, consumers could buy vinyl records, cassettes and CDs, but the rise of the internet brought high levels of piracy in the early 2000s as online file sharing platforms such as Limewire and Napster gave listeners access to vast music libraries for free, hurting sales.
Apple pioneered paid music downloads, on a per song and per album basis, through its iTunes store and introduction of the iPod music player in 2001.
Spotify’s innovation was giving people access to thousands of songs for a relatively cheap monthly fee, available at any time via the internet. This model now dominates how music generates revenue for artists and record labels, and it has spawned an industry that now includes Apple Music, Deezer, YouTube Music and Tidal.
Spotify commands the biggest market share worldwide, though Apple Music had first-mover advantage in South Africa.
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