Asake, Wizkid, Seyi Vibez, Burna Boy and Davido are the most-streamed Nigerian artistes on Spotify in Nigeria since the platform launched in the country in February 2021.
This is according to data released by the company on Monday to mark five years of operations.
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The figures show that music streaming in Nigeria has expanded rapidly since Spotify’s entry into the market, with year-on-year listening growth recording triple-digit increases in the early years and maintaining strong momentum through 2025.
Spotify said overall listening activity in Nigeria has grown at an average rate of 163.5 per cent since launch.
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Afrobeats remains the most dominant genre among Nigerian listeners on the platform.
Spotify’s data show that streams of Afrobeats content in Nigeria grew by more than 5,000 per cent between 2021 and 2025.
Indigenous Nigerian languages
Other genres also recorded steep growth during the period, including Amapiano, which rose by more than 10,000 per cent; gospel and praise music by over 5,000 per cent; hip-hop and rap by over 3,000 per cent; and R&B by more than 2,600 per cent.
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The data also point to rising consumption of music recorded in Nigerian indigenous languages. Spotify said indigenous-language listening within Nigeria rose sharply in recent years, with notable increases recorded in 2024 and 2025.
Growth was also recorded among global listeners of Nigerian indigenous-language content, indicating expanding international interest in local-language music.
Spotify’s figures further show that Nigerian users are engaging heavily with local music. Over the past five years, Asake, Wizkid, Seyi Vibez, Burna Boy and Davido have dominated streams in Nigeria.
Most players’ songs by Nigerian listeners
The most-played songs by Nigerian listeners during the period reviewed include “Remember” by Asake, “Dealer” by Ayo Maff and Fireboy DML, “Awolowo” by Fido, “Kese (Dance)” by Wizkid, and “Lonely At The Top” by Asake, among others.
The platform also disclosed that the number of Nigerian artistes distributing music through Spotify has increased by more than 150 per cent since launch, reflecting the growing adoption of digital distribution by local creators seeking global audiences.
User engagement on the platform has also expanded significantly. Spotify said Nigerian users have created more than 25 million playlists over the past five years, pointing to growing curation and discovery habits among listeners.
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In 2025 alone, users in Nigeria recorded over 1.4 million listening hours on the platform. Podcast listening has also grown, with cumulative podcast listening hours running into tens of billions since launch.
Spotify’s data further indicates that Nigerian listeners are highly discovery-driven.
Listening habits
According to the company, the average listener in Nigeria has streamed about 150 artistes over recent months, suggesting broad exploration of music rather than narrow consumption patterns. The average age of a Spotify user in Nigeria is 26, highlighting the role of young, digitally native audiences in shaping listening culture.
The platform also highlighted the borderless nature of listening habits in Nigeria. According to Spotify, the first track streamed in Nigeria at launch in 2021 was a non-Nigerian song, underscoring early openness among Nigerian users to global sounds alongside local music.
The data underscore the growing role of streaming platforms in shaping how Nigerian audiences access music and how local artistes reach listeners at home and abroad, as digital distribution continues to reshape the country’s music industry.
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