Lagos and the streaming apps: how Afrobeats' home market moved onto platforms

Lagos is where most of the Afrobeats industry keeps its offices, studios and stages, and over the past six years the global streaming services have moved in after it. This report uses only what has been published; we did no interviews, and each source is dated so you can see how old each piece of the picture is. The platform figures are company-reported and have not been independently audited.

The platforms set up in Lagos

In July 2020, Techpoint Africa reported that Audiomack had opened an office in Lagos, making Nigeria its 55th country. It hired three Nigerian staff: Adeyemi Adetunji for operations and commercial partnerships, Charlotte Bwana for business development and media partnerships, and Olive Uche for content strategy. The same report cited Billboard saying Audiomack's plays in Africa grew more than 1,600% in the previous 14 months. Audiomack was the free, mobile-first option and it came to Lagos early.

What Spotify says the market became

In February 2026, Nairametrics carried a Spotify statement, issued in Lagos, with its five-year Nigeria figures. Spotify said Nigerian streaming grew at an average rate of 163.5% over the past five years and local Afrobeats streams rose 5,022% between 2021 and 2025. It said more than 1,900 Nigerian artists were added to its editorial playlists in 2024, up 33% on 2023, and that Nigerian artists earned over N58 billion in Spotify royalties in 2024, more than double 2023 and five times 2022.

Lagos listens to Lagos

The demand side matters as much as the platforms. In July 2025, Pulse Nigeria, citing a Luminate report, said 60% of streams from Nigeria go to Nigerian artists and songs, a higher share than in any other country in Africa and the Middle East.

What we think

First, the platforms followed the scene, not the other way round. Audiomack set up in Lagos after its plays in Africa had already surged, by its own account; the apps are distribution for a sound the city built in clubs, studios and on radio.

Second, a home audience that streams local music is the scene's real advantage. If six in ten Nigerian streams go to Nigerian acts, a Lagos artist can build a base at home before the global playlists notice, which most regional scenes cannot.

Third, the headline growth numbers say little about who in Lagos gets paid. Spotify's royalty total is national, in naira, and silent on producers, songwriters and session players. Until platforms or rights bodies publish splits by role, the growth story describes the stars, not the studio workforce behind them. That is our reading of what the published figures leave out, not a measured finding.