Muyiwa Awoniyi, the manager of Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Tems, has opened up about the significant financial challenges faced by Nigerian artists on global music streaming platforms, revealing a stark revenue gap that puts local musicians at a disadvantage compared to their peers in developed countries.
During a detailed discussion on a recent episode of the popular Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, Awoniyi highlighted how the geographical location of music streams drastically affects the earnings that artists receive, with Nigerian streams yielding far less revenue than streams from wealthier nations.
He explained that while one million streams might sound like a huge success for any artist, the actual monetary value of those streams varies enormously depending on where the listeners are based. For Nigerian artists, this means they earn significantly less per stream compared to artists whose music is streamed in countries with stronger economies.
“Do you know how much a million streams is worth out of Nigeria? It’s $300. Your one million streams [in Sweden] is between $8,000 and $10,000,” Awoniyi stated, underlining the huge disparity in earnings that local artists face despite generating comparable streaming numbers.
He went on to attribute this difference largely to the low subscription costs in Nigeria, which stand at around N900 monthly on popular platforms like Spotify. Additionally, he pointed out that the overall economic environment in Nigeria, including lower purchasing power and market challenges, plays a major role in limiting the revenue generated from music streaming within the country.
“A lot of people do not know this. Spotify treats things territorially. So if my IP is anchored to a region where one million streams is $300, I am cooked,” Awoniyi added, emphasizing how location-based pricing and royalties profoundly affect artists' income and the sustainability of their careers.
This revelation has sparked conversations about the need for more equitable compensation models and support systems to help Nigerian artists thrive on the global stage despite the economic limitations they face locally.