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Johannesburg, 19 May 2023– Afrobeats enthusiasts at home and abroad may use Spotify’s African Heat to find new songs and track the genre’s global success.
Spotify’s African Heat playlist has become the go-to for Afrobeats since its 2017 launch. Staying in touch with African Heat gives aficionados of the genre and hungry ears new sounds from Ayra Starr to Sha Sha. African Heat songs like Rema’s Calm Down, which debuted on the playlist, have become some of the platform’s most streamed Afrobeats.
“As Spotify’s flagship playlist for African music, African Heat curates the continent’s incredible content and culture for a global audience. It has become the nucleus of a global community of Afrobeats fans and we’re excited to see its reach grow and take Afrobeats to more global ears” says Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music for Africa.
The playlist’s growth has been facilitated by a large audience outside of Afrobeats’ home region in West Africa. According to Spotify data, The US, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands and Canada feature in the top 10 markets where African Heat is streamed; Nigeria and Kenya are the playlist’s leading African markets, with South Africa and Ghana also making an appearance in the top ten markets streaming the playlist.
Across all markets, African Heat appeals to fans of all ages, a trend that is in keeping with the widespread appeal of Afrobeats. However, it should be no surprise that Gen Z leads the charge. Listeners aged 18-24 provide more than a quarter of African Heat’s streams, more than any other age group. Following closely are 25-29 year olds, then 30-34 year olds. The digital-first generations are an army of eager proponents that have propelled Afrobeats to success via viral moments and ardent fandom on social media.
Whether you are 19 or 90 however, if you listen to Afrobeats on Spotify, chances are African Heat has found its way into a sweet spot in your routine. Spotify Data shows that, while African Heat has listeners during every hour of the day, most fans listen to the playlist between the hours of 4-6pm – that time of the day when the curtain falls on daily obligations. Listenership peaks at exactly 5pm each day when the playlist has the most streams.
If you’re wondering how much time you spend in this African music mecca, Spotify statistics suggests that the typical listener spends 25 minutes listening to African Heat. With over a million followers worldwide and an inexhaustible supply of African content to draw from, these touchpoints have all contributed to the platform surpassing 500 million streams in 2023.
