They’re household voices—blaring through matatus, booming in nightclubs, blessing wedding receptions and dominating the country’s vibe. But behind the beats and the glam, the economics of Kenyan music streaming is a brutal game, and not all artistes are winning.
For years, whispers of how little streaming pays have echoed in the music corridors.
In 2019, rapper Khaligraph Jones (real name Brian Ouko Omollo), a vocal champion of the #PlayKE campaign (Play Kenyan Music), sounded the alarm. He warned that despite digital domination, Kenyan artistes were barely making a living from digital streams.
Over and over, in street talks, social media and interviews Khaligraph highlighted the importance of live performances, endorsements, and collaborations for sustaining income, noting that streaming alone doesn’t provide enough to support an artiste long-term in Kenya.
He wasn’t alone. Just last year, Bien-Aime Baraza of Sauti Sol echoed the same in an interview with Iko Nini Podcast. Bien maintained that for Kenyan musicians, real money isn’t in streams. It’s in live performances, brand deals, and corporate work not royalties and streaming payouts.
The illusion of digital success has become a bitter pill for many Kenyan artistes. It’s a double-edged sword. On the surface, millions of views suggest fame and fortune. But behind the curtain, most artistes say they are choking on the bitter truth, streams don’t always convert to shillings.
Yet, it took a court case involving rapper Nyashinski (real name Nyamari Ongegu) to finally put numbers to the narrative — and expose the real earning potential of Kenyan music streams.
Court documents in the ongoing copyright infringement suit filed by Nigerian producer Sam Are against Nyashinski, show that the rapper’s music earned at least Sh16 million in gross streaming revenue between 2020 and 2023.
In the case, the court ordered Nyashinski to produce contract documents for the ambassadorial deal he signed with Tecno Kenya in May 2023, which made him the face of their Tecno Camon 20 smartphone.
Kenyan musician Nyamari Ongegu, popularly known as Nyashinski.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Sam, the producer of the hit song Wach Wach , filed civil suit No. E617/2023, accusing the rapper of using the song to promote and endorse the smartphone.
The Nigerian argued that, as the producer of the song used in the Tecno commercials, he was entitled to 50 per cent of the earnings from the endorsement deal, which the rapper had been reluctant to pay.
Sam petitioned the court to order Nyashinski to release the ambassadorial deal contract, as well as to present records of the royalties he had generated from the song Wach Wach and four other songs he produced for Nyashinski: Too Much , Flowers , Showman , and Top Form .
Acting on the court orders, Nyashinski produced records of the royalties his songs generated between 2017 and 2023 but appealed the order to produce the Tecno contract, arguing that doing so would expose his trade secrets and put him at a disadvantage.
According to the documents that form part of the Nyashinski’s defence, the rapper’s 2020 Lucky You album, alongside several singles many of which were hits, generated Sh16,279,380 gross and Sh12,292,533 net.
His company, GETA International Ltd, where he is the sole director, walked away with a tidy sum of Sh9.4 million after royalties, splits, and commissions were deducted.
A large chunk of the money flowed in through Africori, a music distribution company acquired by American powerhouse record label Warner Music Group in 2022, the court filings indicate. It’s the same powerhouse that helped South African Master KG’s Jerusalema hit go global.
Between 2020 and 2023, Africori collected more than Sh3million from Nyashinski’s catalogue, sending Sh2.2 million to the rapper after deductions.
A big chunk of the revenue was in the first two years with Sh1,935,936 in 2020 and Sh1,537,288 in 2021 when Lucky You was still on high rotation.
The revenue took a significant dip in subsequent years generating Sh410,625 in 2022 and Sh7,961 in 2023 in net revenue. After deductions and split sheet percentages, Nyashinski still managed to pocket Sh2,225,229.
Majority of the revenue came from streaming of Nyashinski’s music in the United States, Kenya, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Australia, Canada and Germany in that order.
Digital platforms YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, Spotify, and Apple Music were Nyashinski’s biggest contributors paying top dollar. However, YouTube and its premium variants were the top earners during the album’s peak years. Spotify and Apple Music were the other two Digital Service Providers that paid Nyashinski top dollar for his music.
And it didn’t stop there. Ziiki Media, another African aggregator, collected Sh4,522,3111 in net revenue for Nyashinski over the same period, passing on Sh2,549,642 to his company.
Even Skiza Tunes, Safaricom’s homegrown platform, proved lucrative. Artistes earn royalties on Skiza based on the popularity of their music as used on the platform. Businesses also use Skiza to create tunes for marketing and branding purposes with revenue generated split between telecommunications company, the distributor and the artiste.
Kenyan artiste Nyamari Ongegu, popularly known as Nyashinski.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
In 2021, Nyashinski’s music generated Sh1,602,759 in net revenue with Sh1,263,257 ending up in his pocket. He made much more money in 2022 pocketing Sh1,950,029 from a net revenue of Sh2,452,179 generated. In 2023 the rapper took home Sh1,175,089 from a net of Sh1,477,495.
Nyashinski’s numbers presented in court provide context to how the music streaming world looks for top Kenyan artistes.
However, to achieve that, a number of factors have to come to play, says Camilla Owora. The former manager at Ziiki Media and digital music distributer says Kenyan artistes can earn millions from digital platforms if they play it smart.
“If an artiste drops a track that’s high on rotation and attracts streams from countries with high CPM (Cost Per Mile), the returns can be massive,” she says.
That’s the key, where your audience is matters. A single stream in Nairobi doesn’t pay nearly as much as one from New York, London, or Berlin.
Another hindrance to low stream pay in the country is, unfortunately, the fact that Kenya has a lower concentration of premium subscribers. Most listeners rely on free, ad-supported accounts which dramatically cuts an artiste’s earnings.
Platforms such as Spotify and YouTube pay less for streams when the user isn't subscribed to their respective premium services. Another critical factor, Camilla says, is distribution.
While there is a growing narrative that distributors are brokers, she warns that other routes are riskier.
“Even global superstars use distributors,” she explains.
“Going it alone limits your reach. A distributor gives you access to a global audience and more importantly, collects royalties in all these streaming platforms which are more than 200 for the artiste.”
Camilla also points out that most Kenyan artistes still depend on local audiences who mostly use free, advertisement-supported accounts to stream their music resulting in minimal payout from digital platforms.
The lack of premium subscribers in Kenya drags revenue even further down and even more further when the streaming platforms and the distributor take the standard market rate cut of between 10-25 per cent. In the case of Nyashinski’s, the document shows Africori took a 20 per cent cut.
