By Jerameel Kevins Owuor Odhiambo
Music is the heartbeat of Kenya’s cultural identity, pulsing through every corner of society. It serves as both a mirror reflecting our collective experiences and a bridge connecting generations, with genres like Benga, Gengetone, and Afrobeat carrying the stories of our people across digital borders. Yet beneath this rich sound lies a stark economic reality that reveals how the very artists who create this cultural currency are being systematically shortchanged by the digital revolution they helped fuel. While streaming platforms have democratized music distribution and global reach, they have simultaneously created an exploitative ecosystem where Kenyan musicians’ intellectual property generates substantial revenue for tech giants while leaving creators with mere digital crumbs.
The brutal mathematics of Kenya’s streaming economy tell a story of systematic exploitation disguised as opportunity. Current data from 2023-2024 reveals that Kenyan artists earn approximately $0.00318 per stream on Spotify, meaning that achieving one million streams a milestone that requires extraordinary marketing and often years of work yields roughly $3,180 before distributor fees. This figure becomes even more devastating when considering that Kenya’s lower subscription rates of $2.99 monthly, compared to $9.99 in the United States, further diminish payouts for streams originating domestically. Mdundo, often touted as a pan-African solution, projected record payouts of $1.2-1.5 million to artists across the continent in 2023-24, with 44% allocated to Kenya’s 56,000 active artists. This translates to an average annual earning of less than $12 per artist, a sum that wouldn’t cover a single meal in many Nairobi top restaurants, let alone sustain a creative career.
The intellectual property landscape in Kenya’s music industry represents a perfect storm of weak enforcement, inadequate legislation, and artists’ limited understanding of their rights. While streaming platforms leverage sophisticated algorithms and data analytics to maximize revenue from musical content, most Kenyan artists remain unaware of how their intellectual property is being monetized across multiple revenue streams including sync licensing, mechanical royalties, and international distribution rights. The country’s collective management organizations (CMOs) have been plagued by disputes and inefficiencies, leaving artists without proper representation in royalty collection. This knowledge gap allows platforms to exploit legal loopholes, retain larger portions of revenue, and maintain opaque reporting systems that make it nearly impossible for artists to verify their actual streaming numbers or understand complex royalty calculations.
The stark contrast between American and Kenyan artists’ earnings illuminates the global inequities embedded within streaming economics. In 2023, Spotify paid out $9 billion globally in royalties, with over 1,250 American artists earning more than $1 million each from streaming and publishing royalties alone. The top-earning American musicians that year included Genesis with $230 million primarily from catalog sales, while Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and other chart-toppers each earned tens of millions through strategic combination of streaming, touring, and catalog deals. Meanwhile, Kenya’s highest-earning streaming artists rarely breach $28,000 annually, with exceptional cases like Nikita Kering’ reportedly earning Ksh 300,000 ($2,330) monthly at her peak in 2022. This disparity isn’t merely about market size; it reflects systemic inequalities in how streaming platforms value different geographical markets and the devastating impact of pro-rata payment models that favor high-volume streams over diverse cultural content.
The first essential lesson for Kenyan musicians navigating this treacherous landscape is revenue diversification beyond streaming platforms. Successful artists must develop multiple income streams including live performances, brand partnerships, merchandising, licensing deals for film and advertising, and direct fan engagement through platforms like Patreon or localized alternatives. This approach transforms streaming from a primary revenue source into a marketing tool that builds audience for more lucrative ventures. Artists should also explore opportunities in Kenya’s growing digital economy, including collaborations with mobile money platforms, telecommunications companies, and emerging fintech solutions that can create innovative monetization models.
The second crucial strategy involves mastering intellectual property management and understanding the full scope of music rights. Kenyan artists must educate themselves about mechanical rights, performance rights, synchronization rights, and neighboring rights to ensure they’re capturing all possible revenue streams from their creative work. This includes proper registration with relevant CMOs, understanding distribution agreements, and maintaining ownership of master recordings whenever possible. Artists should also explore international publishing deals and consider establishing their own publishing companies to retain greater control over their intellectual property and long-term earning potential.
The third lesson centers on strategic platform utilization and audience development across multiple channels. While diversifying across Spotify, Apple Music, Boomplay, Mdundo, YouTube, and Skiza Tunes maximizes reach, artists must also invest in building direct relationships with their audience through social media, email lists, and live engagement. This includes understanding each platform’s unique algorithm, optimizing content for playlist placements, and developing content strategies that transcend traditional music releases. Artists should also leverage Kenya’s mobile-first digital landscape by creating content optimized for platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts that can drive streaming numbers while building brand recognition.
The final essential lesson involves collaborative advocacy and industry organization to address systemic inequities in streaming economics. Kenyan artists must unite to lobby for better royalty rates, transparent reporting mechanisms, and legislative reforms that protect intellectual property rights. This includes supporting initiatives that promote fair trade in digital music, advocating for minimum payout thresholds, and working with tech innovators to develop alternative platforms that offer more equitable revenue sharing models. The future of Kenya’s music industry depends not just on individual artists’ success, but on collective action that challenges the current extractive model and creates sustainable economic opportunities for the next generation of musicians.
The streaming revolution promised to democratize music and create unprecedented opportunities for artists worldwide. Instead, it has created a new form of digital colonialism where platforms extract enormous value from creative communities while leaving artists struggling for survival. Kenya’s musical heritage deserves better than this economic exploitation, it deserves a system that values cultural contribution as much as technological innovation, ensuring that the creators of our most powerful art form can sustain themselves through their craft.
The writer is a legal researcher and lawyer
Mt Kenya Times