Stonebwoy is a Ghanaian Afro-Dancehall musician
Renowned Afro-Dancehall artiste Stonebwoy has shed light on why many Ghanaian musicians struggle to make a significant income from music streaming platforms.
Speaking at the Africa Prosperity Dialogue 2026 held at the Accra International Conference Centre on Tuesday, February 4, 2026, the award-winning musician described streaming revenue in Africa as largely unprofitable for artistes.
“The sad part of it is that streams, in this part of the world, do not pay,” Stonebwoy said.
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He cited figures from major digital streaming platforms, noting that artistes need hundreds of streams to make a single dollar per song.
“Spotify says you’ll need like 250 to 333 plays to earn a dollar with an average payout of 0.003 to 0.005 per stream.
“For Apple, you earn 0.06 to 0.01 per stream by playing 100 to 143 times. Amazon, 250 plays to earn a dollar and the payout is 0.004,” he said.
According to Stonebwoy, these figures mean artistes need “millions and millions of plays” to make a meaningful income.
“So, this means that you will need like millions and millions of plays to be able to make some decent amount of money. A large chunk of those monies is made by the platform owners and those who own the distribution, the DSPs basically,” he said.
He therefore urged musicians, especially in Africa, to diversify their income sources rather than relying solely on streaming platforms.
“The performances, brand endorsements, appearances, and then diversifying your own income as well to be able to reinvest into oneself,” he added.
Stonebwoy noted that the era when online music sales translated directly into substantial earnings is largely over, particularly in Africa.
Watch the video below:
“Streaming in this part of the world does not pay. You need millions of streams to make a decent amount of money.” – Stonebwoy pic.twitter.com/6k31jpAkxP
— EDHUB🌍ℹ (@eddie_wrt) February 4, 2026
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