Local voices are dominating the podcast scene on Spotify in Nigeria

Photo by Imtiyaz Ali

August 12th, 2021: As the world becomes busier, the podcast format is becoming incredibly popular, as audio content allows the listener to multitask. In Africa, podcast consumption has become a growing trend in many countries, including Nigeria.

With the recent launch of Spotify in Nigeria, Nigerians now have unbridled access to an app that has become the one-stop-shop for music and podcasts. The sheer experience of streaming music and listening to a podcast on the same platform is one of the many impressive features of the Spotify app that attracts users. Today, there are over 2.9 million podcast titles available to Spotify listeners in Nigeria for free. But what are Nigerians listening to? What subjects are they tuning in to?

Data on Spotify shows that Nigerians are listening to a mixture of local and foreign podcasts. Two local podcasts, ‘I Said What I Said’ and ‘Articulate One’ emerged as the most popular podcasts on Spotify in Nigeria. Other local podcasts in the Top 10 Most Streamed Podcasts on Spotify in Nigeria include: ‘Apostle Joshua Selman’ and ‘So Nigerian’.

Photo by Imtiyaz Ali

Upon hearing that the podcast she co-hosts the most listens to the podcast in Nigeria, here’s what Jola Ayeye of ‘I Said What I Said’ had to say about the growth of the podcast format in Nigeria:

“The market for content continues to grow in leaps and bounds. Visual and audio content is increasing around the world and Nigeria isn’t being left behind. More streaming platforms are coming into the market and providing really affordable deals, but one thing I think is super important is the ever-reducing cost of mobile data. That’s the most important thing. Accessibility. Social media platforms also help because they boost podcasts that don’t have the same marketing and branding budgets for billboards or radio ads. Podcasts cater to more niche interests and can go to places or realms that mainstream entertainment may not be able to.”

The preferred topics and themes of Nigerian podcast listeners is extensive, from Millennial experience to comedy, inspirational talks, lifestyle to religion. With Nigerians known to be deeply religious, it comes as no surprise that two religious-themed podcasts – ‘Apostle Joshua Selman’ and ‘Divercity 1 Love Christian Network’ made it to the Top 10 list.

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Another prominent trend in the list is the dominance of inspirational talk podcasts, with three of the top global motivational podcasts on the list, namely: Joel Osteen Podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart, Good Minutes Daily Self-Improvement Podcast.