Music streaming platform, Spotify, has revealed that in 2023, one emerging trend in Kenya has been older artists making a comeback.
This nostalgia, Spotify said, which was evidenced in the hype around the Boyz II Men tour in Kenya can also be seen in data tracking artists who first released music before 1990 and are still enjoying stream-time today.
The most streamed artists in this category last month were South African artist Lucky Dube, King of Pop Michael Jackson and Congolese singer Koffi Olomide.
“Topping the list of artists who saw the biggest increase in their streams last month, who also first released music before 1990, was Tina Turner, who saw a 454 per cent increase in streams, following her passing in May this year,” the music platform said.
Spotify also said Kenyan musician, John Nzenze saw a 139 per cent increase in streams of his music over the last month, as did Norwegian Pop band, A-ha.
Ivorian singer Alpha Blondy registered a 128% increase in streams of his music last month, with Bill Withers rounding out the top five, also with a 128 per cent increase in streams.
Artist and label partnerships manager for Spotify East Africa Monica Kemoli-Savanne said nostalgia is a powerful force.
“Seeing how Kenyans are connecting with music and artists from all around the world is an illustration of how music acts as a gateway to revisiting memories and different times in our lives. I was also pleased to see how Kenyans are streaming musical legends from across the continent,” Kemoli-Savanne said.
Spotify Africa recently hosted a networking event that saw the platform demonstrate how it is able to use its data to track local support for artists and identify key trends.
Through the event, it also launched its VIP programme, a partnership between Spotify and local influencers.
