The Political Economy of Music Streaming in Nigeria: Platform Power, Artist Remuneration, and Structural Inequality

This research investigates the political economy of music streaming in Nigeria, examining the power dynamics between global streaming platforms, record labels, and Nigerian artists, and analysing the structural inequalities embedded in streaming remuneration systems that govern how musical value is created, distributed, and captured. Nigeria is among the fastest-growing streaming markets in Africa; yet per-stream payment rates, currency conversion losses, and contractual power asymmetries mean that the majority of streaming revenue generated by Nigerian music flows to international intermediaries rather than to the artists who create the music. This study employs a political economy research design integrating: critical analysis of streaming platform licensing agreements, royalty payment structures, and contractual terms relevant to Nigerian music rights holders; analysis of streaming revenue data from COSON and MCSN records; semi-structured interviews with 25 Nigerian artists, 15 music label executives, 8 collecting society officials, and 5 streaming platform representatives; and comparative policy analysis of streaming remuneration regulatory frameworks in South Africa, Ghana, and the European Union. World systems theory, platform capitalism theory, and digital music industry economics inform the analytical framework. Findings will produce an original structural analysis of streaming inequality in the Nigerian music market and propose regulatory and contractual reform recommendations. Keywords: Music streaming, political economy, platform capitalism, Nigeria, artist remuneration.