Over the past decade, Nigerian music, especially the vibrant genre of Afrobeats, has transformed from a regional sound into a global cultural force.
PwC recently estimated that Afrobeats contributes roughly $2 billion annually to the wider global music economy, underlining the genre’s rising influence.
At the same time, streaming platforms like Spotify have reported that Nigerian artists earned over N58 billion in royalties in 2024 alone, more than doubling what they made the previous year.
One of the main platforms fueling this expansion is YouTube, where creators who qualify for the YouTube Partner Program benefit from revenue sharing via ads, subscriptions, and, more recently, Shorts. As these channels grow, so does their access to monetization tools that reward viewership, global reach, and engagement.
This article spotlights some of Nigeria’s musicians with the largest YouTube channels by subscriber count, based on data at the time of publishing, offering a snapshot of who is leading the stream in turning global visibility into creative and financial impact.
- No of Subscribers: 2.51 million
Yemi Alade is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, actress, and activist from Akoko, Ondo State. Known for her multilingual artistry, singing in English, Igbo, Yoruba, Pidgin, French, Swahili, and Portuguese, Alade embodies Afropop’s global spirit.
- Her YouTube channel, launched in 2012, boasts 2.51 million subscribers, over 857 million views, and 408 videos, making her one of the most-watched female artists in Africa.
- She rose to fame after winning the Peak Talent Show (2009) and signing with Effyzzie Music Group, but her 2014 single “Johnny” catapulted her into international stardom, becoming one of Africa’s most-viewed music videos. Following her albums King of Queens and Mama Africa, she embarked on consecutive world tours and debuted on Billboard’s Next Big Sound Chart at No. 4 in 2016.
A two-time MTV Africa Music Awards Best Female winner and double BET Awards nominee, Alade is celebrated for her electrifying stage presence and distinctive fashion. She became the first African female artist to surpass 100 million YouTube views on a single video and recently earned her first Grammy nomination for “Tomorrow” (2025) in the Best African Music Performance category
