Spotify names Ayra Starr EQUAL Africa and Global artist for May

This marks the second time the singer is joining the artist development initiative aimed at promoting gender equity in music after her first inclusion in the EQUAL Africa programme in November 2021. She now joins fellow Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage as the only other African artist to be named both EQUAL Africa and EQUAL Global artist.

As the latest EQUAL act, Ayra Starr, signed to the Don Jazzy-led Mavin Records, will benefit from Spotify’s global platform through playlists, content hubs and partnerships.

“I am grateful to become a Spotify EQUAL ambassador,” the singer said. “It means so much to me to be able to represent women in Afrobeats and African women in general. There are so many women in music today, behind the scenes, in front of the camera, musicians, sound engineers, all these women working hard, and Spotify EQUAL is doing a great job in highlighting all their hard work.”

“Our commitment at Spotify is to support and empower women in the music industry, helping to create a more level playing field,” Spotify’s senior artist and label partnerships manager, sub-Saharan Africa, Monica Kemoli-Savanne, said. “Seeing artists like Ayra Starr come from the continent to gain global recognition serves as a true testament that Africa is full of talent, all that is needed is a platform. It has been a great journey to witness the growth of female artists who are also inspiring generations to come, which also speaks to our commitment to equally support female artists.”

A Grammy-nominated artist best known for records like ‘Bloody Samaritan’, ‘Sability’, ‘Rush’ and ‘Rhythm & Blues’, Ayra Starr is also behind February’s ‘Commas’ single, which already has over 35 million streams on Spotify, and the just-released ‘Bad Vibes’ featuring Seyi Vibes. Her eponymous debut EP and 19 & Dangerous album were both released in 2021. 

Recently, Ayra Starr also announced that her new album, The Year I Turned 21, will be released at the end of the month. 

In related news, Spotify has revealed that Nigerian artists garnered over ₦25bn (approximately $17m) in streaming royalties on Spotify in 2023, showing a 2 500% surge since 2017. Additionally, the report highlighted that Spotify listeners discovered Nigerian artists nearly 950 million times, with the same artists owning more than 80% of the tracks on Nigeria’s daily top 50 chart.