Kathmandu, February 24
Spotify on February 22 celebrated its one-year anniversary in Nepal.
The company, on February 22, 2021, had entered more than 80 markets around the world including Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Apparently, this has not only helped Nepali music listeners, but also the artists, who, apart from YouTube, now have a different platform to make a side income.
According to data provided by Spotify, Nepal artists have gained the attention of their local listeners than foreign ones – with four local songs being on the list of most played artists, alongside the likes of Olivia Rodrigo.
Abroad, the users are enjoying lofi artist Sagun who is most played in the US, UK and Germany.
When it comes to Nepali artists, Nepali pop and Nepali indie have dominated the scene with Sajjan Raj Vaidya being the most played artist in Nepal. Sunita Thegim is an example of a new and emerging artist within the genre who has gained a surge in streams since Spotify’s entrance.
Nepali hip-hop is also being streamed a lot, says Spotify, with genre streams increasing by over 60% in Nepal. Spearheaded by VTEN, who has 88% of streams outside of Nepal, another emerging example is also Dong who has seen more listeners since Spotify launched.
In total, Nepal has listened to Spotify for 11.3M hours in the past year. Over 559,000 playlists have been created by Nepali users. And, local artists are also finding a megaphone for their work – with 107% more songs by local artists on the platform since launch.
