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Copyright © 2026 TrueRate. All rights reserved. · Not investment advice

Data: Central Bank of Liberia · World Bank · IMF · Ghana Stock Exchange · BRVM · TrueRate Research

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Top StoryMusic

Streaming royalties from Liberian artists hit $2.3M in 2025 — up 64% YoY as Spotify expands MTN-bundled plans

Top decile of Liberian artists captured 78% of total payouts; the long tail saw modest gains as Spotify’s MTN bundle drove paid-tier conversions in Greater Monrovia and Margibi.

By the TrueRate Culture Desk·TrueRate Culture·1h ago·7 min read

The Number

$2.3M

2025 streaming royalties

+64% YoY

Top decile captured 78% of payouts

Latest in Music

More ›
  • Music

    Hipco star Bucky Raw lines up Madison Square Garden warm-up date — first Liberian artist on the bill

    TrueRate Culture·2h ago

  • Music

    Afrobeats festival 'Lib Wave' confirms Davido, Tems, Stonebwoy headliners for ATS — July 27 — $1.8M ticket take

    The New Dawn·4h ago

  • Music

    Spotify expands MTN-bundled plan to Bong, Nimba, and Margibi — paid-tier Liberian users cross 92,000

    TrueRate·5h ago

  • Music

    Sundaygar Dearboy signs with Mavin Records sub-label for distribution and publishing — first Liberian deal

    Variety·7h ago

  • Music

    Audiomack Liberia monthly active users hit 1.2M — largest growth corridor in West Africa

    TechCabal·9h ago

  • Music

    MC Caro's "Sinkor Dreams" certified gold by Liberian RIAA equivalent — 50K paid downloads + streams

    Liberian Observer·12h ago

  • Music

    Christoph the Change drops 'Hipco Anthology Vol. III' — pre-saves cross 240,000 in 72 hours

    TrueRate Culture·16h ago

  • Music

    Antoinette Tubman Stadium completes $1.2M sound-system upgrade ahead of Lib Wave festival

    FrontPage Africa·20h ago

Top Liberian Artists by Streams

Mar 2026 · Spotify + Audiomack + Apple Music
Top Liberian Artists by Streams — Mar 2026 · Spotify + Audiomack + Apple Music
#ArtistGenreMo. StreamsEst. Mo. $Label
1Bucky RawHipco8.4M$24,800Independent
2MC CaroHipco5.7M$16,900Caro Music Group
3Christoph the ChangeHipco4.9M$14,500Independent
4Sundaygar DearboyFolk · Pop3.8M$11,200Mavin sub-label
5Erica WilliamsGospel3.1M$9,200Independent
6Soul FreshR&B · Hipco2.6M$7,700Independent
7Takun JHipco2.2M$6,500Independent
8StunnaAfrobeats1.9M$5,600Independent

In-Depth — Music

Music
Music

Bucky Raw at the Garden: how Liberia's hipco generation finally crossed over

A decade after Takun J brought Kolokwa rap into the Liberian mainstream, an MSG-warm-up booking signals the genre has crossed the diaspora threshold. We trace the streaming numbers, the tour math, and what comes next.

TrueRate Culture·9 min read
Music
Music

Streaming royalties cleared $2M for Liberian artists in 2025 — but distribution is brutally uneven

Top-decile artists captured 78% of total payouts. We pulled DistroKid and Audiomack data and compared it with Nigeria and Ghana to show how concentrated Liberia's streaming market still is.

TrueRate Culture·10 min read
Music
Music

Lib Wave's logistics gamble: putting Davido, Tems, and Stonebwoy on the same Monrovia stage

Tour-routing, hotel inventory, and stadium upgrades that still don't exist. Inside the operational risk a Liberian promoter is taking with a single July date.

The New Dawn·8 min read
Music
Music

Mavin's deal with Sundaygar Dearboy: the structure, the advance, and the publishing split

A 360 deal at the Mavin sub-label level with a $250K advance against royalties. We obtained a redacted summary of the deal terms and broke down where the upside actually sits.

Variety·8 min read
Music
Music

How Spotify's MTN bundle changed the math — and what it means for paid-tier growth

A 1,200-LRD-per-month bolt-on to the Spotify Mini plan has crossed 92,000 Liberian subscribers in 14 months. We modelled the contribution margin and the churn picture.

TrueRate·7 min read
Music
Music

Audiomack's Liberian moment: 1.2M MAU and a creator-tier business that's working

Audiomack overtook Apple Music in Liberian MAU in late 2025. The platform's creator monetisation tier is paying out small but consistent royalties to mid-tier artists.

TechCabal·6 min read
Music
Music

Hipco's 38% share of Liberian streams: the genre is no longer 'emerging'

Eleven percentage points of share growth in twelve months. We compared the trajectory with Nigerian Afrobeats' 2018 inflection point and found striking parallels — but a much smaller addressable audience.

TrueRate Culture·9 min read
Music
Music

The economics of Antoinette Tubman Stadium's $1.2M sound upgrade

Funded partially by the Lib Wave promoter as a tour-rider concession. The structure leaves the city with the asset, the promoter with discounted dates. We reviewed the contract.

FrontPage Africa·8 min read

Most Read

  1. MusicBucky Raw books MSG warm-up — first Liberian artist on the bill
  2. MusicStreaming royalties hit $2.3M — but top decile took 78%
  3. MusicMavin signs Sundaygar Dearboy — the deal terms, line by line
  4. MusicLib Wave 2026 confirms Davido, Tems, Stonebwoy — $1.8M projected gate
  5. MusicSpotify-MTN bundle crosses 92,000 paid Liberian subscribers

Calendar

May 14

Soul Fresh — Kolokwa Love Songs album release

Jun 21

African Music Awards — Accra (Liberian nominees: 4)

Jul 27

Lib Wave 2026 — Antoinette Tubman Stadium

Aug 11

Christoph the Change — Hipco Anthology Vol. III drops

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