“Streaming Doesn’t Pay in Ghana, You Need To Do Much More Make Income”: Stonebwoy Says
- Ghanaian dancehall artiste, Stonebwoy opened up about how to make money as a musician in Ghana aside from the various streaming platforms
- Stonebwoy indicated that the streaming platforms do not pay much to musicians in Africa and relying on that alone is not sustainable
- Social media users who saw the video thronged the comment section to share their varied thoughts on the matter
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Afro-dancehall artiste Stonebwoy disclosed that streaming apps and websites do not pay much to Ghanaian and African artistes whose songs are on their various platforms.
The popular artist opened up about the realities of streaming in Ghana, noting that, contrary to assumptions, they do not make much money from the platforms.
Source: Facebook
Stonebwoy made this known at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2026 held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Wednesday, February 4, 2026.
"The sad part is that the streams, in this part of the world, do not pay. You will need millions amount of play to be able to make some decent money, having your intellectual properties on those platforms. A large chunk of those monies is made by the platform owners and those who do the distribution."
According to Stonebwoy, every musician would need to do more than just have their songs on the streaming platforms to make money. He mentioned other things that fetch musicians' money.
"In a nutshell, you would need to do much more than have your music on streaming platforms to make money. Performances, brand endorsements, appearances and diversifying your income to be able to reinvest and merchandising."
Watch the X video below:
Reactions to Stonebwoy's take on streaming
YEN.com.gh collated some reactions to the video shared on social media. Read them below:
@Samuelobiora77 said:
"Stonebwoy is speaking a hard truth many African artists face, streaming alone doesn’t pay the bills here. It’s a reminder that building a sustainable music career in Ghana (and much of Africa) often means combining streams with live shows, brand deals, merchandise, and smart market."
@TBI_O1 wrote:
"Africans should create rather than consume...Ahba! We always wanna tag along the white-skinned stuff."
@Nanaezze said:
"The streaming apps have succeeded so much in giving more preference to Europe and America, such that you don’t earn much if you are relying on the fact that your music is just from Africa."
@HUMBLE_ISMHO wrote:
"Meaning Shatta knows this, that’s why he releases plenty of songs...I understand him now."
@RocketScie8225 said:
"If he has more streams, obviously, he would have been bragging about how big of a musician he is. Clearly, your streams are against you, so you wanna talk down on streams. Guess what, streams communicate how much people love your music, and sadly, not many people do."
@eugeneGR8T wrote:
"Then it means we have to applaud Shatta and Sark seriously because they hardly tour like him moving around, but them dey hold ruff compared to a touring artist, even Wendy Shay is doing really well."
@kobbey_007 said:
"Facts. Burna Boy said this. Nasty C also did."
@unrulyjunior3 wrote:
"If streams don't pay, how does KSS and headless YouTuber Dems pay their workers, especially KSS, who has over 20 workers?"
Source: YEN.com.gh
