How Audiomack scaled to 50M users by betting against the algorithm

Music streaming and discovery service, Audiomack, has surpassed 50 million monthly active users (MAU) this January, following a breakout 2025 where its user base grew by 31%. 

Nigeria is now the platform’s largest market worldwide. Between 2020 and 2024, the country recorded 58 billion streams, solidifying Audiomack’s position as the most successful online music platform in Africa, per Bloomberg. But as the market enters 2026, the company’s success has become a case study in “product-market fit” for emerging economies.

Since opening its Lagos office in 2020, Audiomack has succeeded by building for local constraints rather than global ideals. In a market where over half the population lives on less than $2 a day, the platform’s ad-funded freemium model provides a critical bridge. Unlike Spotify—where offline listening is locked behind a ₦900/month paywall—Audiomack allows free downloads and offline play.

“We’ve stayed focused on tools that serve real music communities at a global scale,” David Ponte, Audiomack co-founder and CMO, told Condia. This focus on accessibility has allowed Audiomack to maintain 15.3 million MAUs in Nigeria alone, far outstripping Spotify’s earlier local footprint.

Pricing alone does not explain the loyalty. 

Why curation still wins in Nigeria

Audiomack’s core thesis is built on the belief that while algorithms can sustain listening habits, humans create stars. This strategy is anchored by the “UpNow” program, where human managers—not lines of code—select emerging artists every quarter for dedicated editorial backing. This “editorial conviction” has become a kingmaker in the West African music scene.

In 2020, Omah Lay became the first African act selected for this program. The result was immediate; his debut EP, Get Layd, became the first project by an African artist to surpass 100 million streams on the platform. A similar pattern emerged with Seyi Vibez, who has now crossed the 2.2 billion stream mark. His rise was fueled by local curators who identified his street-pop sound long before global algorithms could find a category for it.

The battle for 100-plus years

The competitive landscape for Nigeria’s 107 million internet users is tightening as 2026 begins. Audiomack currently faces a two-front war. On one side are the “Pre-load Giants” like Boomplay, which leverages its partnership with Transsion to remain pre-installed on over 50% of smartphones in Nigeria. On the other side are the global heavyweights like Spotify and Apple Music, which are seeing aggressive growth; Spotify recently reported that Nigerians spent 1.3 billion hours on their platform in 2025 alone.

Despite this pressure, Audiomack’s localised edge remains firm due to payment friction. With many Nigerian bank cards still unreliable for international dollar subscriptions, Audiomack’s partnership with MTN Nigeria allows for data-bundled streaming. This keeps the platform accessible to millions who are effectively locked out of Spotify’s paid tiers.

Monetising the middle class

As 2026 progresses, Audiomack is preparing to roll out Audiomack Pro, a premium program offering advanced analytics and promotional tools for artists looking to scale. This move aims to turn passive listeners into “superfans”—a segment that Statista and the IFPI suggest will drive the next phase of growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Algorithms can scale recommendations, but Audiomack’s growth suggests that in “high-context” markets, knowing which voices to amplify is just as important as knowing what a user clicked on yesterday.