Music streaming creates fewer megastars, more working artistes

The Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS) says Jamaica’s music economy is producing more working artistes but fewer breakout stars, as streaming reshapes earnings and expectations.

General Manager Evon Mullings told the Island Music Conference in Kingston last week that while recording and publishing are easier than ever, the era of blockbuster sales achieved by Shaggy and Sean Paul is unlikely to return.

“What we are seeing is a shift in such a way that there are fewer, what I call ‘megastars’ today. But you have many more stars,” he said, adding that it is improbable another Jamaican artiste will sell a diamond record — more than 10 million albums — in the medium term.

Mullings said JAMMS has distributed close to $750 million in royalties over the past 20 years, with half remaining in Jamaica. The non-profit, established under the Copyright Act, administers rights for record producers and performers — meaning, it secures royalties for creators of music masters and performers, not songwriters.

Mullings explained that in 2025, over 253 million tracks were uploaded on platforms, but only 12 per cent received more than 1,000 streams. The record label earns about US$3 to US$5 when a song hits that amount of streams. Industry data show global recorded music revenues reached US$29 billion last year, with 69 per cent coming from streaming, said Mullings.

Dancehall’s streaming leaders

According to Music Vault data scanning Spotify, Sean Paul remains Jamaica’s most streamed dancehall artiste globally with 54.5 million monthly listeners and 5.5 million followers. Skillibeng with 11.8 million listeners, Shenseea with 11.6 million, Damian Marley with 7.9 million, Busy Signal with 7.8 million, Charly Black with 6.8 million, and Spice with 6.3 million round out Jamaica’s top performers. International acts such as Burna Boy of Nigeria with 23.9 million listeners and Stefflon Don of the UK with 5.9 million also feature prominently, underscoring the genre’s reach.

The levelling of the music industry has resulted in more artistes owning their masters or publishing rights. That ownership structure means they often need fewer streams than traditional artistes to make a living.

“You don’t need to sell diamond to make a living,” Mullings said. “There are more persons being paid, but each person is being paid less in the grand scheme of things.”

New York-based producer Chris ‘Mannix’ Schlarb of DubShot Records added that content creation on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are increasingly part of the bottom line.

“We’re starting to see a very large and fast-growing increase in short-form content,” Schlarb said, citing TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts.

Under Recording Industry Association of America rules, 150 streams equal one unit, while 1,500 streams from an album equal one album unit.

luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com