You can't search for South African music today and not have several Amapiano artists appear in your results. The genre has surged across global dance floors thanks to collaborations, the growth of digital music streaming, and an era where viral dance challenges brought exciting snippets of its distinct sound to the world.
But how did these elements collide in an era of social distancing and get Amapiano on the world stage?
Socially distanced connections Amapiano was already growing by the time March 2020 COVID-19 restrictions hit South Africa and the rest of the world. It more than doubled its 34 million Spotify streams in 2019 to 102 million by the end of the first year of lockdown. Pandemic-induced separation caused a countrywide craving for connection. Live-music events were banned, so artists couldn't tour or perform.
Four years before South Africa's first lockdown, less than half of the country owned smartphones. By the end of 2019, this number rose to 92%. More people than ever before were connecting to the internet. Even though data costs were high, mobile internet use grew as the 18-to-24-year-olds who predominantly use social media in South Africa spent more time online. This has translated to the streaming industry, too, where 84% of all Amapiano streams on Spotify are on mobile, and 18-to-24-year-olds account for 40% of all Amapiano streams.
Youth culture goes digital As young people in South Africa looked for new ways to connect with friends, dance challenges sparked their imaginations. The fact that they couldn't groove didn't stop them from combining their flair for dance, with Amapiano tracks that were trending on messaging apps. Social media gave them a way to show off their moves and get others to imitate them.
Social media dance challenges that emerged in 2020 like the #Johnvuligatechallenge, JazziDisciples dance challenge, and the #Amanikinikichallenge marked key moments when youth culture connected with and amplified the genre through social media.
This moved the genre from its underground club roots and across the country when commercial radio picked it up. Dancer and Amapiano hitmaker Kamo Mphela says, Music doesn't move without dance. I don't think both can exist without each other.
Before Amapiano entered the streaming era, artists got their music out however they could. We were selling CDs hand to hand, says DJ and music producer DBN Gogo. Artists tapped into social media to brand themselves, share new tracks, and sell merchandise. But monetizing their work remained a challenge.
Artists take their work online Pandemic restrictions on live events meant many artists lost their income. Some resorted to loans or selling their equipment to make ends meet. And young emerging musicians were worse off because they didn't have the networks or the savings to support themselves.
Amapiano artists found new spaces for their music to thrive-think Major League DJz Amapiano live balcony mix. Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa had to cancel the highly anticipated Scorpion Kings live show in 2020, so they launched PianoHub TV to keep the vibes going.
Thank God for platforms like Spotify where anyone, anywhere in the world, can go and search the music, so it can reach the people that way, says DBN Gogo.
Spotify also supported artists in a number of ways, including adding a feature that allowed musicians to use their Spotify profiles to raise money to support themselves. Spotify further platformed Amapiano culture by documenting the sound's global growth through a documentary titled Music that Moves and promoting Amapiano playlists to wider audiences.
Fan-made playlists are a telling sign of the impact this had. In 2019 there were fewer than 800,000 playlists that featured Amapiano tracks. In 2020 this grew to just under 1.2 million playlists, then to over 2 million playlists in 2021.
Outside of the income artists make on streaming platforms, Spotify puts them in the driver's seat with data tools that let them see how their music is taking off. Technology is making things way easier to stream and download. That's probably the reason why [Amapiano's] moving so quickly, says Aymos. DJ Lady Du reflects that with streaming platforms, it becomes easier for us to get bookings outside [of South Africa].
Lockdown era collaborations takes Amapiano international Hits like Kabza De Small's Sponono featuring Afrobeats kings Burna Boy and Wizkid made Amapiano's explosion on the world stage inevitable. Amapiano grew its international reach even further when Davido featured on Focalistic's Ke Star remix. Vocalist Sha Sha topped off the genre's international moment in this era by bagging the Best New International Act award at the 2020 BET Awards.
Collaborations and accolades like these kicked off Amapiano's fusion with genres like Afrobeats and took South Africa's township sound to a new level.
A music movement supported by a digital revolution Even in a country like South Africa, where many lack internet access, music lovers will find ways to party to their favorite Amapiano tracks. This is how an online culture fostered during a global pandemic, helped turn Amapiano into one of SA's biggest exports.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
14/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
14/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
14/11/2026
Newest Lenses, Horizon Anamorphic Seminar & Guided Lens Character Experience Highlight Creative Possibilities
At the 2026 Toru CAMERIMAGE Film Festival, ZEISS...
14/11/2026
Sonnet Announces Black Friday Sale on Select Products
Brie Clayton November 14, 2026
0 Comments
WHAT: Sonnet Technologies is having a sale on a select...
14/11/2026
Berklee Alumni Shine at the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards This year's winners included songwriters, engineers, and performers who contributed to acclaimed reco...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
12/11/2026
RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...
12/11/2026
Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...
12/11/2026
uniqFEED has opened a Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Madrid, Spain. It is already operational, delivering virtual advertising for LaLiga matches. The ROC is ...
You can't search for South African music today and not have several Amapiano artists appear in your results. The genre has surged across global dance floors thanks to collaborations, the growth of digital music streaming, and an era where viral dance challenges brought exciting snippets of its distinct sound to the world.
