Mid-Year 2026 Market Share Report: EMPIRE Extends Its Lead, WMG and UMG Surge While GIRAN Republic Breaks Into the Top 10
EMPIRE remains the largest record label in the Nigerian streaming market at the mid-year point of 2026, while its market share remained relatively stable year-over-year, the gap between the market leader and No. 2 widened substantially as Virgin Music surrendered more than two percentage points of market share. At the same time, Warner Music Group (WMG), Universal Music Group (UMG) and ONErpm all recorded major gains, with WMG moving from second place in Q1 to third place at mid-year and UMG climbing from seventh to fourth. GIRAN Republic remained in the Top 10, moving from fifth place in Q1 to ninth place at mid-year, while recording one of the biggest year-over-year gains among the leading labels. Dapper Music, which ranked fifth in Q1, remained fifth at mid-year, while Sony Music dropped from third to sixth. YBNL Nation moved up from ninth to eighth.
EMPIRE remains the largest label in the Nigerian market at mid-year 2026, accounting for 11.30% of total market share, compared with 11.13% at the same point in 2025. EMPIRE now commands more than twice Virgin Music's market share, at 11.30% versus 5.24%. EMPIRE's strong first-half performance was supported by major releases involving some of Africa's biggest artistes. The January release of Wizkid and Asake's REAL, Vol. 1 was jointly released through Starboy Entertainment, GIRAN Republic and EMPIRE. The first half also included Asake's M$NEY, released through GIRAN Republic and EMPIRE, a project that opened with 57 million on-demand streams in Nigeria, setting a new first-week record for an album in the market. The combination of major frontline releases and continued catalogue consumption has allowed EMPIRE to retain a commanding position even as several competitors have grown rapidly.
Virgin Music ranks at No. 2 position at mid-year after moving up from fourth place in Q1 2026, but experienced one of the largest contractions among the market's leading labels. Its market share fell from 7.64% in H1 2025 to 5.24% in H1 2026, representing a 31.4% year-over-year decline. Despite losing nearly one-third of its market share, Virgin Music remains comfortably ahead of WMG, which sits in third place with 4.52%. WMG increased its market share from 2.67% to 4.52%, moving WMG from second place in Q1 2026 to third place at mid-year, a gain of 69.1% year-over-year. WMG's performance builds on the momentum already visible in Q1 2026. The company's Nigerian market presence was strengthened by a combination of local label partnerships and the continued success of its international repertoire in Nigeria, primarily Gunna \\& Allonszy. WMG's share is now almost 70% larger than it was a year ago.
UMG is another major beneficiary of the changing competitive landscape. The company moved from seventh place in Q1 2026 to fourth at mid-year, increasing its share from 2.24% to 4.22%. That represents an 88.3% year-over-year increase in market share. UMG therefore recorded the strongest percentage growth among the established major labels in the 2026 Top 10. Its rise is particularly important because UMG has climbed three places since Q1 2026. One year later, it has overtaken Dapper Music and Sony Music and now sits directly behind WMG. In Q1, UMG ranked seventh with 2.13% market share.
Dapper Music experienced one of the largest declines among the major players. The label's market share dropped from 6.76% in mid-year 2025 to 3.82% in mid-year 2026, representing a 43.4% year-over-year decline. Despite the contraction, Dapper Music remained in fifth place, the same position it occupied in Q1 2026. In Q1, Dapper recorded 2.64% market share after ranking fifth in the quarter. It also remains the leading Nigerian music company for H1 2026.
ONErpm is another major winner at the mid-year mark of 2026. The company increased its share from 2.00% to 3.23%, a gain of 61.3% year-over-year growth, moving from 10th place in Q1 to seventh at mid-year. Its rise is especially notable because it overtook several labels that were ahead of it in Q1, including Starboy Entertainment and YBNL Nation. ONErpm ranked 10th in Q1 2026 with 1.55% market share.
YBNL Nation remains one of the market's strongest labels but recorded a notable decline in market share. Its share fell from 3.11% to 2.40%, representing a 23.0% year-over-year decline. However, its ranking improved, moving from ninth place in Q1 2026 to eighth at mid-year. The rise of GIRAN Republic is also particularly relevant to YBNL's position. Asake's first full-length project under GIRAN Republic, M$NEY, was released after his exit from YBNL and became one of the defining releases of the first half.
GIRAN Republic is arguably the breakout story of the first half in terms of year-over-year growth. Its market share increased from 0.34% in H1 2025 to 1.99% in H1 2026. That represents +486.0% year-over-year growth. However, GIRAN moved from fifth place in Q1 2026 to ninth place in mid-year. GIRAN's rise in market share is strongly connected to Asake's transition into his own imprint. REAL, Vol. 1 was released through Starboy Entertainment, GIRAN Republic and EMPIRE in January, while M$NEY was released through GIRAN Republic and EMPIRE in May. At 1.99%, GIRAN is already ahead of Starboy Entertainment, Dangbana Republik and NSNV Inc – other imprints by marquee artistes.
Other Highlights
Atlantic Records re-enters the Top Ten at mid-year as its market share increased from 0.69% in H1 2025 to 1.50% in H1 2026, representing 117.7% year-over-year growth. Atlantic finished the period in 10th place. Its 1.50% share now puts it ahead of Starboy Entertainment and just behind GIRAN Republic.
Starboy Entertainment
Starboy Entertainment falls out of the Top Ten, moving from sixth place in Q1 2026 to 11th at mid-year, despite remaining closely associated with one of the biggest releases of the first half, REAL, Vol. 1. The label's market share declined from 2.20% to 1.50%, representing a 32.0% year-over-year decline. The movement is particularly notable because Starboy was sixth among Nigerian-owned labels in Q1 2026 and had a 1.25% share in that ranking.
Dangbana Republik
Dangbana Republik increased its share from 1.25% to 1.42%, a gain of 13.5% year-over-year. The label moved from sixth place in Q1 to fifth at mid-year. (among Nigerian-owned companies) The improvement is not as dramatic as the gains made by WMG, UMG or GIRAN, but the ranking movement is meaningful because Dangbana is gaining ground while several previously larger labels are contracting. After becoming the No. 1 Nigerian-owned label in Q4 2025, Dangbana remains firmly inside the top tier of Nigerian-owned market participants at mid-year 2026.
Kilogbede Records
The label was not represented at a measurable level in the H1 2025 Label Market Share ranking but reached 1.07% in H1 2026, enough to place it 20th overall. In Q1 2026, Kilogbede Records was already the eighth-largest Nigerian-owned label, with a 0.98% share. Its emergence alongside GIRAN Republic and other rapidly expanding imprints illustrates the increasing ability of artiste-led and independent labels to capture meaningful portions of the Nigerian streaming market.
Ranking of the Nigerian-owned Labels for H1 2026
- Dapper Music \\& Entertainment (3.82%)
- YBNL Nation (2.40%)
- GIRAN Republic (1.99%)
- Starboy Entertainment Ltd. (1.50%)
- Dangbana Republik (1.42%)
- NSNV Inc. (1.39%)
- MAD Solutions LLC (1.29%)
- KeyQaad (1.19%)
- To Your Ears Entertainment (1.16%)
- Mavin Records (1.13%)
- Kilogbede Records (1.07%)
- Spaceship Entertainment Ltd. (1.06%)
- Chocolate City Music (0.99%)
- Vibez Inc (0.90%)
- Plutomania Records (0.85%)
- Jonzing World (0.84%)
- Native Records (0.74%)
- DMW (0.67%)
- Inner Circle Entertainment (0.61%)
- Kalacious Entertainment (0.40%)
- Azuri (0.39%)
- Oceanstreet (0.38%)
- Tobisneh Records (0.29%)
- Canny Consults (0.29%)
- Zanku Records (0.29%)
- Flyboy Inc. (0.28%)
- BT Music Worldwide (0.27%)
- Easier Said LLC (0.27%)
- Marlian Music (0.25%)
- CKay Holdings (0.25%)
