By Lingamandla Mancoba
Jazz listenership continues to grow on Spotify, with South Africans streaming nearly 175 million jazz tracks over the past year, and listeners aged 18-29 accounting for 26% of streams.
Jazz has traditionally been associated with older generations in South Africa, but Spotify’s latest figures challenge that perception, showing the genre is increasingly resonating with younger listeners.
“Jazz is now the new cool,” says Andiswa Makhoba, a second-year Jazz Studies student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. According to Spotify data reported by Lifestyle & Tech, jazz listenership grew by 20% between 2025 and 2026, while monthly jazz streams have risen by 15% since 2024. Nearly 175 million jazz tracks were streamed in the past 12 months.
The rise in jazz listening is also reflected in how audiences interact with the music beyond the streams. The number of users saving jazz content grew from more than 167,000 in 2021 to over one million in 2025, while the total number of jazz saves climbed to more than five million.
Young listeners are reshaping the jazz audience. Listeners aged 18-29 account for 26% of jazz streams, making them the largest single age group in the published data. They are followed by those aged 35-44 at 23%, while listeners aged 55 and older account for 19%.
“Jazz is not just a genre, but it is a lifestyle. That’s what’s attracting more young people to jazz,” Makhoba adds. South African jazz artist Riley G believes the increase reflects a growing appetite for music that offers something deeper.
“People are hungry for music. Jazz has so much freedom. It has so much improvisation, but it also has a community where everyone pulls each other up, and that gives the younger audience a sense of belonging,” he says.
The rise in jazz listening comes as South African music continues to expand its presence on Spotify. According to Music in Africa, Spotify’s 2025 Loud & Clear data show that South African artists generated more than R504 million in Spotify royalties, a 28% increase from the previous year.
The international reach of South African music has grown, with 74% of royalties generated by local artists from listening outside the country.
Jazz listener Pumza Marubelela notes that accessibility is changing how people discover music.
“Platforms like Spotify have also made it much easier to stumble across artists you might have never heard on traditional radio. I know I discover new amazing artists this way,” she adds.
While Spotify’s figures point to growing interest in the genre, jazz musician and academic Dr. Sibusiso Mash Mashiloane believes the numbers need to be examined beyond the figures.
For Mashiloane, the important question is not only how many people are listening, but who or what is being counted as jazz.
“I’m interested in knowing the depth of it. Who is jazz? What is their definition of jazz? Who are those artists? Are the record labels pushing this narrative?”
The figures may signal a positive movement for South African jazz, but for Mashiloane, an understanding of who is behind those numbers is key to understanding what the reported growth really means.
