Dapper beats YBNL, Starboy, Mavin in mid-year market-share ranking

Dapper Music & Entertainment ranked as Nigeria’s leading homegrown music company in the first half of 2026, according to TurnTable Charts’ Mid-Year Market Share Report.

The Lagos-based company accounted for 3.82 per cent of Nigeria’s streaming market between January and June, placing it ahead of YBNL Nation, GIRAN Republic, Starboy Entertainment and Dangbana Republik.

Its lead, however, came despite a sharp year-on-year decline. Dapper’s share fell by 43.4 per cent from the 6.76 per cent it recorded in the first half of 2025.

The company also ranked fifth overall, behind four international music companies: EMPIRE, Virgin Music, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.

Market breakdown

YBNL Nation ranked second among Nigerian-owned music companies with a 2.40 per cent share, followed by GIRAN Republic with 1.99 per cent.

Starboy Entertainment placed fourth with 1.50 per cent, while Dangbana Republik completed the domestic top five with 1.42 per cent.

The remaining companies in the Nigerian-owned top 10 were NSNV Inc., MAD Solutions, KeyQaad, To Your Ears Entertainment and Mavin Records.

Together, the 10 companies accounted for 17.29 per cent of the market, reflecting the growing presence of locally owned companies despite the continued dominance of international music groups.

Dapper’s fifth-place position overall was unchanged from the first quarter of 2026. Its market share had risen from 2.50 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 2.64 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 before reaching 3.82 per cent at mid-year.

Dapper Music

Dapper Music & Entertainment was established in 2018 by music executive Damilola “Dapper” Akinwunmi.

It began as a music distribution and label-services company before expanding into recording, publishing, live entertainment and film.

Its subsidiaries include Dapper Music & Entertainment, Dvpper Digital, Dapper Live, Dapper Films and S94 Publishing.

The company says its distribution arm has released more than 2,000 songs and generated over one billion streams on Audiomack. It also claims that five albums distributed through its platform have each exceeded 100 million streams on the service.

Dapper has worked with several artistes who have become prominent in Nigeria’s contemporary music scene, including Seyi Vibez, Shallipopi, T.I Blaze and Balloranking.

Seyi Vibez joined the company in 2021 and rose to mainstream prominence during his time with the label, releasing projects including Billion Dollar Baby, Thy Kingdom Come and NAHAMciaga.

The catalogues of Seyi Vibez and Shallipopi significantly contributed to Dapper’s earlier market performance. In the first three quarters of 2024, the company controlled 7.97 per cent of the market, according to TurnTable Charts.

Current roster

Dapper’s current roster includes Balloranking, TML Vibez, Reeha and Cazulee.

TML Vibez’s debut album, A Street Kid’s Diary, released in December 2025, contributed to the company’s performance during the first quarter of 2026.

He followed the project with A Street Kid’s Diary (Disk 2) on 2 October. The album features Victony, Blaqbonez, Ayo Maff, Shoday, Lasmid and Vory.

Balloranking also renewed his partnership with Dapper in 2026 after working with the company since 2022. The parties described the renewed agreement as a long-term arrangement centred on artiste development and career growth.

‘Started with conviction’

Commenting on the latest ranking, Mr Akinwunmi attributed the company’s performance to the artistes, songwriters, producers and other members of its team.

“Eight years ago, we started with a conviction that Nigerian music, built properly, artist-first and for the long term, could compete with anyone,” he said.

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“To be recognised at the top of this list is a reflection of that work, and it belongs to every artist, writer, producer and member of this team who has contributed to it. We are building for the next eight years, not celebrating the last.”

Dapper’s ranking comes amid increasing competition among Nigerian-owned music companies, including established labels and newer artiste-led imprints seeking a larger share of the country’s streaming market.