When the Boks win, the numbers surge on Spotify’s Rugby playlist

When the Springboks narrowly beat England last week in a quarterfinal match of the Rugby World Cup, the Spotify playlist Rugby Musiek’s streams surged by 191% – according to the streaming platform.

“Sport unites people, and by the same token, music is universal. The Rugby Musiek playlist captures the spirit of unity, and this is possibly why South Africans turned to it to celebrate this win”, said Spotify’s Afrikaans Specialist Manager, Artist and Label Partnerships in South Africa Henco Harmse.

The surge was not just limited to the Rugby Musiek playlist, searches for ‘rugby’ increased by 210% that same day in Mzansi.

The Rugby Musiek playlist consists of a cocktail of new and well-known Rugby-themed and patriotic songs such as Mandoza’s Nkalakatha, Siya Kolisi by Robbie Wessels, and Saam Suid-Afrika by prominent Afrikaans musician Anlia Star (wife to Eben Etzebeth) alongside fellow artists Robbie Wessels and Karlien Van Jaarsveld.

With the Boks competing in the final today against New Zealand, it won’t be surprising if the aforementioned numbers double after the final, should the Boks win.

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Numbers break-down

From an age group perspective, 35-55+ year-olds who likely watched the 2019 Rugby World Cup excitedly as the Springboks took home the Webb Ellis trophy are in the top three age groups streaming the playlist. 35-44 lead the pack at 28% then trailed by 45-54 at 19% then 30-34 and 55+ at 14% respectively.

“Post-streaming music, and culture at large crossed borders across the world with playlists as one of the conduits facilitating discovery on-platform”, averred Harmse.

The playlist has seen more males, at 68%, leaning towards it than females. The data is not far off from the norm witnessed at stadiums during the Currie Cup, the domestic rugby union competition where most of the fandom is often male.

Popular Afrikaans music artist Riaan Benadé leads the all-time streams in South Africa and makes an appearance on the global all-time streams. On the South African front, two of his songs, Spontaan and Vat ‘n Bietjie are at number one and three.

American band TOTO’s Africa, Irene-Louise Van Wyk’s Tekkies Brand, and Elandré’s Vuur Op Die Water round up the top five. Globally, TOTO’s Africa is on the top five list with Right Said Fred’s You’re My Mate and Stand Up for the Champions right behind followed by Riaan Benadé’s aforementioned songs.

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