The popular African streaming platform, Boomplay and Universal Music Group expand license to 40 new markets including Uganda. It was announced that they struck a deal to expand licensing of (UMG) Universal Music Group’s catalogue to 40 new markets including Uganda which will now over 47 countries across the continent.
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Only 7 countries on the continent could access Universal Music Group’s catalogue. Through this new deal, 40 new markets have been targeted including Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia and it is now also available in French-speaking countries.
Boomplay is one of the first streaming platforms in Africa and currently the biggest platform in Africa boasting 50 million monthly active users. Since its launch in 2015, it has managed to hit major milestones surpassing 100 million app downloads via Google Play Store in 2020.
In efforts to keep listeners connected to the platform during the pandemic, the audio streaming platform has also given away 250 million megabytes of data to users for free to encourage them to keep streaming music during the coronavirus pandemic.
Popular for its wealth of African content, it faces competition from Spotify which announced its expanded reach to 80 new markets within and outside Africa earlier this year as part of plans to bring never before heard content to the global spotlight.
Read also: Spotify to launch in Uganda and 80 more countries across the globe soon
Boomplay and Universal Music Group expand license will increase access to diverse content
In 2018, Universal Music Group became the first major worldwide music company to license music to Boomplay, giving Boomplay customers access to UMG’s vast catalogue of both local and global artists such as Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Bob Marley, and many more.
Boomplay and Universal Music Group expand license which will increase the availability of diverse content from Universal Music Group artists such as Drake, Lil Baby, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, and African artists like Tiwa Savage, Nasty C to music fans across Africa. This recently announced license expansion also shows UMG’s continued support for African content.
Sipho Dlamini, CEO of Universal Music Group South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa said, “We are delighted to expand our relationship with Boomplay, who over the past few years have shown themselves to be dedicated to providing the best in African and international music to the rapidly growing streaming audience across Africa.”
Phil Choi, Director of Content and Strategy at Boomplay said, “Since our original deal with UMG, the African music industry has seen exponential growth and made huge strides towards being the next powerhouse that it should be.”
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