Is Africa’s music streaming revolution on the horizon?

When Mdundo launched in 2013, the music distribution platform from Kenya was nonetheless a pioneer of types. Today, eight years and 7 million lively customers later, co-founder Martin Nielsen is satisfied that his plan labored.
“The market for music streaming and downloads in Africa is growing rapidly,” he instructed DW. “People are going online and there is a great demand for content. and that includes music in particular.”
The Swedish streaming large Spotify takes the same view. So far, the platform is simply obtainable in 5 African nations. By the tip of the yr, it goals to supply companies to 39 nations on the continent. Spotify’s important competitor, Apple Music, already expanded its choices final yr.

“Music is an integral part of youth culture. Africa has the youngest population in the world,” Spotify’s head of music for Africa, Phiona Okumu, instructed DW.
Platforms with potential
There are different gamers concerned, too. According to the web site WeTracker, there are presently greater than 25 streaming platforms working in Africa. This contains companies akin to Boomplay, which has about 50 million customers, but in addition smaller suppliers, together with Mkito in Tanzania, Songa from Kenya and uduX in Nigeria.
But Nigerian know-how analyst Victor Ekwelaor nonetheless doesn’t belief the rosy messages being despatched out by the platform operators.
“I don’t think they are booming,” he instructed DW. “There is just a wave of marketing measures and attempts to get into the market.”
One of the primary obstacles going through streaming companies is that solely 29% of individuals on the continent use the web.
“The biggest problem is the connection: Getting people online so that they can consume music,” Mdundo founder Nielsen admits.
Expensive information connections
Data connections are additionally costly. According to a examine by the British telecommunications supplier CableUK, African suppliers cost a median of $3.30 (€2.77) per gigabyte.
Only the American continent beats such a hefty worth. But on the similar time, most individuals in African nations aren’t getting any richer.
“The platforms are mainly present in countries with better economic conditions and low data prices,” says Ekwelaor. A take a look at the core markets of Mdundo and Spotify, which incorporates Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda, confirms this.
The suppliers wish to counter this with technical improvements. “Data prices are a challenge, internet connections are a challenge, but that can’t stop an entire continent from moving forward,” says Spotify supervisor Okumu.
Spotify has created a lighter model of its unique app that works with out high-quality smartphones and with decrease bandwidths. Competitor Mdundo primarily depends on free downloads, which require far much less information than streaming. This is financed by adverts earlier than every tune.
Increasing using streaming companies would additionally imply extra earnings for African musicians. So far, many artists have been shedding income as a result of their music is commonly illegally downloaded or bought on pirated CDs. Just €72 million in license and utilization charges have been collected in Africa in 2018 — lower than 1% of world revenues. In distinction, revenues from the digital music enterprise elevated by 36% between 2014 and 2018.
“Pirated copies are a big problem in Africa and streaming offers a solution,” says Okumu.
What’s left for the artists?
Mdundo, for instance, says it donates half of its earnings to the artists. This yr, the platform is concentrating on revenues of $600,000. With over 90,000 registered artists, solely small sums of cash are misplaced.
Despite all of the obstacles, Mdundo founder Nielsen believes within the potential of his platform. He is aiming for 18 million every day customers by June 2022. Even then, he believes that downloads will work higher than streaming.
“The Internet will become more and more natural on the continent and it will become easier to reach larger target groups and to earn money with it,” he says.
This article was tailored from German.