Music streaming and download service, Boomplay, and Universal Music Group (UMG), have announced a new landmark licensing agreement. In the new agreement, UMG’s global music catalog will extend from 7 to 47 countries across Africa. This is part of an extended relationship that will benefit African musicians and talent and expand the listening experience for Boomplay users across Africa.
In 2018, UMG became the first major global music company to license music to Boomplay, increasing its audience reach and influence across Africa in recent years. Boomplay’s catalogue currently stands at more than 50 million tracks, with 50 million Monthly Active Users (MAU). The expansion of this licensing deal with UMG, will enable African music fans across the continent to experience the best in both domestic African and International talent.
Boomplay has been at the forefront of the music streaming market since 2015 and has a deep understanding of the local market. Now the leading African platform, in December 2020, Boomplay surpassed the 100 million app downloads milestone on Google Play.
Boomplay’s Director of Content and Strategy, Phil Choi, added, “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. We’re excited to continue partnering with the UMG team to help promote their African and international artists by bringing their catalogue to even more regions across Africa.”
Boomplay and UMG East Africa held conferences that brought together industry stakeholders to find ways of growing and supporting the African music community even further. Over the past 5 years, UMG has expanded operations across the continent, opening divisions in Kenya, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco and Nigeria.
Boomplay users will now have access to UMG’s extensive catalog of both local and global recording artists and labels. UMG’s African Labels will also be supported under the new agreement including Def Jam Africa, a label dedicated entirely to the best in African hip-hop, afrobeat and trap music.
Franck Kacou, Managing Director, Universal Music Africa, who lead’s Universal Music Group’s activity across French-speaking Africa said, “We are excited for our artists and labels to be available now to music fans across these 25 French speaking countries, but also to reach audiences across the rest of the continent. Africa is rich with artistic talent and musical culture and continues to inspire millions of Africans for whom music is an essential part of their daily lives.”