Boomplay, Africa’s leading music streaming service and Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner have today announced an expansion of their licensing agreement that will extend the availability of Merlin members’ music catalogue to 47 additional countries in Africa.
Founded in 2007, Merlin is a digital rights music licensing partner for independent record labels, distributors, and other music rights holders around the world. In 2019, Merlin signed a licensing deal covering 11 countries with Boomplay, which now has over 60 million Monthly Active Users and boasts a rich and expansive catalogue of over 65 million tracks, housing the most extensive catalogue of African content globally.
The expansion of Boomplay’s licensing deal with Merlin is expected to give millions more African music lovers across the continent access to the best local and international music from Merlin members’ incredibly diverse catalogues.
Boomplay has been at the forefront of helping the African music industry unlock its full potential. They have done this by securing successful partnerships with the world’s largest labels and distributors. They also actively support artists through various promotions and sponsorships, amongst others, and facilitating collaborations that aim to ease data costs for music lovers in Africa. This expansion, along with Boomplay’s recent partnership with Billboard that enlists Boomplay’s streams as part of the data that informs the prestigious Billboard Charts, reaffirms their commitment to ensuring African music is heard worldwide.
This licensing expansion also emphasizes Merlin’s commitment to drive new value for its members, including access to new audiences across Africa, while offering a richer music experience for Boomplay users.
Boomplay’s Director of Content & Strategy, Phil Choi, had this to say, “As our user base and service grows rapidly across the continent, it’s important that we have the right partners to continue on this journey with us, and to grow and support the local music industry. As the world leader in independent music rights, we’re delighted that Merlin shares the same vision as us and together with Boomplay’s advantages in the digital music sector and Merlin’s top-quality catalogue of songs, we can look forward to a striving music eco-system for many years to come.
Phil Choi, Boomplay’s Director of Content & Strategy
Charlie Lexton, Merlin’s COO, added, “Through this expanded partnership, Boomplay users from the newly opened territories can now access Merlin members’ extensive catalogue of homegrown and international music across all types of genres and an array of languages. We are excited to see Boomplay grow their reach and offer their service to new users across Africa.”
Charlie Lexton, Merlin’s COO