Boomplay and Universal Music Group Have Expanded their Licensing Deal to Cover 47 African Countries

Fast-rising Africa-based music streaming platform, Boomplay, and Universal Music Group have signed a new music licensing agreement that will extend licensing of UMG’s global music catalog from 7 to 47 countries across the Africa.

According to a joint statement by the companies which was seen by Business Elites Africa, the extended partnership is expected to benefit African musicians and by significantly boosting the availability of UMG’s African and International repertoire to music fans across the continent.

Recall that Universal Music Group was the first major global music company to license music to the Boomplay streaming service in 2018. Since then, Boomplay has steadily grown its audience and influence and now has a catalog that stands at more than 50 million tracks. The company also has the largest repertoire of local African content globally, with 50 million monthly active users.

Boomplay users will now have access to Universal Music Group’s extensive catalog of both local and global recording artists in the following African countries: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Guinea- Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tchad, Togo, Uganda, Zambia & Zimbabwe.

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While commenting on the new agreement, Boomplay’s Director of Content & Strategy, Phil Choi, 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. 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.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music Group (South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa) Sipho Dlamini, also commented on the development saying: “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 music to fans across the continent. Through this extended agreement, Boomplay will now help supply improved access to the world’s largest and most diverse music catalog to their broad user base, as we continue to introduce the best in African and international music to the rapidly growing streaming audience across Africa.”