UMG EXPANDS IN AFRICA WITH BOOMPLAY

Universal Music Group has struck a deal with Africa’s leading music streaming and download service, Boomplay, that will extend licensing of UMG’s global music catalog to 47 African countries.

This agreement underscores UMG’s commitment to supporting and growing Africa’s domestic music ecosystems while creating new opportunities for Pan-African talent to reach new audiences. UMG has divisions in Nigeria, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco and South Africa.

UMG’s African labels, including Def Jam Africa, Motown Gospel Africa, AI Records, Afroforce1 and other distributed labels, will also be supported under the new agreement.

Said Franck Kacou, Managing Director, Universal Music Africa, “Africa is rich in artistic talent and musical culture and continues to inspire millions of Africans for whom music is an essential part of their daily lives. Working alongside Boomplay, we will help introduce these talents to new audiences as the appetite for music continues to grow throughout these countries.”

Boomplay’s catalog currently stands at more than 50m tracks. Its app has been downloaded more than 100m times.

Boomplay’s Director of Content & Strategy, Phil Choi, added, “Since our original deal with UMG, the African music industry has seen exponential growth and made huge strides toward becoming the powerhouse it should be. We’re excited to continue partnering with the UMG team to help promote their African and international artists by bringing their catalog to even more regions across Africa.”