Boomplay

Last updated
Boomplay
Boomplay Music Logo.png
Type of business Private
FoundedAugust 2015;8 years ago (2015-08)
Lagos, Nigeria
Key peopleLuke Cao (CEO) [1]
IndustryStreaming on-demand media
Services Streaming media
URL boomplay.com
RegistrationRequired
Users 95 million (monthly active)
Current statusActive
Native client(s) on

Boomplay, or Boomplay Music, is an Africa-focused media streaming and download service. Developed by Transsnet Music Limited, [2] the platform was first launched in Nigeria in 2015 by TECNO Mobile, Transsion Holdings. Boomplay has a freemium and subscription based service; basic features are free with advertisements or limitations, while additional features, such as download for offline play and ad-free listening are offered via paid subscriptions. [3] The service is currently available for Web, Android and iOS. As of August 3, 2018, Boomplay Music recorded 10 million installations off the Google Play and App store. [4] It currently has over 75 million monthly users (MAU) with a catalogue of over 100 million songs by 7.5 million artists. [5]

Contents

History

Boomplay primarily focuses on African local and urban music content and was first launched in Nigeria in 2015. Boomplay Music released "Boomplay Music Version 2.1" in March 2016 introducing its Premium Subscription which featured paid subscription services, ad-free listening and downloads for offline play. [6] In March 2017 Boomplay Music released Version 3.0 which featured a new logo, redesigned User Interface, the follow feature and the introduction of a new "Buzz" feature that allows users access to entertainment news without leaving the app. In 2017, it won the ‘Best African App’ Award at the AppsAfrica Innovation Awards in Cape Town, South Africa [7] [8] and on April 14, 2017, announced a partnership with TuneCore. [9] On 5 November 2018, Boomplay Music agreed a deal with Universal Music Group to distribute content from Universal's music labels. [10] [11] [12] The agreement brings UMG's extensive catalog of both local and global recording artists including Eminem, Tekno, Post Malone, Nicki Minaj, Lady Zamar, Lil Wayne, Bob Marley, Brenda Fassie, Wurld, J. Cole, Dr Tumi, Nasty C, 6lack, Diana Ross, Hugh Masekela, Jon Bellion, Lady Gaga, Tamia, Maroon 5, AKA & Anatii, Tjan, Jah Prayzah, Nonso Bassey, Mafikizolo, Cina Soul, Ella Mai, and Mr Eazi to its users. In December 2018, the iOS version of the app was released. In March 2019, Boomplay announced a licensing deal with Warner Music Group. [13] The terms of the partnership allow Boomplay to distribute Warner Music's extensive catalogue of more than one million songs to its community of listeners in ten countries; Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In March 2019, Boomplay successfully completed a series A funding of US$20 million led by Maison Capital and followed by Seas Capital and other strategic investors. [14] In 2021 it was announced that Boomplay is working with Croatian vendor Centili to innovate data payment models. Customers earn points that can be used in exchange for data, can take part in promotions and competitions to win data, and can gift data to others users. This feature was launched initially in Nigeria, but is expected to be rolled out to the other countries in which Boomplay operates. [15]

Billboard announced in October 2021, that data from Boomplay streams would be added to the data used in collating the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200 and other Billboard data-driven charts. [16]

Partners

In May 2019, Boomplay signed a distribution agreement with Believe Digital distribution services. Believe was founded in Paris in 2004 by Denis Ladegaillerie as a worldwide online distribution and services arm and an in-house record label. With 32 offices in 16 territories, the company's clients include Scorpio Music, Kitsune, Chinese Man Records, Fargo, Baco Records, Afrique Caraibes Productions and Yellow. [17] Also in 2019, Boomplay announced licensing deals with Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, and global indie rights agency Merlin. [18] [19]

In June 2022, Boomplay partnered with telecommunications company AirtelTigo to offer its users cheaper data to stream music in its app. [20] [21]

Expansion

Boomplay announced its move into East Africa by opening its Kenyan office in August 2016. It opened its Tanzania office In April 2017. It currently has local operations and offices in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon.

Accounts and subscriptions

As of the middle of 2020, Boomplay had 75 million users in Africa. [22]

As of July 2022, the two Boomplay subscription types, both offering unlimited listening time and enhanced sound quality (up to 320 kbit/s bitrate) are:

TypeAd-FreeMobile listening320 kbit/s audio?Offline Save and PlayMusic downloads
Boomplay Music FreeNoLimitedYesYesYes
Boomplay Music PremiumYesYesYesYesYes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Music Group</span> Dutch–American music corporation

Universal Music Group N.V. is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its operational headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California. The biggest music company in the world, it is one of the "Big Three" record labels, along with Sony Music and Warner Music Group. Tencent acquired ten percent of Universal Music Group in March 2020 for €3 billion and acquired an additional ten percent stake in January 2021. Pershing Square Holdings later acquired ten percent of UMG prior to its IPO on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. The company went public on September 21, 2021, at a valuation of €46 billion.

Pandora is a subscription-based music streaming service owned by the broadcasting corporation Sirius XM Holdings that is presently based in Oakland, California inside of the United States. The service carries a focus on recommendations based on the "Music Genome Project", which is a means of classifying individual songs by musical traits such as genres and shared instrumentation. The service originally launched in the consumer market as an internet radio service that would generate personalized channels based on these traits as well as specific tracks liked by the user; this service is available in an advertising-supported tier and additionally a subscription-based version. In 2017, the service launched Pandora Premium, which is an on-demand version of the service more in line with contemporary competitors.

Amazon Prime Video, or simply Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered both as a stand-alone service and as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced by Amazon MGM Studios or licensed to Amazon, as Amazon Originals, with the service also hosting content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events, and video rental and purchasing services.

Amazon Music is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers.

Deezer is a French music streaming service founded in 2007. The company has been a subsidiary of Access Industries since 2016. Deezer is available via web and on various digital platforms, including Android, iOS, macOS and others.

Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 615 million monthly active users, including 239 million paying subscribers, as of March 2024. Spotify is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts.

Grooveshark was a web-based music streaming service owned and operated by Escape Media Group in the United States. Users could upload digital audio files, which could then be streamed and organized in playlists. The Grooveshark website had a search engine, music streaming features, and a music recommendation system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MixRadio</span> Online music streaming service

MixRadio was an online music streaming service owned by Line Corporation. The service was first introduced by Nokia in 2011 as Nokia Music for Windows Phone, serving as a successor to Nokia's previous Nokia Music Store/Comes with Music/Ovi Music Store initiatives, which was based on the LoudEye/OD2 platform. After its acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone business, the service was briefly maintained by Microsoft Mobile Oy before it was sold to Japanese internet company Line Corporation in 2015. Following the acquisition, MixRadio expanded to Android and iOS in May 2015.

Merlin is a digital rights music licensing partner for independent record labels, distributors, and other music rights holders around the world. It was founded in 2007 with Charles Caldas as the chief executive. In January 2020, Jeremy Sirota stepped into the role of Merlin CEO. The company is a member-based organization representing the digital licensing rights for hundreds of independent labels and distributors in nearly every country around the globe. As of 2019, Merlin has paid out over two billion dollars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SoundCloud</span> German audio streaming service

SoundCloud is a Swedish-founded German headquarter audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming services in the world and is available in 190 countries and territories. The service has more than 76 million active monthly users and over 200 million audio tracks as of November 2021. SoundCloud offers both free and paid memberships on the platform, available for mobile, desktop and Xbox devices. SoundCloud has evolved from a traditional online streaming platform to an entertainment company.

rara was a music streaming media service. It operated between December 2011 and March 2015. It offered ad-free, on-demand music streaming from a range of major and independent record labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music and Warner Music Group, global rights agency Merlin and independent digital distributors The Orchard, INgrooves Fontana, Believe Digital, [PIAS] and VidZone Digital Media.

irokotv Web platform

irokotv is a web platform that provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand. It is one of Africa's first mainstream online movie streaming websites, providing access to over 5,000 Nollywood film titles. irokotv is a part of iROKO Limited, which is one of Africa's entertainment companies.

Mixcloud is a popular British online music streaming service that allows for the listening and distribution of radio shows, DJ mixes and podcasts, which are crowdsourced by its registered users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinlet</span> Digital media company

Spinlet is a digital media company, focusing on Afro-Centric content. Spinlet’s primary service is music streaming and downloads available globally via web browsers, and the Spinlet app on iOS and Android. The Spinlet platform provides the largest music catalog of licensed African and International content from content licensers such as Content Connect Africa, Africori, Symphonic Distribution, TuneCore, La Cupla Music, Deliver My Tune, and many other indies. It allows the users to purchase, listen, share and discover music while offering integration and storage of the user's music library on their mobile device. As of October 2015, the Spinlet app had been downloaded nearly 2 million times.

HBO Now was an American subscription video on demand streaming service for premium television network HBO owned by WarnerMedia subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Officially unveiled on March 9 and launched on April 7, 2015, the service allowed subscribers on-demand access to HBO's library of original programs, films and other content on personal computers, smartphones, tablet devices and digital media players. Unlike HBO Go, HBO's online video on demand service for existing subscribers of the linear television channel, HBO Now was available as a standalone service and does not require a television subscription to use, targeting cord cutters who use competing services such as Netflix and Hulu. As of February 2018, HBO Now had 5 million subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transsion</span> Chinese smartphone company

Transsion Holdings is a Chinese manufacturer of mobile phones based in Shenzhen. It was the largest smartphone manufacturer by sales in Africa in 2017, and also sells mobile phones in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America. Its brands include phone brands such as Itel, Tecno, Infinix; after-sales service brand Carlcare; and accessories brand Oraimo. It manufactures phones in China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and recently in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audiomack</span> Media streaming service

Audiomack is an on-demand music streaming and audio discovery platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Music Group Nigeria</span> Record label in Nigeria

Universal Music Group Nigeria (UMGNG) is the West African division of the global record label Universal Music Group. Founded in 2017, it has its corporate headquarters located in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. The label has signed at least seventeen artists from various African countries. UMGNG is engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Aristokrat Group</span> African Media and Entertainment company

The Aristokrat Group, headquartered in Port Harcourt, is an African Media and Entertainment company, known for housing a record label and music publishing company, digital media company, tour and concert production company and a creative consulting and solutions agency. The company is headed by its Founder, Piriye Isokrari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Music Africa</span>

Universal Music Africa (UMA) is a multilingual music corporation of the global record label Universal Music Group, covering 25 French, Spanish, and Portuguese-speaking countries, in Africa, with its corporate headquarters located in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Universal Music Africa is known for housing Motown Gospel Africa, Blue Note Records Africa, and Def Jam Recordings Africa.

References

  1. ↑ Abulude, Samuel. "Boomplay Music Emerges Best In Africa". Leadership Newspapers. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  2. ↑ Marsh, Jenni. "The Chinese phone giant that beat Apple to Africa". CNN. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  3. ↑ "BOOMPLAY: DESCRIPTION, GO LIVE TIME, TERRITORIES, HOW THEY SELL YOUR MUSIC, PAY RATE". TuneCore. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Punch Newspapers (3 August 2018). "BOOMPLAY Music records 10 million installations off Google Play store". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Boomplay (September 8, 2021). "About Boomplay". Boomplay website. Boomplay. p. 1. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  6. ↑ Adepoju, Adekunle. "New Name And New Features For TECNO's Boom Player" . Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Nwanne, Chucks. "With international recognition, Boomplay Music set for bigger exploits" . Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Ilado, Lucy (16 July 2018). "Boomplay Music reaches new milestone" . Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  9. ↑ O., Kevin. "NEW STORE ALERT: BOOMPLAY MUSIC" . Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  10. ↑ Dimeji-Ajayi, Damilola (5 November 2018). "Partnership In Africa: Universal Music Group And Boomplay". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "BOOMPLAY AND UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP ANNOUNCE LANDMARK DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP IN AFRICA". Universal Music. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  12. ↑ "UMG becomes first major to license to Africa's largest streaming service". Music Biz Nation.
  13. ↑ "Africa's Biggest Streaming Platform Boomplay Signs Licensing Deal With Warner Music". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  14. ↑ "Boomplay, Africa's Biggest Streaming Platform, Raises $20M in Funding". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  15. ↑ Teresa Cottam (25 February 2021). "Boomplay gives Africans the gift of music thanks to Centili". Omnisperience.
  16. ↑ "Boomplay streams now count towards Billboard charts". Vanguardngr.com. 14 October 2021.
  17. ↑ Trakin, Roy (2017-07-15). "Sony Music Expands Distribution Reach; Acquires French Indie Believe, TuneCore". Variety. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  18. ↑ Tatiana, Cirisano (November 21, 2019). "As Sony Strikes Deal With Boomplay, All Three Majors Are Now Partnered With Africa's Biggest Music App". Billboard.
  19. ↑ Paine, Andre (December 10, 2019). "Merlin signs licensing deal with Africa's Boomplay". MusicWeek.
  20. ↑ "Ghana: Boomplay partners with AirtelTigo to boost music access". Music In Africa. 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  21. ↑ LHX, TRANSSION. "Boomplay Partners With Airteltigo To Make Music Streaming More Affordable | Boombuzz". Boomplay Music - WebPlayer. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  22. ↑ Garlick, Jeremy (2024). Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 138. ISBN   978-1-350-25231-8.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.