UMG says that its new deal covers key African territories. Mdundo reports to have 17 million active monthly users across Africa, which means the service has added 10 million since February 2021.
UMG is the latest major record company to ink a licensing deal with Mdundo, which was established in Kenya in 2013 and is now headquartered in Denmark.
Mdundo says that its growth has primarily been achieved in Nigeria, with additional growth in Tanzania, Kenya, and Ghana.
The company adds that it has primarily been focusing on securing music rights for local African catalog and has in the last year announced partnerships with telecommunication companies like Vodacom Tanzania, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria.
Mdundo operates in an increasingly active music streaming space on the African continent.
In addition to the presence of prominent global players such as Spotify and Apple Music in key African markets, Mdundo faces competition from the likes of Boomplay, which is licensed by all three majors , and udUx, also licensed by all three majors.
Over the past decade, Universal Music Africa has expanded its reach on the continent and now has two regional headquarters in Africa – in Johannesburg, South Africa and Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire – with additional offices in Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Kenya, and Morocco.
“Martin and his team have built an impressive platform for African artists, and we look forward to working together to expand the footprint for our African and international talent within the continent.”
Ulrik Cahn, UMG
Ulrik Cahn, UMG’s Executive Vice President for Africa, the Middle East and Asia (AMEA) region, said: “Martin and his team have built an impressive platform for African artists, and we look forward to working together to expand the footprint for our African and international talent within the continent.”
“We welcome Mdundo as a partner, and are excited for more fans across Africa to have greater access to some of Africa’s most exciting musical talent, as well as UMG’s unrivaled catalog of international artists.”
Sipho Dlamini, Universal Music South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa
Sipho Dlamini, CEO of Universal Music South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa said: “We welcome Mdundo as a partner, and are excited for more fans across Africa to have greater access to some of Africa’s most exciting musical talent, as well as UMG’s unrivaled catalog of international artists.”
“Our focus is to provide a relevant service to the hundreds of millions of potential users in Africa that are getting online.”
Martin Møller Nielsen, Mdundo
Mdundo CEO, Martin Møller Nielsen, added: “Our focus is to provide a relevant service to the hundreds of millions of potential users in Africa that are getting online.
“In recent years, Mdundo.com has reported explosive growth, from 5 million monthly users in June 2020 to an expected 19-20 million monthly active users in June 2022 and a +225% growth in revenue for the year ending June 2022.
“As the leading music company globally, we are extremely pleased to work with Universal Music within Africa towards our vision of providing Africa with an easy and legal solution to accessing music that fits the local consumers”.Music Business Worldwide
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