Streaming service Boomplay’s MD East Africa Martha Huro was one of the speakers at the NY:LON Connect conference yesterday, in an MQA-hosted session on opportunities for regional DSPs. She offered insight into trends on the pan-African streaming service.
“70% of our total streams come from African content,” she said, adding that this guides Boomplay’s strategy of signing up the key local artists and catalogues, although international repertoire is also important for the service.
Huro also talked about the competitive environment. “Our greatest competition is piracy, actually. It’s not each other as DSPs,” she said. “Most of the continent, they get their music for free, so [they think] ‘why should I buy music when I can get it for free from illegal sites?”
Huro said that governments in Africa have been slow to crack down on piracy sites, but she pointed to the Kenyan president’s signing of a copyright bill that includes such measures as progress.
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