Universal Music Group strikes licensing deal with African music service Mdundo

Mdundo African Music Service, listed on the Danish stock exchange (Nasdaq’s First Northern Bull Market) in September 2020, reached a licensing agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG).

UMG says its new agreement covers key African territories. Mdundo reports 17 million monthly active users across Africa, which means the service has 10 million more as of February 2021.

UMG is the latest major record company to strike a licensing agreement with Mdundo, which was founded in Kenya in 2013 and is now headquartered in Denmark.

Warner Music Group signed a license agreement with Mdundo in 2017.

Mdundo says that its growth is mainly achieved in Nigeria, with additional growth in Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana.

The company adds that it is primarily focused on securing music rights for its local African catalog and in the last year announced partnerships with telecommunications companies such as Vodacom TanzaniaMTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria.

Mdundo operates in an increasingly active music streaming space on the African continent.

In addition to the presence of well-known global companies such as Spotify and Apple Music In key African markets, Mdundo faces competition from companies like Boomplay, Licensed by all three majors and udUx, also licensed by all three specialties.

In the century, 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 of our African and international talent in Africa. this continent”.

Ulrik Cahn, UMG

Ulrik Cahn, UMG Executive Vice President for Africa, 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 our African footprint and international talent within the continent. “

“We welcome Mdundo as a partner and are delighted that more fans across Africa have the opportunity to have greater access to some of Africa’s most exciting musical talent, as well as the UMG’s unrivaled international artist.”

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 delighted that so many fans across Africa have the opportunity to continue Get closer to some of Africa’s most exciting musical talent, as well as UMG’s unrivaled portfolio of international artists. “

“Our focus is on providing tailored services to the hundreds of millions of potential users in Africa who are online.”

Martin Muller Nielsen, Mdundo

Mdundo CEO Martin Møller Nielsen added: “Our focus is on providing tailored services to the hundreds of millions of potential users in Africa who are online.

“In recent years, Mdundo.com has reported explosive growth, going from 5 million monthly users in June 2020 to an expected 19-20 million monthly active users in May. June 2022 and revenue growth of 225% for the year ending June 2022.

“As a leading music company globally, we are delighted to partner with Universal Music in Africa towards our vision of providing Africa with an easy and affordable solution. legal access to music tailored to local consumers”.Worldwide music business